2024 PGA Tour: What to Anticipate on the A&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am
Such are the times that if the talk is on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf is mentioned in the same breath. More of it later, since the focus is on this week’s reinvented or “reimagined”, as PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan termed it, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Going with the innovations that’ll be on view at the Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pebble Beach Golf Links come Thursday, February 1, we at PrestigeOnline are rolling out change too with our version of PGA Tour live updates and a ringside view of happenings on professional golf’s biggest Tour.
PGA Tour 2024: Live updates and highlights from the ground
What to expect at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, February 1-4
In comparison to other PGA Tour events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has not been known for rolling out the deepest of fields on Tour. Its format has a role in this —180 players (inclusive of well-heeled amateurs) across three golf courses for three days or 54 holes, and the cut being applied on the final day for the lowest 25 teams.
Since change is the flavour of the season, the field this week has been whittled to 80 players over two courses, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach, and amateurs playing the opening two days.
As the PGA Tour gets ready to stream live updates from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, it is important to know that the event is now part of the “reimagined” schedule for 2024 and one of the eight re-designated Signature events on Tour.
Going with Commissioner Monahan’s promise of “stars competing head-to-head more often (with the PGA Tour’s calendar-year start since 2012), alongside the weekly drama of life-altering moments and the emergence of new stars”, the total prize purse this week is up from USD 9 million to a whopping USD 20 million. This is reflected in the interest of top players on a Tour where “winning continues to be the ultimate and most difficult challenge”.
In the list of the eight Signature Events for 2024, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am follows the season-opening The Sentry earlier in January.
Limited-field events with heightened prize money and FedExCup points (the winner gets 700 points), the other Signature events lined up are The Genesis Invitational (February 12-18), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 4-10), RBC Heritage (April 15-21), Wells Fargo Championship (May 6-12), The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 3-9) and Travelers Championship (June 17-23).
Eligibility for the remaining Signature Events in a field of 70-80 players will have the top 50 from the 2022-23 FedExCup standings and 15 players who can play their way in through The Next 10 and The Swing 5 rankings.
An eye on LIV Golf
The ultimate destination for aspirational and talented golfers across the world for a long time, the 2024 season gives an insight into how the PGA Tour has been forced to reinvent with a “reimagined” schedule and increased prize money with the advent of LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded enterprise playing the role of disruptor to perfection by winning over some of the best talent with the lure of big bucks.
As part of the PGA Tour live updates, there will be talk on some more key names crossing over to LIV Golf this week. Tyrrell Hatton, among the marquee names at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, is set to pull out and join Jon Rahm’s team when LIV Golf starts its 2024 season in Mayakoba, Mexico, on Friday (February 2). The deal is reportedly worth USD 63.5 million and it took a phone from Rahm to convince the World No 16 Briton, who at one time was ranked as high as fifth on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Season of underdogs
The 2024 season is four events old, and the PGA Tour leaderboard has seen underdogs mount the summit on all occasions. Chris Kirk (+15000 pre-tournament odds) won The Sentry and Grayson Murray (+50000) surprised at The Sony Open in Hawaii. Nick Dunlap (+50000), the youngest amateur golfer to triumph on the PGA Tour since 1910, has become a talking point by lifting The American Express crystalware, and will tee off at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as a professional.
Matthieu Pavon was a +17000 pre-tournament longshot to win the Farmers Insurance Open, but became the first Frenchman to win on Tour in over 100 years last week. Going with the flow, defending champion Justin Rose was an outsider to the throne last year as well, but the Englishman proved the pundits and predictions wrong by picking up his 11th career victory at age 42.
Coming after a four-year gap, Rose also became the oldest player to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson, among the earliest names to move to LIV Golf, won the 2021 PGA Championship.
As the first European to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023, Rose is again way down the list of favourites, the odds at +6600, but the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist will be drawing from his memories of last year and the coronation in the rare Monday finish.
“I feel like I have been fortunate enough to win at some great venues, but Pebble’s right up there. Just that walk up 18 to sort of be able to build a bit of a lead to kind of enjoy it was a very special moment. I think obviously when you’re a bit starved for a win as well, the fact that it came on a weather day like we had and at a venue that we had today was just worth waiting for,” Rose said.
Iconic venues
Rose’s coronation wasn’t special only for his 11th PGA Tour win, and that it made him the first Englishman to the feat. The week was a celebration of Pebble Beach, and all that it stands for as host to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am since 1947.
As the No 1 public golf course in the United States, Pebble Beach Golf Links has been home to the US Open six times, the last occasion being 2019, and is earmarked for future editions in 2027, 2032, 2037 and 2044. The rugged layout along the coastline, tricky greens and cliffside fairways offer the sternest of tests and explains why this is a stopover for blue-riband events.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course, the other scene of action this week, is no less demanding. Rated one of the toughest golf courses in the world, holes 6, 8 and 16 are listed as among the most challenging on PGA Tour’s list of tournament venues.
Men in form
Rory McIlroy
When a World No 1 is not the frontrunner going into a tournament week, it speaks volumes on the form of the challenger. The PGA Tour live updates will dwell in length on Rory McIlroy as he opens his 2024 season on the PGA Tour. The reason why the World No 2 is the favourite at Pebble Beach is his recent run in Dubai on the DP World Tour. A T2 at the Dubai Invitational leading to the crown at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Northern Irishman has a T9 at the 2019 US Open in his first outing at Pebble Beach.
Jordan Spieth
The former World No 1 is another name to watch out for. Among his six top-10s at Pebble Beach is a win in 2017, and the sole third at The Sentry 2024 is proof Spieth’s game is trending.
Patrick Cantlay
As co-owner of the course record (62) at Pebble Beach, Cantlay has a T3 and T4 in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Scottie Scheffler
The World No 1 has among the best tee-to-green games, and the small greens at Pebble Beach will excite in his first appearance here.
Viktor Hovland
As a three-time winner in 2023, and a T13 here last year, the Norwegian cannot be ruled to contend for the $3.6million winner’s prize purse.
Xander Schauffele
Past or present, Schauffele has reason for cheer. The 2024 season has begun well, and the T3 at the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach points to his ability.
Watch this space for more PGA Tour live updates and stay up-to-date with the 2024 PGA Tour season.
(Main and featured images: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am/ Facebook)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Every year, 156 golfers compete in the PGA Championship. Any player on the alternate list who is not in the top-70 in the official money standings is the first to become eligible to fill a vacancy.
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– What will the PGA Tour look like in 2024?
There will be 36 events in the new PGA Tour schedule, including eight Signature events, THE PLAYERS Championship, four Major championships, and three FedEx Cup Playoff events.
Source: Prestige Online
