For the third straight week, the PGA plays a rotating course schedule, with the Pebble Beach Pro-Am being held at the Pebble Beach Links, Spyglass Hill GC, and Monterey Peninsula CC. That makes course history a bit tough to evaluate, although the final round is a repeat at the Pebble Beach Links, so that would be the most important.
A tournament history is something to look into as this course rotation has been used since 2010, and the format is a bit unique as celebrities, and athletes like Jason Bateman, Macklemore, Darius Rucker, Will Arnett, Josh Duhamel, Ray Romano, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Buster Posey, and Larry Fitzgerald are among the big names descending on the Pacific Coast this weekend.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Format
One hundred fifty-six golfers and 156 amateurs make up the field which is why it’s played on three courses prior to the 54-hole cut. One pro golfer and one amateur make up a team, with their combined score counting for the total team score.
The pro golfers’ scores are also simultaneously playing an individual stroke play tournament, with their scores also counting towards the team event.
About the Monterey Peninsula
Courses that host Pro-am events are traditionally not as difficult as, say, last week at Torrey Pines. This will be a very similar difficulty as two weeks ago in La Quinta, which Jon Rahm won at -27.
Even though the course itself won’t be the most challenging, the weather will. The wind off the coast has caused some havoc in the past, and this year the area experienced heavy flooding that will make the courses play much softer.
The Pebble Beach Links course is very scenic, but it’s also very tough, trademarked by some of the smallest greens on the schedule. Better strokes gained: around the green, players like Tom Hoge (also last year’s winner), Russell Knox, and Nick Hardy should get a longer look when their rotation is at Pebble Beach for the day.
The Monterey Peninsula course is the least challenging of the rotation, and weather forecasts are the most important at Spyglass Hill, where multiple holes have coast exposure.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Odds
Pick your poison on any given year at Pebble Beach, whether it will be a favorite or a long shot coming out on top. We’ve seen some low-odds winners like Jordan Spieth at +900 in his remarkable 2017, Brandt Snedeker at +1400 and +2500 in his two wins in 2013 and 2015, and Daniel Berger taking the title two years ago at +1800.
Due to the three-course rotation, a lot of success at Pebble Beach comes down to the luck of the draw, and the weather or AM/PM split on the day they play either the links course, Monterey, or Spyglass. Because of this, some big longshots have surprised with a win like Hoge at +6600 last year, Nick Taylor at +16000 in 2020, and Ted Potter, Jr. with one of the most surprising wins ever when he outdueled Dustin Johnson in 2018 to win at +50000 odds.
Every odd year since 2015, a +2500 or lower golfer has won at Pebble Beach. Many people are looking at one of the ‘big three’ of Jordan Spieth (+1100), Matt Fitzpatrick (+1100), or Viktor Hovland (+1200) to keep that trend going in 2023.
