Golf Events / Editor / 11 February 2009 /

In our new golf tipping column, Daniel Geraghty selects three players to have on your side, beginning this week at the AT&T Pro Am at the classic Pebble Beach course.

It is a little bit of a risk backing Phil Mickelson to win this week at Pebble Beach, but I feel it is one worth taking.

If Mickelson starts well and gets himself in contention his price will fall rapidly. Last week, he was on the fringes of the tournament and never really found himself close enough to get competitive, meaning the last two rounds were spent tuning up his game rather than challenging for the title.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am is yet another event that Mickelson has won multiple times. Last year he missed the cut here but the year before that he won and second guessing which direction Mickelson's West Coast Swing will go is not easy. Nevertheless, such is his class and win record here that at odds of [16.5] he must be included in this week's staking plan.

This will be Retief Goosen's first appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, and after four solid rounds of golf at last week's Buick Invitational his game should be spot on. By his high standards, The Goose had a quiet year in 2008 but he still managed two top-five finishes at the World Golf Championship Events.

This is a new season with a fresh start and Goosen has started it with a win at the Africa Open in January. The current price of [46.0] is too big for a player of Goosen's quality, he has a good chance to record his seventh PGA tour win.

Jason Day started his 2008 PGA Tour campaign with high hopes and a big reputation. The 21-year-old had become the youngest player to win a Nationwide Tour event in 2007, and followed that with some (misguided) comments on dethroning Tiger Woods and winning at least two PGA events in 2008.

It didn't go as planned and after a couple of early top-ten finishes, Day struggled to make cuts. He's started 2009 with a solid performance at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, a course on which he won the World Junior Championship in 2005. Pebble Beach also holds fond memories for Day, at this tournament last year he finished in a solo sixth place to record his first career top-ten tour finish.

After failing to keep his card last year these opportunities will be few and far between for Day. Back him to put in a good performance and take full advantage.

Three Against The Field at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Phil Mickelson ([16.5]), Retief Goosen ([46.0]), Jason Day ([180.0]).

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