The PGA Tour heads back to the California coast after a short visit to the desert in Arizona. With the Super Bowl behind us and pitchers and catchers just leaving for spring training, the PGA Tour is in the perfect position to pick up some casual sports fans looking for some excitement.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the first signature event of the season, bringing with it a prize pool of $20 million. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will be making their first PGA Tour starts of 2026 after starting their season on the DP World Tour. Sahith Theegala was able to secure the last sponsor’s exemption, while Pierceson Coody played his way into the tournament through the Aon Swing 5.
My lineups and betting card this week will be filled with solid iron players who can control their approach shots into small greens. The main categories I will be looking at are strokes gained around the green, sand save percentage, less-than-driver golf courses, strokes gained on short golf courses, course history at Pebble Beach Golf Links, strokes gained from 100-125 on approach, strokes gained from 200 -225 on approach and putting on poa annua grass.
Course information
Course 1: Pebble Beach Golf Links
Location: Pebble Beach, Calif.
Designers: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant
Par: 72
Length: 6,989 yards
Average green size: 3,500 sq. feet
Course 2: Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Location: Pebble Beach, Calif.
Designer: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Par: 72
Length: 7,071 yards
Average green size: 5,000 sq. feet
Past winners: Rory McIlroy 2025, Wyndham Clark 2024, Justin Rose 2023, Tom Hoge 2022, Daniel Berger 2021, Nick Taylor 2020, Phil Mickelson 2019, Ted Potter Jr. 2018, Jordan Spieth 2017, Vaughn Taylor 2016, Brandt Snedeker 2015
Betting slip
Odds from DraftKings
Rory McIlroy (+1300) is the defending Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion after dominating Pebble Beach Golf Links from the tee box in 2025. He has started his 2026 season in good form with a T3 at the Dubai Invitational and a T33 at the Dubai Desert Classic, where he was lights out with his tee shots and approach shots before struggling around and on the greens. Scottie Scheffler at +300 is just too low for me to back at this point because you may be able get him at a better price live.
Viktor Hovland (+2800) won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in dominant fashion. He has played pretty well here with two top-22 finishes in four tries, but his around-the-green game has kept him from contending. Since winning the Ryder Cup, he has gained over eight strokes combined around the green in four worldwide starts. He has gained over 17 strokes combined on approach in those same four tournaments. Hovland is on the verge of putting it together, and this is a nice number to get him at.
Maverick McNealy (+3300) looked to be on the verge of winning this tournament after placing T5 in 2020 and second in 2021. He is from the area and loves playing seaside golf courses. He has gained strokes in every major category for three straight tournaments, and I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t back him this week.
Patrick Cantlay (+4000) has five top-11 finishes in his last eight trips to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has started the season a little slow with a T13 at the American Express and a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, but his tee-to-green play has been decent. He will need to get his putter in gear if he wants to contend this week, but I like getting Cantlay at 40-1 with his history of contending here.
Akshay Bhatia (+6600) has two top-30 finishes here in his two trips and was in contention last week at the WM Phoenix Open, where he gained over 6.9 strokes combined off the tee and on approach. His putter is the key as he was ice cold to start the year and in the fall, but looked like he figured it out last week while gaining over 5.5 strokes on the greens. I also like Daniel Berger at +6500 and may add him to the card since I don’t want to miss out on him when he wins again.
DFS plays
Scottie Scheffler ($14,000) gets a $900 discount from last week, with the increased difficulty of this field. Maybe we are getting the discount because of his terrible T3 finish at the WM Phoenix Open. I kid. Fitting his $14,000 into a lineup can be difficult, but it all depends on how much you trust the $6K to low $7K range. If you start your lineup with Scheffler, Ryo Hisatsune and Jacob Bridgeman, you can piece together a nice-looking GPP lineup. I can’t see a way to use Scheffler in cash at this point, but I feel confident building a few single stud-and-duds lineups with him in GPPs.
Rory McIlroy ($11,500) See above.
Viktor Hovland ($9,900) See above.
Justin Rose ($9,400) is coming off a dominant wire-to-wire win at the Farmers Insurance Open and is playing on a course where he has won and contended multiple times. He has a T3 to go with his win and two other top-11 finishes in seven trips. I really like the lineups I’m building with Rose and McIlroy as my highest-priced plays.
Russell Henley ($9,200) has had a bit of a mixed bag here with missed cuts sandwiched around average finishes before finishing T5 here last year with a dominant performance on the greens. He is back to striking the ball really well on his approach shots in 2026, gaining over 9.4 strokes on approach in his first two starts of 2026. I’m going to use him as a pivot from Cantlay and McNealy in some lineups where I have the budget to play with.
Patrick Cantlay ($8,900) See above.
Maverick McNealy ($8,800) See above.
Jason Day ($8,500) has 11 top-13 finishes here in 15 tries. He is a horse for the course who is actually in great form with his approach shots. He has gained over eight strokes combined on approach in his first two tournaments of 2026, with a T2 finish at the American Express to boost his confidence. He will be popular for good reason this week and is priced in an area that should get a lot of attention in cash lineups.
Ben Griffin ($8,400) has three straight top-28 finishes to start the 2026 PGA Tour season, but hasn’t been quite as good off the tee or on approach as he was in 2025. He has struggled here in three starts, which has me on the fence about playing him too much, even if I love the price we are getting him at this week. I will use him as a pivot to Day in some lineups, hoping for a breakout with his approach play.
Robert MacIntyre ($8,200) followed up his win at the Ryder Cup with some excellent play on the DP World Tour in the fall, with a win and two other top-nine finishes. He was excellent at the Sony Open, gaining strokes across the board, but struggled at the American Express. He finished T40 in his first trip here in 2025 while struggling on approach and on the greens. I expect him to make a leap this year into the upper echelon of players, and this could be the first of many big weeks for MacIntyre. I like the price, and if it is cold and windy on the weekend, we could see MacIntyre really liking the conditions.
Daniel Berger ($8,000) was huge for me at the WM Phoenix Open as he closed strong to help some of my lineups. He gained over nine strokes combined off the tee and on approach for the week. Berger won here in 2021 and has never finished outside the top 10 in three trips to Pebble Beach.
Sepp Straka ($7,700) missed the cut at the American Express after struggling on the easy courses. He backed that up with a nice showing at the Phoenix Open and comes to a golf course where he played well in 2025. He finished T7 here last year, gaining over 8.9 strokes from tee to green. He hasn’t figured out these greens yet, but is heavily involved in my lineups.
Ryan Gerard ($7,500) has never teed it up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but we can’t ignore his current form as he has three straight top-two finishes followed by a solid T11 at the Farmers Insurance Open. He has been putting well on poa annua to start the year, so I’m not worried about the greens this week.
Akshay Bhatia ($7,300) See above.
Sam Stevens ($7,000) hasn’t missed a cut since the Bermuda Championship, and he has gained over three strokes tee-to-green in five straight tournaments. He has two straight top-34 finishes here and has been consistent to start 2026.
Jacob Bridgeman ($6,900) is quietly having a really nice start to the season. He has three straight top-18 finishes in 2026 while gaining strokes off the tee and on approach. He has been lights-out on the greens as well. This is his first start at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, so there could be some growing pains, but I can’t ignore his form.
Ryo Hisatsune ($6,800) has gained strokes across the board in two straight tournaments with T2 and T10 finishes. He hasn’t teed it up for an AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and has always been a bit volatile, so I wouldn’t put all my eggs in his basket, but he is definitely in play for me.
Tom Hoge ($6,500) has struggled from tee to green since his top-20 finish at the American Express. He has lost over 14 strokes to the field in his last two tournaments. He won here in 2022 and has three other top-17 finishes in his last five tournaments here.
Ryan Fox ($6,400) was a big part of my lineups that did well last week as the only real salary-saver that made a dent. He is playing his first AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but is such a seasoned golfer that I don’t see that as a problem. He gained strokes across the board last week, and he has gained over five strokes on approach in his last two tournaments combined.
Lucas Glover ($6,300) is making his first start in 2026 after teeing it up in the TGL. He finished T3 here last year and has two other top-11 finishes here during his career, but he has missed a ton of cuts as well before it became a signature event. Glover is a solid ball-striker and a dart throw for me, where I need some salary relief. If he can get a top 30, it could really help a GPP lineup.
One and done
Theegala brought in a decent amount of money in my one-and-dones, but not rostering Hideki Matsuyama and pocketing a little over a million on a course where he dominated may sting down the road. This week, I am circling Justin Rose and Jason Day. Rose is coming off a big win and is playing a golf course he loves, while Day is in a ball-striking groove and playing a golf course where he has contended 11 times. I’m leaning towards Jason Day at this point, but may change my mind late Wednesday night, so make sure to follow me on Twitter if I make a late change.