Cal Sports Report

Aaron Rodgers Wins Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Former Cal quarterback teamed with Ben Silverman to get his name on the Wall of Champions

Jake Curtis

Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers said he hasn't been playing much golf lately, so he was surprised when he and partner Ben Silverman won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday.

They held on for a 1-stroke victory, and as result Rodgers will have his name the Wall of Champions behind the first tee at Pebble Beach. That long list includes the names of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

"It's really significant," Rodgers said. "It's always been on my bucket list."

No word on whether this success will cause the 39-year-old Rodgers to decide to retire from pro football so he can spend more time on the links.

Rodgers did his part in recording the victory.  Silverman was coming off a Korn Ferry Tour win and finished at 1-over 216 and missed the cut in the pro portion of the event. Rodgers played with a 10 handicap and helped the team finish at 26 under par, one stroke ahead of Peter Malnati and Don Colleran, the retired president and CEO of FedEx.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Keith Mitchell were 4 strokes back.

Rodgers said he had not played golf since training camp with the Packers.

Rodgers gave no hints as to whether he will retire from football or return for the 2023 NFL season.  A decision is expected to come some time after the Super Bowl.

Rodgers wasn't thinking about winning the pro-am until after the second round. Partner Ben Silverman said he couldn't sleep when he realized they had a chance. "I couldn't calm down my brain."

Josh Allen grudgingly congratulates Rodgers for his pro-am win

"We're the champs," Rodgers said in the video below, echoing a favorite line from Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Rodgers used to partner with another Cal alumnus, Max Homa, but Rodgers and Homa never won the pro-am.  On Saturday, when Rodgers and Silverman led the field, Rodgers said of Homa, "He was holding me back from holding the trophy."

Rodgers said it's hard to get a call back from Homa these days.

Homa responded, saying he has no comment at this time:

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Ray Acevedo, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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