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Third consecutive week of Poa Annua greens
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Tournament Notes
This week's Pro-Am is one of just eight tournaments to be designated as a Signature Event on the 2025 PGA Tour calendar.
As with 2024, the tournament will be staged over two courses (Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill), and will feature 80 professionals and 80 amateurs. Previously, when the field size was 156, the event used three venues (before Monterey Peninsula's Shore Course was dropped from the rota after 2023).
On days one and two, the pros and their amateur partners will play 18 holes at each course. The Pro-Am segment ends after round two, with Pebble Beach hosting the concluding 36 holes at the weekend when only professionals will be teeing-up.
Course Notes
Pebble Beach has hosted this event more than 70 times since 1947. Opened in 1919, Pebble Beach Golf Links has the smallest greens on the PGA Tour.
Pebble Beach is also one of the shortest layouts on the calendar, at just under 7,000 yards;
Spyglass Hill has missed just one instalment since making its Pro-Am debut in 1967. It has earned a reputation for being one of the toughest layouts on the schedule.
Although its greens are bigger than those at Pebble Beach they are still smaller than the PGA Tour average, therefore accurate iron play will be a key requirement at this week's event.
Spyglass is generally an inland course which, apart from a handful of early holes, does not meander too close to the Pacific coast, unlike Pebble Beach. It is also slightly longer than Pebble, but not by much.
Both venues are public courses and have Poa Annua greens. This will be the third straight week when the pros come face-to-face with Poa Annua.
With neither venue being particularly long, and with small greens, accuracy and touch will be a greater requirement than sheer power.
Good Current Form
With most of the 'Big Guns' teeing-off this week, including Scottie Scheffler 4/15.00 and Rory McIlroy 11/112.00, it is unlikely that the trophy will be presented to someone currently outside the world's top 25.
That said, Scheffler makes his first start of 2025 having recovered from a hand injury, and Rory plays only his second tournament in 11 weeks.
Two top-20 players who do appear to be up and running in 2025 are Justin Thomas 14/115.00 and Keegan Bradley 45/146.00.
Thomas's form has brightened up over the past few months and three of his last four outings have ended in podium finishes.
This includes runner-up in the California desert just two weeks ago and he also tied-for-sixth at Pebble Beach last year. His most recent win, however, came in May 2022.
This year's American Ryder Cup skipper Bradley makes his fourth start of 2025, having finished inside the top-15 in each of the previous three.
For those keen to find a higher-priced each-way bet this week then Beau Hossler 60/161.00 and Harry Hall 75/176.00 could be worth a plunge.
Hossler has opened this season's account with finishes of 12-15, while his Pebble Beach history is also pretty strong.
He stood on the Pebble podium in 2022, since when there have been a brace of top-15 finishes.
Hall has made a solid start to the new PGA Tour season and was one of the last golfers to qualify for this week's Signature Event.
Good Course Form
As for course form, two leading players whose records stand out are Patrick Cantlay 17/118.00 and Jason Day 30/131.00.
Cantlay's last four starts here read 11-3-4-11, and he arrives in his home state having tied-fifth at The American Express.
Day, meanwhile, has had nine top-seven finishes at Pebble, albeit no victory, and will be making his fourth start of 2025. One of these included a tie-for-third in the California desert.
The Australian has a strong career record on a number of coastal venues, such as Torrey Pines.
Stroke Averages
Lowest Eight At AT&T Pro-Am (2019-24)
Average .... (Rounds)
68.67: Patrick Cantlay (15)
68.74: Jason Day (19)
69.00: Justin Rose (11)
69.23: Denny McCarthy (13)
69.53: Maverick McNealy (17)
69.62: Wyndham Clark (13)
69.64: Taylor Moore (11)
69.65: Jordan Spieth (23)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves