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Make it rain 💵
On the edge of your seat!
PEBBLE BEACH, CA
We have brand new life in Monterey! The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am received “signature” status by the PGA TOUR. As such, 18 of the top 20 in the OWGR have descended upon America’s most famous golf landscape, Pebble Beach Golf Links. Home to countless years on the TOUR and several memorable major championships this venue has not seen a field like this since the 2019 US Open.
With elevated status, comes a significant change in the format we have witnessed for so many years. The purse is now $20 million dollars, so thankfully we won’t have to sit through six-hour rounds and countless awkward Bill Murray and Ray Romano jokes. Only 80 players are in this 72-hole no cut event. The name says “Pro-am” and each of the 80 competitors will have a partner for the first two rounds. The PGA TOUR also dropped the third course. The field will play Pebble Beach GL and Spyglass Hill Golf Links for rounds one and two on Thursday and Friday.
AT&T starts in...
The first-place check is for $3.6 million dollars and one of the main reasons why those amateur partners won’t be around for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will take place on the impeccable design of Pebble Beach. I cannot wait to see the TOUR setup a Pebble weekend without amateur players. Both courses hold a par 72 scorecard. Spyglass Hill is located along the western shore of the Monterey Peninsula. The first six holes take you out to the seaside landscape. Seven through 18 weaves through the woods and the whole course challenges the players with several elevation changes.
Most are familiar with the coastal layout of Pebble. One of the shortest courses on TOUR, the true character of this test comes when approaching the greens. These 18 targets are the smallest this field will find all year on the PGA TOUR. Pebble Beach has a fair amount of elevation changes as well. Both courses are significantly exposed to the elements. Believe me, it is not nice here for golf. The real-time weather link provided can give you the most up to date forecast, but it’s cold and very damp.
Mother... nature
It was covered in the GCSAA report, and you can feel it underfoot; these courses are wet. Cold and rainy, it will be target practice for these players. Here's the catch, as of writing this, Thursday and especially Sunday look quite windy. There are many weeks where we feature wedge acumen as a required skill. At Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, it is a differentiating factor due to green size. You cannot keep up with this field if you are not hitting GIRs. Because of the length and predicted wind, our winner will need to hit over 75% of his greens.
A second priority during the AT&T is finding fairways. Pebble Beach has the lowest average driving distance on TOUR. Off the tee success requires experience and a gameplan. I’m favoring those who have played these courses (in February) before. Every winner since 2006 has finished in the top 21 of the AT&T prior to winning. The average champion's score of the last ten Pebble Pro-ams is 18 under par. I believe scoring will be similar based upon the conditions and new format if the weather stays reasonably calm. Across the two course there are 14 par 4s (of 20) that measure under 430 yards. They get four par 5s each day and the par 3s aren’t killer. Both courses have a par 3 under 130 yards.
One item I am considering that most will miss is bogey avoidance. A true representative skill combining short game and putting aptitude. Players will often miss these 3,500 sq/ft greens. Getting up and down to maintain round momentum will be key to contending. Pebble Beach has 116 bunkers! Spyglass Hill offers up another 62 sandy situations along with a shoreline landscape for one third of the holes. To convert each birdie chance or par save will require making putts inside 10’.
Soft Poa annua greens will be really hard to keep smooth. Getting the best bounces requires a solid stroke. Sorry Scottie Scheffler, but this probably isn’t your week to build some confidence in competition with the putter. The last five winners have gained an average of 3.4 strokes on the field with their flatstick. Between the putter and the scoring wedges from the fairway we will find our winner.
Year after year the same names pop up on this leaderboard. Considering the new signature pressure and amateur field, I believe we will get our first mid-chalk winner of the season. It has been a wild start, but the truth is we have only had a field like this in one event and that leaderboard was stacked behind Chris Kirk. The next three weeks, I’ll be on-site to break down all of the action and watch the world’s best. We have two $20 million dollar purses coming and the WMPO.
The season used to start at Farmers when Tiger arrived. That’s no longer the case. The season starts this week when the cash is on the counter. Get ready for a really entertaining venue being attacked by the best OWGR has to offer. When it’s over, we will cash alongside our first outright win of the season.
Outright winners - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am
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