Pro-ams are part of the lifeblood of golf. Each Wednesday, players on the PGA Tour play alongside excited amateurs as they warm up their game and get used to the course. This week’s pro-am, however, is a little bit different.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a four day PGA Tour tournament held at three stunning courses. Each of the 156 professionals in the field pair up with an amateur (largely from the worlds of entertainment and business) for a crack at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course. There is a 54 hole cut after which the top 60 pros and top 25 teams play one more round at the legendary Pebble Beach.
This is a unique event and as such, it takes a certain type of player to win. The winner will have to have form on links courses, they’ll need to be able to putt on Poa Annua greens and they must be able to deal with the slow pace of play of a pro-am. There’s also a fair amount of luck at play as anybody who gets to play at Spyglass Hill on a windy day will surely pick up shots on the field as the other two venues are so affected by the weather.
Lefty the Man to Stop
Three of the world’s top five players are making the trip to California for this week’s festivities but the man to beat is not Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth or Jason Day. It’s Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson and Pebble Beach are pretty much the perfect match. He’s won this event four times and was left close to tears last year when a failure to get going on the Sunday meant he had to settle for a runners-up place. Mickelson continues to play some truly stunning golf even at the age of 46 and his recent form suggests he is the man to beat at odds of 20/1 with BetVictor.
Poa Annua Expert Snedeker Can Make It Win Number Three at Pebble
Pebble Beach is one of the most iconic golf courses in the world but the greens are not to everybody’s liking. The putting surfaces are small and therefore difficult to hit but the problems are biggest after getting aboard. The Poa Annua grass which makes up the greens at all three of this week’s courses in incredibly difficult to putt on. Unless you are Brandt Snedeker.
Snedeker has developed a pop stroke style of putting which he believes gets the ball rolling quicker than normal to help him on Poa Annua. With two prior wins at this tournament it’s certainly helped him previously and it can be the factor behind another big win at 20/1 with Coral.
Furyk to Start Season with a Bang
Jim Furyk missed his traditional season opener at Pebble Beach last season as he was still recovering from surgery. That surgery didn’t stop him from shooting a 58 at the Travelers Championship last season and now he’s fully recovered he can return to the winner’s circle. The veteran PGA Tour season is surely too big at 50/1 with Ladbrokes.