The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Date: February 7-10, 2013
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links (multiple courses) Pebble Beach, CA
TV: The GOLF Channel/CBS
by Evergreen, PGA Golf Handicapper, Predictem.com
It has been quite a year on Tour already with Lefty and Tiger both notching wins and we have seen exciting scoring paces at all of the events so far.The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is next on the schedule and the annual event brings out some of the best celebrity amateurs to compete alongside the professionals.The Pro-Am format can lead to some goofy moments but there is a strong field of pros in attendance which makes this event just as good as any Tour stop.Pebble Beach is one of the most famous courses in all of golf and will be used alongside Spyglass and Monterey CCs Shore course to round out play.There will be a 54-hole cut after each player gets a round in at each course with the final round played at Pebble.
Phil Mickelson highlights the field as the defending champ and he will get a lot of gallery attention after his Phoenix win and near 59 but Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan and a host of others will make it tough for Phil to defend his AT&T title.The online betting sites like Phil as the early favorite but this championship is wide open as the courses do not favor one type of player over another and all will be able to take advantage of the many scoring opportunities.
None of the three host courses are particularly difficult with Pebble Beach playing as one of the shortest courses in the PGA rotation at just a shade over 6,800 yards.There are bogeys for players that get too aggressive into the greens and wind up with difficult up and downs but there will be plenty of birdies to make up for a slip here and there.The final round at Pebble will likely feature a tougher setup than the first three days but rounds in the low 60s can be had at any time so no lead is safe come Sunday.
Each week, we take a look at the golf sportsbooks and highlight the players that we think are good bets to win it all.We make a short, middle and long odds pick to win and breakdown a couple of head to head matches that you can find at any golf betting site.Here are our picks to win the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Short Favorite: Brandt Snedeker (12 to 1 odds to win)
Brandt doesnt have a win yet in 2013 but he is clearly the hottest golfer to start the year with three top-3 finishes in four starts and he has carded scores of 70 or better in 14 of his 15 rounds.Snedeker is averaging an insane 5.6 birdies per round and shouldnt be slowed this week.He enters the week 11thin greens hit, 19thin fairways and 25thin strokes gained with the putter so all is well across the board.Brandt plays a pretty no-nonsense style and that should serve him well as he bounces from course to course and deals with the distractions of Kenny Gs short game.
Middle of the Road: Robert Garrigus (28 to 1 odds to win)
Garrigus is another who is off to a hot start with three cuts made in three events and an average finish of 11th.Robert has always been a bomber and has continued that in 2013 with the 6thbest driving distance average and his greens hit are in the top-10 through the early part of the schedule.He also brings top-10 marks in birdie and scoring average but he will have to keep hitting greens to truly contend as his scrambling stat has never been above average.If he hits the greens and makes a few putts he could easily overpower these courses and be right in the mix on Sunday.
Longshot: Charley Hoffman (100 to 1 to win)
Lefty has four Pebble trophies and Dustin Johnson has two so this event looks like it favors the big names but D.A. Points, Matt Gogel and Aaron Oberholser have all won here as well so journeymen can shine here.Hoffman is a grinder that has gone low in the past and already has a T10 at the Humana this year.Charley is among the best overall drivers of the ball on Tour and his greens hit, ballstriking and scoring averages are all better than youd think so all the tangibles are there for a win.There are no distinct weaknesses in his game and that will be good in the multiple course format as you will need a bit of everything while playing three separate layouts.
Head to Head Matches *picks to win based on final score after all four rounds.Check with your favorite online bookie for single round matches and a variety of prop bets.
Phil Mickelson (-115) v. Dustin Johnson (-115)(our pick to win: Johnson)
Sure, Phil almost shoots 59 and did win here last year but DJ has been dominating here recently as well so this one comes down to who can handle the format better.Ive said it before but here we go again, I do not like Phil on multiple course events.Lefty is at his best when he gets to work the ball and that is limited when you only see the hole once a tournament.Johnson will go out there and crush the ball as he normally does, hit a bunch of greens and make some putts regardless of venue but Phil needs familiarity to maximize the way he approaches the game.If this were four days at Pebble, I think I would call it for Mickelson based on the way he is putting but this week goes to Dustin.
Webb Simpson (-115) v. Jim Furyk (-115)(our pick to win: Furyk)
I cant tell you anything about why Furyk is a good pick due to his stats considering he is making his first start of 2013 so this pick is a little more about what I dont like about Webb right now.Simpson has hit a lot of greens in the early season but his driving is below average and his birdie and scoring averages have fell off as a result.He is probably going through a bit of a rough patch and should have no issues once he straightens out the driver and gets some better looks at birdie but Id rather not put any money on him right now.Furyk hasnt played yet but you pretty much know what you are going to get with him at all times and that should be good enough against a scuffling Simpson.
Good Luck!
