This year’s AT&T Pebble Beach has a completely different feel to it. Gone are the 3-course rotation of years past and the weak fields. This tournament has had a new lease of life as a new “signature event” on the PGA Tour schedule.
This year consists of 2 courses. Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. 80 players. No cut. Each player plays a round on each course within their first 2 rounds on Thursday and Friday and then on Saturday and Sunday, everyone plays at Pebble Beach.
This is as stated one of the new signature events where the prize money has more than doubled and the top 50 have to turn up unless they have a very good reason not to. Signature Events are new limited fields (70-80) with bigger prize money to entice the big boys to tee it up.to try and compete with LIV. Only 3 of these 8 events will have cuts.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis week doesn’t have a cut. There will be one person who isn’t teeing it up this week and that is….. Tyrrell Hatton.
Tyrrell Hatton has finally done what everyone thought he would and followed his good friend Jon Rahm to LIV. Hatton signed for what rumours are suggesting is up to £50m and he will be a teammate of his friend Jon Rahm’s new team.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen Rahm signed up to LIV, he got his team and one of the names during the negotiations for Rahm was that he wanted Hatton on his team. Jon got his wish this week and they will be teaming up on Friday down in Mexico for the first LIV event of the season.
AT&T Pebble Beach
Back to the matter in hand and the PGA Tour this week. Usually, this is a weak field as stated but this year they are all here. Scheffler, McIlroy, Hovland, Schauffele, Cantlay and Homa to name a few.
The reason they never turn up here is due to the fact this course does not suit the long drivers. They all gain massively off the tee and it doesn’t work like that on this course. This is a course for the accurate iron players. Length is a no-show here. It doesn’t give you any advantage. You need iron play and putting to win this golf tournament.
Embed from Getty ImagesPebble Beach lengthwise is a very small course which has very small greens, so you need to be accurate with your irons here and play from decent positions on the fairway to have any chance of competing. The big hitters need not apply this week.
AT&T Pebble Beach is designed where you have certain landing areas where everyone plays from length is going to get you in more trouble than it is worth this week. The average drive last year was 276 yards. That tells you everything you need to know.
How the AT&T Pebble Beach course is set up seems ideal for a player like XANDER SCHAUFFELE. Last year on tour Schauffele was 5th in strokes gained putting. In his 3 starts this season he hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in any of his appearances. I like the look of Xander this week. He has struggled with his putting and still got all top-10 finishes. If he can get hot with the putter this week, he will be hard to stop.
JT POSTON on any other course I would avoid him but the reason he struggles at most venues is because he is not the best off the tee but off the tee doesn’t matter here. His short game and putting are solid and that is what I lean toward in this tournament with an average drive of 276 yards last year average for the field, this puts him bang up there.
ERIC COLE has enjoyed a solid start to the 2024 season. Ignoring last week at the Farmers where the course didn’t suit him. He has 3 top 25 finishes to start the 2024 season. This course at Pebble Beach suits his game.
Any course where driving distance isn’t the key to success. The name BRANDON TODD should spring to mind. He loves courses like this. Bermuda, Hilton Head Island. He is usually out-gunned on every course due to his lack of length but he is an absolute laser-like from 125 yards and in and with prices reaching 90/1 this week. He is worth the risk.
Course Information
Location: Pebble Beach, California, USA
Courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Prize Money: $20m ($3.6m winner)
Course Length: 6972 yards (Pebble Beach), 7041 (Spyglass Hill)
Par: 72 (Pebble Beach & Spyglass Hill)
Field: 80
Cut: No Cut
Last year: Justin Rose got his first PGA Tour victory in 4 years beating Todd and Wu by 3 shots.
Type of player who suits the course: Accuracy and Putting.
When to bet by: 4 pm Thursday 1st February
Where to watch: Sky Sports (UK)
Time Difference: California is 8 hours behind the UK
Weather forecast: Rain on 4 days of the tournament with very cold conditions
Image Credit: Deposit Photos