Editor’s Note: Now, all our premium tools for Fantasy, DFS and Betting are included in one subscription at one low price. Customers can subscribe to NBC Sports EDGE+ monthly ($9.99) or save 20% on an annual subscription ($95.88). And don’t forget to use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!
The stars are set to shine on Pebble Beach this week as a full field of 156 pros each join hands with an amateur playing partner, many of them being celebrities or high-level executives.
The event is played across a trio of courses over the first three rounds before finishing things up on Sunday at the host course.
After day three, the top 60 and ties play the final round at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The Courses
Pebble Beach Golf Links (Host Course):
This iconic coastal course is the host this week. That means two rounds will be played at PBGL as long as you make it through the 54-hole cutline.
Looking at the scorecard, we see a par 72 that plays under 7,000 yards (6972). One of the shorter courses utilized out on TOUR.
Given the time of year this is played, it is often sweater season here. When you add in thick, sea-level air and gusty coastal winds, weather is certainly one of the key defenses of the golf course.
As you might expect from a course of this length, distance is not a requirement.
Three of the par 5s check-in under 545 yards and six of the par 4s play to 404 yards or shorter. The latter results in a lot of wedges in hand.
Overall, this is a second-shot course where approach play is the name of the game.
Last but not least, the greens are some of the smallest on the PGA TOUR, with an average size of just 3,500 square feet. The PGA TOUR average is closer to 6,500 square feet.
For grasses, the golfers will see poa annua and ryegrass from tee-to-green with poa annua putting surfaces that run relatively slow on the stimp (10.5 feet).
Spyglass Hill Golf Course:
Looking at the scorecard for Spyglass, you’ll see a par-72 layout that plays just over 7,000 yards (7041).
Again, this is not a course that demands distance but short does not always mean easy.
Despite the par 5s looking juicy on paper, Spyglass yields just 0.27 eagles per 72 holes which puts it well below average when compared to TOUR-average eagle rates.
This Robert Trent Jones design has green sizes that average 5,000 square feet which is still smaller than TOUR average but much larger than the tiny targets over at Pebble Beach GL.
If rough weather rolls through, many golfers have enjoyed the tree-line nature of Spyglass which protects them a bit from Mother Nature. When the winds are calm, this is generally the toughest of the three courses.
As for grass types, golfers will see ryegrass and poa annua, similar to the host course.
Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course):
Thie Shore Course is back in the rotation this year. It was left out last year due to COVID-19 striking the pro-am portion from the event. With all of the amateurs back in action this week, they will need the third course in order to finish each round on time.
The MPCC is a par 71 but it does have four par 5s. This is where the scoring magic happens.
Sung Kang holds the course record here as he showcased what is possible at MPCC when he fired an 11-under 60 during round two of the 2016 edition. That remains the best 18-hole score in tournament history.
If you don’t post a 68 or better during your Monterey round, you can probably kiss your chances of winning the tournament goodbye.
MPCC is relatively generous off the tee. It has plenty of bunkers and waste areas but a lot of those don’t even come into play for these PGA TOUR pros.
This course also has the largest targets on approach (6,000 square feet on average green sizes).
It’s more of the same when it comes to turf talk (bentgrass/rye/poa from tee-to-green and poa annua putting surfaces). With poa annua greens on all three courses, there are plenty of three-putts to go around this week. I do mean PLENTY.
Editor’s Note: Play for FREE! Download the NBC Sports Predictor app, make picks and win huge, weekly jackpots. Get started here!
Quotes on the Course
Phil Mickelson: “The greens being poa annua are what I grew up on, so it’s a grass I feel comfortable. Not just putting on, but chipping on, chipping into and hitting full shots into. It can be challenging for guys if they’re not used to it. It’s something that I’ve become very comfortable with over the years.”
Gary Woodland: “A lot of this week’s mental too. You’re playing with amateurs, they’re long rounds, it’s a mental grind. So I think you have to be prepared for that and be mentally prepared for it. “
Steve Stricker [on why he’s skipped the event so many times]: “conditions, soft, bumpy greens, cold weather, not really my cup of tea.”
Jordan Spieth: “I lowered my expectations on the greens and just accepted hitting putts at the right speed and putting them around the right line, and if they fell, they fell. If they didn’t, move on and hit as many greens in regulation as possible.”
Nick Taylor: “I grew up on poa annua, so I have some sort of comfort level on them… They are going to bump offline occasionally and you kind of do your best and hopefully they will go in.
Patience and poa annua are keywords this week at the AT&T Pro-Am.
Correlated Courses
Using historical data from this week’s venue, we can look for other courses across the PGA TOUR schedule with crossover success (or failure). Here are the courses that pop up frequently:
Riviera CC
TPC River Highlands
Torrey Pines
Quail Hollow
TPC Southwind
It’s a mixed bag of courses here. Main themes include ryegrass rough, bent/poa greens, short courses.
The Weather
Thursday: Sunny with a high of 62 degrees. Winds at 6 to 10 MPH.
Friday:: Sunny with a high of 64 degrees. Wind sat 4 to 8 MPH.
Saturday:: Partly Sunny with a high of 60 degrees. Winds at 4 to 8 MPH.
The threats of rain are small and the wind forecast is light. That can always change when you’re playing by the coast but as of now, this looks like ideal scoring conditions compared to many previous editions which feature cold and wet conditions.
Golfers to Watch
Patrick Cantlay
The California Kid opens as a pre-tournament favorite on the betting board. He’s finished T11 or better in three of his five appearances at this event including a T3 last year. More recently, he’s opened the new year with back-to-back top 10s at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express.
Daniel Berger
The Florida State product is known for his comfort on bermudagrass but the poa annua greens at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am have not bothered him too much over the years. He posted a T10 and T5 in his first two starts at the AT&T Pro-Am before winning last year’s edition.
Jason Day
The Aussie was a course horse at Torrey Pines and that comfort helped him snap into contention last week at the Farmers. Now he heads to Pebble Beach which is another venue that has been very kind to him over the years. Day is a regular at the AT&T Pro-Am over the year, accumulating a 12-for-12 record with all but two of those doubling as top 15s.
Jordan Spieth
The Texan is known for being one of the best wedge players out on TOUR so it’s no surprise to see him contend regularly at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am since these courses give you a lot of wedges in hand. Spieth won the 2017 AT&T Pro-Am but also has four other finishes of T9 or better, in nine total starts here. He’s settled for 20th (Hero World Challenge), T21 (Sentry TOC), and MC (Farmers) since becoming a new dad but this week’s venue certainly sets up as a potential slump-busting spot on the schedule.
Maverick McNealy
The Stanford product pleased DFS gamers last week with an ace at Torrey Pines while playing himself into contention at the Farmers. Now, he heads to Pebble Beach where he’s posted finishes of T5 and 2nd, over the last two years. The market makers are well aware of that event history as he opens the week at 6th on the odds sheet (28/1).
Ranking the Field
1. Patrick Cantlay
2. Daniel Berger
3. Will Zalatoris
4. Jordan Spieth
5. Cameron Tringale
6. Justin Rose
7. Seamus Power
8. Maverick McNealy
9. Jason Day
10. Lanto Griffin
11. Matt Fitzpatrick
12. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
13. Mito Pereira
14. Kevin Streelman
15. Dean Burmester
16. Mackenzie Hughes
17. Tom Hoge
18. Denny McCarthy
19. Kevin Kisner
20. Ryan Palmer