While the tournament this week is still titled as a Pro-Am, the AT&T Pebble Beach will feature only professionals and no amateurs.
The pandemic has changed another TOUR event for 2021, and we already know it won’t be the last change of the calendar year. Due to the change in format that makes for fewer players on the courses, we will also see just Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill host the players this week. Monterrey Peninsula will be dropped from the rotation for 2021, and there will be a 36-hole cut instead of 54.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson makes his return stateside for his second TOUR event in the new year after finishing 11th at the Tournament of Champions. He will be coming in fresh off a win on the European Tour, where he won the Saudi International for the second time in three years.
While DFS pricing isn’t out as of Monday morning, the books have already hung him has the odds-on favorite at just +350 in some places. Part of that is due to his great history at this tournament, and part of it is that this field quickly drops off up top, as just four of the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 20 and six of the top 50 will tee it up this week at Pebble Beach.
The courses this week are short Par 72s, with a traditional setup. Typically, the biggest protection for these courses is in the coastal winds that can ramp up off the pacific and wreak havoc, especially on Pebble. It looks like we could see some of those stronger winds this week.
Each of the past five years has seen winning scores between 17-19 under, but that is typically with the Monterrey Peninsula in play, which is notably easier each year than the two on deck this week.
The Courses
Pebble Beach*
7,051-yard Par 72
- Setup: Four Par 5s, four Par 3s, 12 Par 4s
- Average Green Size: 3,500 square feet (smallest on TOUR)
- Greens: Poa annua, 10.5 on Stimpmeter
- Rough: Ryegrass (length not listed for 2021, but two inches in 2020. Likely similar.)
*Players who make the 36-hole cut will play 54 holes on this course, including both weekend rounds
Spyglass Hill*
7,041-yard Par 72
- Setup: Four Par 5s, four Par 3s, 12 Par 4s
- Average Green Size: 5,000 square feet (below average size)
- Greens: Poa annua, “tournament speed”
- Rough: Ryegrass, two inches
*Players will play just one round on this course Thursday or Friday prior to the cut
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Strokes Gained: Approach and Proximity to Hole
- Birdie or Better Percentage
- Bogey Avoidance
- Par 5 Scoring
- Strokes Gained Putting (Poa)
Course Horses (Last 5 years)
Phil Mickelson: 3-1-T2-65-2
No one has a better track record, arguably at any event, than Phil does at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
He has walked away the champion five times in his career, most recently in 2019, when he and Paul Casey battled it out down the stretch. In his other four trips the last five years, he’s made the cut each time and finished runner-up or third three times.
Jason Day: 4-T4-T2-T5-T11
Day has not finished outside of the top 11 at this event in the past five years. He is still seeking his first win but has a string of four consecutive top-fives, including a runner-up finish in 2018.
Jordan Spieth: T9-T45-T20-1-T21
Spieth had us all flashing back to his prior form this past week in Phoenix.
It reminded us all a bit of 2017 when he started his year with a win at Pebble Beach and would go on to win twice more, including the Open Championship. Despite his more recent struggles, he still finished ninth at this event 2020, as this is a course that has always fit his eye.
Dustin Johnson: T32-T45-T2-3-T41
DJ is coming in off of a win at the Saudi International, continuing some of the best play of his career dating back to last summer. He now turns to an event he has won twice, albeit over a decade ago, and his opening odds reflect just how strong his chances are this week.
Kevin Streelman: 2-T7-6-T14-T17
The player who made the Sunday charge to try to chase down 2020 champion Nick Taylor was Kevin Streelman. He would fall short by four strokes, but it was another great finish for Streelman at Pebble Beach, where he has five straight top-20 finishes.
Photo Credit: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.
Pictured: Dustin Johnson.
