The first mainland Signature Event of the 2024 PGA Tour season is here, and it's the fan-favorite AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The tournament format has changed this year, as it is the first time the championship has been a Signature Event; last year, the Waste Management Phoenix Open had the spot the Pro-Am now holds. Instead of being 156 players, the field has been reduced to 80, and 80 amateurs are playing, too. Unlike previous years, where the top-25 (and ties) Pro-Am teams made the 54-hole cut, this year, the amateurs will only play on Thursday and Friday, and the weekend rounds will only be played by the pros. Additionally, in previous years, the tournament has used three courses for the first three rounds, but this year, the Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Shore Course has been removed, and the professionals will play three rounds at Pebble Beach and one at Spyglass Hill.
The Course
Pebble Beach is well-known to the professionals, as it holds the US Open fairly often, most recently in 2019, and the tournament has also been one of the best-attended in recent years. For the second consecutive week, the Tour is playing on a West Coast links-style course, and the dangers of Pebble Beach have been documented for years. The course will give the players opportunities, like the reachable par-5 6th hole and picturesque 7th and 18th holes, but it will also take advantage of any mistakes the players make. With as windy as the event is projected to be, players with a good history on links-style courses will have a good chance to win, and players will need to use the wind to their advantage to be successful.
The other course the players will tackle this weekend is Spyglass Hill. The course is not as well-known as Pebble Beach, but it is still regarded as one of the best public courses in the United States. Spyglass Hill will play similarly to Pebble Beach, and scoring will likely be lower than at Pebble. Once again, the course will be a test of managing the opportunities the course gives you and not making unnecessary mistakes because you are playing too aggressively.
The Field
Remaining in California for the third straight week, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the first mainland Signature Event of 2024. This means that the winner will receive 700 FedEx Cup points. The tournament is loaded with star power, featuring an 80-man field with no cut. Both World No. 1's Scottie Scheffler and World No. 2 Rory Mcilroy will be in attendance. Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay are all set to tee it up.
Furthermore, after finishing atop the 2023 2023 DP World Tour Race to Dubai, Nicolai Hojgaard will also play in the event. He is joined by newly turned professional Nick Dunlap, who recently became the first amateur in 33 years to win a PGA Tour tournament following his remarkable run at the American Express.
Chris Gallagher and Everett Davidson contributed to this article.
Chris’ American Express Picks
Favorite: Max Homa
Homa has kicked off the 2024 season in good form. The 33-year-old finished T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open and carded a final round 66 to finish in the top-15 at The Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. One of the best ball strikers in the field, he is fifth on Tour in Strokes Gained Tee to Green (2.048) while hitting 75 percent of his greens in regulation. Furthermore, the two-time Wells Fargo Champion has a strong track record at Pebble Beach throughout his career. He has finished inside the top ten in two of his last three visits. A constant danger in his home state, four of Homa's six wins have come in California. Look for him to play well this weekend again.
Favorite: Viktor Hovland
Back in the field for the first time in a few weeks, Hovland finished T22 at The Sentry in his season debut. The Norwegian is due to a win at Pebble Beach at some point in his career. He finished 13th in the event a year ago. Furthermore, Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach and was a low amateur at the same venue at the 2019 U.S. Open. The reigning FedEx Cup winner, Hovland, is one of the longest players off the tee, allowing him to deal with challenging weather conditions. Additionally, he has continued to transform his short game, leading the 26-year-old to gain 0.697 strokes per round on the greens. Currently listed at 12/1, bet on Hovland to add to his impressive resume.
Sleeper: Ludvig Åberg
The breakout player on Tour in 2023, Aberg has recorded four top-ten finishes in his last six starts. He placed T13 at the Shriners Children's Open and T10 at the World Wide Technology Championship before capturing The RSM Classic in November. In the hunt at the Farmers Insurance Open a week ago, the 24-year-old finished T-9 after gaining over seven strokes from his ball striking. However, following a rough weekend on the greens, the Texas Tech product missed eight putts from inside seven feet over his final 54 holes. This included a three-putt from three feet on the par-5 13th in round two. Set to play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the first time in his young career, if the Swede can clean up his play with his putter, look for his exceptional ball striking to vault him into contention.
Everett's American Express Picks
Favorite: Xander Schauffele
Schauffele is coming off two straight top-10 finishes, with a tie for 10th at the Sentry and a tie for ninth last week at Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines plays somewhat similarly to Pebble Beach, and Schauffele has a good history on links courses, as he won the Scottish Open in 2022 and finished tied for second at the 2018 Open. If Schauffele plays the way he has been, don't be surprised to see him take his first win since 2022.
Favorite: Jordan Spieth
Spieth won here in 2017, but he spent four years out of the winner's circle after 2017. He has found his form again, as he won once in 2021 and 2022, and even though he didn't win last year, he still had a decent year by most people's standards. Spieth's prowess on links courses is well-known, as he won the 2017 Open in dramatic fashion over Matt Kuchar, and has four other top-10s in the tournament. If Spieth can rekindle some of the magic of years gone by, he could easily take his 17th win on the PGA Tour.
Sleeper: Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard finished solo-second last week, one shot off of winner Mathieu Pavon, and he is looking to be the second European to win in these last two weeks. The 22-year-old Dane is one of the rising stars in the golf world, as he won the DP World Tour Championship last year and already has two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour, having finished solo-second in the Corales Puntacana Championship last year. Additionally, Hojgaard was part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team last year, and he is already one of the better players in the world, as he is ranked 30th in the OWGR going into this week's event.
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