AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Best Bets and Golf Odds

Posted by author January 28, 2025 Golf

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AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Best Bets and Golf Odds:

Harris English was the overnight 54-hole leader and held on for a one-shot victory at the Farmers Insurance Open to earn his fifth career PGA Tour victory and first since June 2021 (Travelers Championship). English also bagged our third consecutive outright winner on the young 2025 season at 100-1! Previously, he had finished runner-up in this event, losing in a playoff to Jason Day in 2015 and finished third at the U.S. Open held on the same Torrey Pines South Course.

This week, English (70-1) is part of a limited, 80-player field as the West Coast Swing continues at the season’s second Signature Event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

OWGR No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (4-1) returns for his first event of the season after hand surgery. Last year’s Pebble Beach champion Wyndham Clark (45-1) returns to defend his title after shooting the course record of 60 at Pebble Beach last year to win a weather-shortened event.

Rory McIlroy (11-1) makes his 2025 PGA Tour debut after starting his season in Dubai two weeks ago as do Tommy Fleetwood (35-1), Rasmus Højgaard (60-1) and Min Woo Lee (100-1).

Collin Morikawa (14-1) makes his first appearance since finishing runner-up at The Sentry to Hideki Matsuyama (25-1) four weeks ago.

Justin Thomas (16-1) finished runner-up two weeks ago at The American Express behind Sepp Straka (50-1).

Ludvig Åberg (18-1) was runner-up here last year to Clark and held both the first-round and 36-hole lead last weekend at Torrey Pines before battling a flu bug that was going around last week in San Diego only to tumble to a T-42 finish.

Patrick Cantlay (20-1) finished top 5 at the AMEX and has two top-4 finishes at Pebble Beach.

Sungjae Im (28-1) made a late run during last Saturday’s final round but settled for fourth.

Aside from Clark, there are several former champions in this week’s field, including Justin Rose (175-1), Tom Hoge (75-1), Nick Taylor (75-1) and Jordan Spieth (55-1), who is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption and will make his first appearance since undergoing wrist surgery after his 2024 season ended in August.

While Viktor Hovland (45-1) has never won the PGA Tour event at Pebble Beach, he did win the 2018 U.S. Amateur on the Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Norwegian has his own injury concerns as he played The Sentry and the Dubai Desert Classic with a broken toe.

Gary Woodland (125-1) also won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

OWGR No. 2 Xander Schauffele withdrew from his third consecutive event with what is being reported as a rib injury.

The Event

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was founded in 1937 as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and was played near San Diego before being moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 1947 after World War II. It was a 54-hole event until 1958. The Crosby name remained on the event through 1985, eight years after his death, when AT&T took over as the title sponsor in 1986 and has stayed in that role ever since. The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, chaired by the iconic Clint Eastwood, is the longtime event organizer. Eastwood was a regular participant in this event until 2016 but still serves as the tournament’s host and has regularly appeared in the CBS Sports booth on commentary over the tournament weekend.

In previous years, there were 156 professionals and 156 amateurs paired together to play a three-course rotation. This year, only 80 professionals and 80 amateurs are here playing a two-course rotation of Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Last year the amateurs were predominantly athletes and lower-handicap CEO-types. So no Bill Murray or Ray Romano slowing down play. This year, the amateur field has yet to be announced.

As a newly minted Signature Event ($20 million purse), there will be no cut.

Many golfing legends have won here, including Phil Mickelson (1998, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2019), who is tied for five Pebble Beach wins with Mark O’Meara (1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997). Other multiple-time winners include Sam Snead (1937, 1938, 1941, 1950), Jack Nicklaus (1967, 1972, 1973), Johnny Miller (1974, 1987, 1994) and Tom Watson (1977, 1978). Four players have won both an AT&T and a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach — Nicklaus, Watson, Tom Kite and Tiger Woods.

The Field

Here is the 80-player field for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am:

The Courses

Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of the game’s most iconic courses. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant in 1919 and later renovated by Arnold Palmer and Thad Layton in 2016, it is a par-72, 6,972-yard coastal layout with nine holes played by the Pacific Ocean. Pebble Beach is the second-shortest annual course on the PGA Tour. It is also heavily bunkered (118 — most on tour). Wind can definitely affect scoring on this exposed track; however, the Poa/Ryegrass fairways are the fourth widest on the PGA Tour at an average of 41 yards. The Poa Annua greens are the smallest on tour (3,500 square feet) and slow (10.5 stimpmeter).

Due to the angular hole layouts, Pebble Beach concedes the shortest average driving distance on tour, forcing layups on many holes off the tee, and almost completely removing any advantage for longer hitters. The emphasis on approach shots is even higher this week due to this course leading some of the lowest Greens In Regulation percentages on tour.

The rough was grown out a little more last year and is maintained at around 2.5-3 inches with the elite player field plus dropping some of the higher handicap amateurs.

Most of the fairways tilt toward the ocean and are set across the holes. This results in players often hitting their approach shots from uneven lies with the ball above or below their feet.

Comparable layouts to Pebble Beach include the other two courses that were in the usual rotation — Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula (which is not part of the event this year) — before this becoming a Signature Event, as well as other coastal courses on the PGA Tour such as Port Royal, Sea Island, El Camaleon and Waialae.

Golf Digest provides a hole-by-hole flyover video narrated by Pebble Beach resident Jim Nantz, who will be on the call for CBS this weekend per usual.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course is a par-72 of 7,041 yards that is a tree-lined links-style track. It was designed in 1966 by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and was lengthened a bit in a 2019 remodel. Even post-remodel, Spyglass is still the third shortest of the courses played annually on the PGA Tour. It has substantially more protection from the wind than Pebble Beach does. The fairways are also on the narrow side (27 yards on average). Poa Annua greens also await the players as well, but they are larger (5,000 square feet) and slower (10.5 stimpmeter) than those at Pebble Beach. Spyglass Hill has been part of the event every year but one since 1967.

Comparable layouts to Spyglass Hill include the two other courses in the rotation — Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula, as well as Port Royal, Sea Island, El Camaleon and Waialae.

Carson Joens, a custom golf club designer based in Utah, posted a hole-by-hole YouTube video playing a round at Spyglass Hill.

Similar to last week at Torrey Pines, players will play one of the first two rounds at Pebble Beach and the other at Spyglass Hill. The final two rounds will be at Pebble Beach.

Both courses should play firmer and faster than typical because of the lack of rainfall.

Changes since last year’s tournament at Pebble Beach include a rebuilt sixth green that was expanded by 1,200 square feet, providing more pin locations. More than 50 trees were also planted on the course. At Spyglass Hill, December storms took out 30 trees, including the featured Cypress in the 16th fairway.

Recent History/Winners

2024: Wyndham Clark (-17/199); 70-1*

2023: Justin Rose (-18/269); 35-1

2022: Tom Hoge (-19/268); 60-1

2021: Daniel Berger (-18/270); 18-1

2020: Nick Taylor (-19/268); 160-1

2019: Phil Mickelson (-19/268); 25-1

2018: Ted Potter, Jr. (-17/270); 500-1

2017: Jordan Spieth (-19/268); 9-1

2016: Vaughn Taylor (-17/270); 300-1

2015: Brandt Snedeker (-22/265); 25-1

2014: Jimmy Walker (-11/276); 28-1

2013: Brandt Snedeker (-19/267); 14-1

2012: Phil Mickelson (-17/269); 25-1

2011: D.A. Points (-15/271); 80-1

2010: Dustin Johnson (-16/270); 22-1

Weather shortened to 54 holes – *

Winning Trends

17 of the last 18 winners had at least one previous PGA Tour win.
All of the last 15 winners had played in at least two previous AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Ams.
15 of the last 16 winners had a finish of 16th or better in at least one of their previous three starts here.
12 of the last 16 winners had at least one top-11 finish from earlier in the season.
49 of the last 53 winners were Americans.

Statistical Analysis

With some of the smallest greens on the tour and the fact that the fairways are fairly wide at Pebble Beach and the rough is not all that penal, approach shots are of even greater importance.

Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)

Jhonattan Vegas 1.622
Hideki Matsuyama 1.531
Collin Morikawa 1.466
Tom Hoge 1.174
Tom Kim 1.138
J.J. Spaun 1.116
Nick Taylor 1.089
Sam Stevens 1.059
Sepp Straka 1.047
Justin Thomas 0.977
Adam Scott 0.950
Jason Day 0.902
Mark Hubbard 0.873
Robert MacIntyre 0.815
Max Greyserman 0.683
Cam Davis 0.655
Russell Henley 0.604
Patrick Rodgers 0.562
Keegan Bradley 0.536
Justin Lower 0.501

Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2024 PGA Tour season)

Scottie Scheffler 1.269
Tony Finau 0.808
Corey Conners 0.776
Tom Hoge 0.754
Lucas Glover 0.710
Aaron Rai 0.676
Doug Ghim 0.659
Justin Thomas 0.639
Shane Lowry 0.531
Keith Mitchell 0.531
Si Woo Kim 0.506
Hideki Matsuyama 0.499
J.J Spaun 0.469
Viktor Hovland 0.458
Ludvig Åberg 0.434
Jhonattan Vegas 0.433
Andrew Novak 0.430
Austin Eckroat 0.395
Lee Hodges 0.363
Russell Henley 0.343

Inevitably, this event will turn into a wedge-fest for many second shots both at Pebble and Spyglass. It will range from 75-150 yards, but the 100-125-yard mark is the sweet spot.

Average Proximity Gained Toward the Hole — Average Per Round (Last 50 rounds)

Tom Hoge 7.23
Eric Cole 6.71
Justin Thomas 6.60
Cameron Young 5.61
Nick Taylor 5.06
Lucas Glover 4.80
Hideki Matsuyama 4.75
Scottie Scheffler 4.38
J.J. Spaun 4.31
Doug Ghim 4.11
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 3.67
Wyndham Clark 3.58
Corey Conners 3.48
Aaron Rai 3.46
Viktor Hovland 3.38
Cam Davis 3.06
Sam Burns 3.02
Max Homa 2.83
Harry Hall 2.80
Nick Dunlap 2.80

Since there are so many forced layups off the tee, distance is not all that crucial here, nor is accuracy. What matters is hitting these small greens. Good Drive percentage measures how often a player hits the green on their second shot no matter where their tee shot landed.

Good Drives Gained (Last 50 rounds)

Scottie Scheffler 54.4
Tommy Fleetwood 53.5
Aaron Rai 53
Collin Morikawa 49.7
Russell Henley 41.7
Sepp Straka 35.1
Corey Conners 32
Ben Griffin 31.3
Shane Lowry 31.3
Brian Harman 29.7
Tony Finau 29.4
Adam Scott 29.3
Viktor Hovland 29.2
Mark Hubbard 26.5
Akshay Bhatia 24
Gary Woodland 22.5
Doug Ghim 21.6
Austin Eckroat 20.6
Tom Kim 19
Sungjae Im 18.6
Ludvig Åberg 18.6

Wyndham Clark ranked 1st in par-5 scoring last year and Justin Rose ranked 5th in his 2023 victory.

Strokes Gained Par-5s — Total (Last 50 rounds)

Scottie Scheffler 29.3
Billy Horschel 23.3
Davis Thompson 22.3
Patrick Cantlay 22
Max Greyserman 21.1
Eric Cole 20.2
J.J. Spaun 19.9
Tony Finau 18.8
Jhonattan Vegas 17.9
Sungjae Im 17.6
Si Woo Kim 17.3
Ludvig Åberg 15.3
Aaron Rai 14.8
Taylor Pendrith 14.8
Adam Scott 14.8
Tom Hoge 14.4
Gary Woodland 14.2
Harry Hall 14.1
Rory McIlroy 13.9
Patrick Rodgers 13.4
Kevin Yu 13.4

The Poa greens, especially on the West Coast, are particularly bumpy but also slower than the players saw last week at Torrey Pines.

Strokes Gained Putting — Poa Greens — Average Per Round (Last 50 rounds)

Akshay Bhatia 1.18 (13 rounds)
Rafael Campos 1.02 (12 rounds)
Matthieu Pavon 0.99 (16 rounds)
Denny McCarthy 0.76
Wyndham Clark 0.74
Max Homa 0.70
Peter Malnati 0.65
Maverick McNealy 0.64
Adam Scott 0.51
Brendon Todd 0.48
Mark Hubbard 0.46
Eric Cole 0.40 (19 rounds)
J.T. Poston 0.39
Sahith Theegala 0.38 (41 rounds)
Sam Burns 0.35
Tom Hoge 0.33
Min Woo Lee 0.32 (12 rounds)
Mackenzie Hughes 0.30
Beau Hossler 0.30
Patrick Rodgers 0.29
Lee Hodges 0.29 (29 rounds)

The grass around the greens is much shorter at Pebble Beach than last week at Torrey Pines; however, there are plenty of greenside bunkers that players will find on their approach shots into these smaller greens, so they will have to scramble and be sharp around the greens.

Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)

Taylor Moore 0.842
Cameron Young 0.837
Beau Hossler 0.735
Byeong Hun An 0.732
Patrick Cantlay 0.718
Doug Ghim 0.579
J.T. Poston 0.566
Stephan Jaeger 0.487
Sungjae Im 0.475
Andrew Novak 0.446
Nico Echavarria 0.403
Max Homa 0.403
Collin Morikawa 0.402
Harry Hall 0.398
Will Zalatoris 0.391
Taylor Pendrith 0.368
Adam Scott 0.351
Davis Thompson 0.333
Jason Day 0.325
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.312
Aaron Rai 0.305

Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2024 PGA Tour season)

Hideki Matsuyama 0.580
Justin Thomas 0.466
Mackenzie Hughes 0.444
Davis Thompson 0.432
Harry Hall 0.406
Beau Hossler 0.385
Maverick McNealy 0.374
Collin Morikawa 0.374
Tony Finau 0.360
Denny McCarthy 0.358
Scottie Scheffler 0.316
Brendon Todd 0.300
Russell Henley 0.289
Ben Griffin 0.271
Sungjae Im 0.264
Rory McIlroy 0.248
J.T. Poston 0.233
Patrick Cantlay 0.218
Tommy Fleetwood 0.218
Max Homa 0.208

Both Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill are shorter courses, so players will have to attack differently rather than just bomb it off the tee and then pitch and putt.

Strokes Gained: Total — Average Per Round — Courses

Justin Thomas 2.39

Patrick Cantlay 2.04

Scottie Scheffler 1.91

Max Greyserman 1.48 (20 rounds)

Ludvig Åberg 1.44 (33 rounds)

Ben Griffin 1.43

Keegan Bradley 1.43

Russell Henley 1.39

Collin Morikawa 1.29

Viktor Hovland 1.25

Rory McIlroy 1.25

Eric Cole 1.18

Denny McCarthy 1.16

Keith Mitchell 1,15

Sam Burns 1.14

J.T. Poston 1.14

J.J. Spaun 1.14

Sungjae Im 1.12

Tom Kim 1.09

Beau Hossler 1.07

Brian Harman 1.04

Selections

Collin Morikawa (14-1, Bet Rivers)

Morikawa only has finishes of 35th (2019 U.S. Open in just his second event as a professional) and 14th last year at Pebble Beach.

He began the year with a runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama at The Sentry where he led the field for Greens In Regulation (91.7% — 66/72).

The irons look to be in good shape and while he has not won in 15 months (2023 ZOZO Championship), he was the low 72-hole scorer at the Tour Championship and has six top-5 finishes in the last calendar year, so a victory should be coming sooner rather than later.

Patrick Cantlay (21-1, Circa Sports)

Like Morikawa, Cantlay had a winless 2024 campaign but posted four top-5 finishes.

He finished top 5 at the AMEX two weeks ago and would have been better if it was not for substandard iron play.

Cantlay’s last four appearances here are 11-4-3-11, so he is a bit of a horse for the course.

Jason Day (40-1, Circa Sports)

Speaking of a horse for the course, Jason Day has done about everything but win at Pebble Beach. He finished sixth here last year and from 2017-2021 has a form line of 5-2-4-4-7.

Day ranked seventh and 11th for Strokes Gained on Approach plus third and 10th for Strokes Gained Tee to Green at PGA West and Torrey Pines, respectively, over the last two weeks.

He was poor on the greens (fifth worst in the field for players who made the cut) last week, but he has four career victories on the Poa Annua greens and the slower greens at Pebble and Spyglass could be more to his liking at the moment.

Taylor Pendrith (55-1, Caesars Sportsbook)

The big-hitting Pendrith would not appear to be the most logical fit at a shorter course like Pebble Beach, but he did finish T-7 his last time here in 2023 when he ranked second in the field for Greens In Regulation.

Pendrith finished T-7 last week at Torrey Pines, where he ranked second for both Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green and Strokes Gained: Around The Green.

Maverick McNealy (64-1, Circa Sports)

McNealy practically grew up at Pebble Beach and his father, Scott, the founder of Sun Microsystems, has been a regular player in the Pro-Am for many years. In fact, the McNealy family still owns a home at Pebble Beach with the 16th hole essentially functioning as the backyard.

He finished runner-up here in 2021 to Daniel Berger and was fifth in 2020.

Now he comes back home with renewed confidence as a PGA Tour winner having won the 2024 season-ending RSM Classic in November.

Beau Hossler (85-1, Circa Sports)

He finished a solid T-15 last week at Torrey Pines plus 12th the week prior at the AMEX, and the California-born Hossler grew up putting primarily on the Poa greens.

Hossler finished third here in 2022 in addition to 11th and 14th over the last two years.

While he can be a bit wayward off the tee, it was encouraging to see Hossler rank 14th last week for Driving Accuracy on the tight Torrey Pines South Course. The wider fairways, especially at Pebble, will be more to his liking.

Placement markets and matchups will be up Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks