AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Thursday Feb 11 – Sunday Feb 14, 2010
Another Pro-Am tournament graces the PGA Tour this week, again in California and at this year's US Open venue, the world famous and wonderfully scenic Pebble Beach. Unlike our last Pro-Am showing at the Bob Hope, this week the field will only play four rounds and that is dependent on the weather as last year the event was decided over only 54 holes due to un-playable conditions.
Played over three courses, this year Poppy Hills has been dropped from the rotation and replaced by the Monterey Peninsula Country Club and features along Spyglass Hills and Pebble Beach Links (twice). As highlighted by the PGA Tour website, all three courses have one theme in common due to their coastal positioning- the wind. Steve Voguit notes that, 'While playing in a stiff breeze, ball control is at a premium, especially when hitting directly into the wind', so it seems apparent that Driving Acuracy will be an important attribute this week. It has also been noted that the Pebble Beach course has narrow fairways and long, thick rough in preparation for June's Open so this not only adds weight to the DA importance but to that of a decent scrambler should the rough come into play frequently.
The players to watch this week for me are.....
Mike Weir - His record here speaks for itself - in 12 starts Weir can boast seven top 10 finishes and of those seven, five have been top fives, his best coming last year with a 2nd. He's sitting in the top 30 in DA so far this year but only over seven rounds however, in years past where he has faired well here, his average has been below the near 70% he is currently posting. He is currently 9th for scrambling this year and over 2009 he ranked a respectable 14th so he ticks the box there. 1pt e/w @ 25/1 (numerous)
Davis Love III - Another with a sterling record here at Pebble Beach with wins in 2001 and 2003 and no lower than a T33rd finish over the last five years. This course has a tradition of favouring the seasoned or mature pro as Mark Calcavecchia proved with a 4th place finish last year or more so Steve Lowery's win in 2008 so Love's ability to perform in challenging weather conditions and his experience on the greens here looks appealing. 0.5pts e/w @ 55/1 (StanJames, Bet365) and 1pt Top Ten @ 5/1 (numerous)