PREVIEW: 2024 PGA Tour – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

2024 US PGA Tour
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Pebble Beach & Spyglass Hill
1st-4th February

Tyrell Hatton’s decision to depart to the rich shores of LIV will certainly be on the back of some people’s minds this week. I really feel like there is going to be a deluge of departures in the upcoming months. In any event, Mathieu Pavon created some real history at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, becoming the first Frenchman since World War II to win on the PGA Tour.

It continued a trend of pretty far-fetched winners on this year’s Tour. I think that trend may stop this week with the second Signature Event on this year’s PGA Tour: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

First staged back in 1937, this event has been in existence for 87 years. It has struggled for relevance in recent seasons but its elevation to Signature Event status means that we will have a stellar field in California this week.

This event used to be staged on three courses in rotation for the first three days (Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach). There used to be a cut on Saturday night before the players duked it out on Pebble for the final day.

The decision has been made to streamline this year’s event, with the limited field rotating between Spyglass Hill and Pebble leading into the weekend. All the players will then play Pebble Beach on the weekend (with no cut).

There are no celebrities in action this week, just a few proper amateurs (think Steph Curry or Tony Romo). That should make for a far better viewing experience overall.

Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach is one of the most iconic venues in American sport. The Seaside Links has hosted the US Open six times and the PGA Championship once. What you do off the tee is largely irrelevant around Pebble.

Players really need to impress with their iron play this week. The miniscule Poa annua green complexes are amongst the most daunting in world golf. In fact, both courses feature Poa annua greens. 14 of the last 17 winners have ranked inside the top 9 for GIR. Also, look for strong links proponents who perhaps have some course experience.

Spyglass Hill is more tree-lined and actually plays marginally tougher than Pebble (unless the wind really picks up). It has certainly risen in appreciation in recent years, with YouTube golfer Grant Horvat saying that he couldn’t pick between the two courses.

The Contenders

Rory McIlroy returns to the US PGA Tour following his brilliant title defence at the Dubai Desert Classic. He has a somewhat chequered history here but he can really be competitive anywhere.

This will be the first time that World No.1 Scottie Scheffler plays in this event. Reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland will be a star attraction this week while Jordan Spieth is something of a course specialist. The likes of Homa and Morikawa will look to create opportunities with their brilliant iron play.

Defending champion Justin Rose is also in action, joining the likes of Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick in what is a tangible English threat this week. Nicolai Hojgaard will look to bounce back after last week’s near-miss while Mathieu Pavon will be in full-on celebration mode this week.

Past Winners

2023: Justin Rose (-18)
2022: Tom Hoge (-19)
2021: Daniel Berger (-18)
2020: Nick Taylor (-19)
2019: Phil Mickelson (-19)

To Win Outright:

Rory McIlroy 15/2 | Scottie Scheffler 8/1 | Viktor Hovland 12/1 | Xander Schauffele 14/1 | Patrick Cantlay 16/1

Value Bets

Byeong-Hun An- To Win 50/1 | To Place 11/1

Byeong-Hun An has been in excellent form since the start of the season and he should thrive in softer conditions this week (there is some pretty heavy rain forecast). He started the year with a trio of 64s across the Sentry and the Sony Open, finishing fourth at the Sentry and runner-up at the Sony. He actually has two seconds and a fourth in his last five starts. He was 16th at the US Open played here and that new broomstick putter seems to be working wonders for him.

Adam Scott- To Win 66/1 | To Place 14/1

Adam Scott will be making his 2024 American debut this week but he has been accumulating some really decent results over the past few months. He finished in a tie for seventh at the Dubai Desert Classic a few weeks ago. And he also had two top-six finishes during the Australian swing. Scott finished in a tie for seventh at the 2019 US Open hosted at Pebble Beach. And he should thrive if the inclement weather comes through. He has some solid Californian form, winning in Riviera and finishing runner-up at Torrey Pines.

The Man to Beat- Max Homa- To Win 20/1 | To Place 44/10

I really love the look of Homa at this price. With wins at Silverado, Torrey Pines and Riviera, Homa has the chance to complete the Californian roster with victory this week. And he has enjoyed some pretty decent success here before, finishing 10th in 2019 and fourth in 2021. He arrives in decent recent from, winning the Nedbank Challenge towards the end of last year before three consecutive top 15 finishes. He was 13th defending his title last week but he really threw way his chances with a 70 on the North Course on Friday. Homa is an ace with the irons and I can see him going all the way this week.