AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Predictions: Streelman a Horse for This Course

• Jordan Spieth returns to one of his favorite tracks
• Tom Hoge defends his title
• The host course is one of the best-known in the world

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Odds

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The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Picks and Predictions

• Maverick McNealy outright each way pick at +1800 with Caesars Sportsbook
• Nick Taylor each way outsider at +5000 with Caesars Sportsbook
• Kevin Streelman top 20 at +360 with DraftKings

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Profile

There are few more popular sights in golf than that of the Pacific Ocean from the cliff tops of Pebble Beach Golf Links.

And of all those views perhaps the most famous is of the short par-3 seventh hole. It’s just 109-yards but a fearsome test when the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing all around a green that is perched just above the water.

We’ll see plenty of that hole - and the equally famous 18th - this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, an event first played in 1937 and a regular stop on the PGA Tour schedule ever since.

Tom Hoge defends the title but big golfing names often excel here and big non-golfing names also play here.

Indeed, making his tournament debut this week (in the amateur section) is none other than former Tottenham Hotspur and Readl Madrid soccer star Gareth Bale.

Course Report

The field is faced with three tests - Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula - over the course of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the final round back at Pebble Beach.

While the trio of tracks are all different examinations they also have much in common.

The conditions are always soft at this time of year which means balls that hit the fairway tend to stay there. The greens are uniformly small placing an emphasis on hitting lots of them in regulation (or having a sensational short game).

And the final key feature is the grass on the greens: it is Poa Annua and famously bumpy. Some players can cope with that challenge, others can’t.

The Favourites

The 2023 form of Jordan Spieth might be better than it looks at first glance. He was 13th in the Tournament of Champions (his worst end-of-round position all week) and co-led the Sony Open after a first round 64 before a second lap 77 saw him miss the cut.

He only finished 65th at Pebble when the US Open was held here in 2019 but in 10 tournaments starts he has only once ended the week outside the top 25 (and even then he was top five after 36 holes).

He won the event in 2017, was second last year and led with 18 holes to play in 2021 before finishing third.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland is making just a second tournament start and will be hoping to improve on his 38th in 2020 when he recorded a final round 77.

Before that week he had fond memories of the course having finished 12th in the US Open when still an amateur.

He retained the Hero World Challenge before Christmas and was 18th at the Tournament of Champions.

It’s been a superb 12 months for England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick since he was sixth here last year with his 24 strokeplay starts reaping 19 top 25 finishes, no less than 13 of them top 10s including his US Open triumph at The Country Club in Brookline.

That top 10 last year was comfortably his best tournament finish in three starts, improving on 60th in 2020. He was 12th at the 2019 US Open.

Maverick by Name But Not by Nature

Maverick McNealy loves playing golf in the conditions he will face this week - not surprising perhaps because he was born and brought up in California.

He also went to university there and that familiarity has helped his progress on the PGA Tour.

In this event he has finished second and fifth in just four starts.

He’s also been second at Silverado, seventh at Riviera and 15th at Torrey Pines - all of them with bumpy Poa Annua on the greens, all traditional designs and all close to the sea with blustery conditions.

He’s also finished top 20 in five of his last seven starts so he’s in form.

Take him each way in the outright at +1800 with Caesars Sportsbook which is paying out eight places.

Taylor a Nice Fit

On the one hand it was a surprise when Nick Taylor won this event in 2020.

On the other hand he had finished top 30 in three of his five tournament visits including a top 10.

And he had also finished top 10 on Californian Poa Annua earlier that season at Silverado.

He’s added another course top 15 since and also another top 10 at Silverado earlier this season.

Take him as the each way outsider, again with Caesars Sportsbook, to get those vital eight places. He’s +5000.

Streelman a Horse for This Course

When he missed his first three cuts in this event Kevin Streelman didn’t shout “match made in golfing heaven”.

But first looks were deceiving.

In his last 10 starts at the tournament he has recorded no less than seven top 20s.

He has a solid record at other Californian Poa Annua courses but nowhere near as good as on the trio in action this week - there is something about the views, the courses, the pace of play and the unusual format which appeals to him.

He’s not in the best of nick (although he did make the cut last week at Torrey Pines).

But those recent results has helped raise his price.

Take his course form over that current form.

He’s +360 with DraftKings for yet another Pebble Beach top 20.

How to Watch The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

• Tournament: The A&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
• Location: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill GC & Monterey Peninsula GC, California
• Date: Thursday, February 2 - Sunday, February 5
• How to watch: Thursday-Sunday 1-4 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. And all four days on Sky Sports.