PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM: The world’s most famous pro-am gets underway this week from one of golf’s most hallowed cathedrals, Pebble Beach, a place that occupies a spot on the bucket list of nearly everyone who plays the game. And unlike years past, when this tournament was a laid-back celebrity-spotting event with mediocre field strength, the “new” version of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, unveiled last year, is a big-money Signature Event with no cut, only 80 players in the field, and only two rounds of a pro-am, as opposed to the traditional three.

Another change has been the course rotation — instead of three venues being used it’s now only two, Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, and all the weekend action will take place at Pebble, which is where everyone wants to be anyway.

While some may argue that the changes have taken away a bit of the charm and sterilized a tournament that was once wholly unique, I think most would agree that the new format, with all the best players in the world in attendance and an extra round at Pebble, is the superior option. Last year’s event was shortened to 54 holes due to weather, but with no rain in the forecast for the next four days, we should get the full experience this time around.

The field is major championship quality, with Scottie Scheffler (6.7) and Rory McIlroy (16.5) heading BETDAQ’s Win Market, followed by the likes of Morikawa (17.0), Thomas (18.0), Cantlay (22.0), and Aberg (24.0). The scores should be fairly low, as Pebble is somewhat generous off the tee and the setup will be easy on Thursday and Friday due to pace of play with the amateurs, but Spyglass is a demanding tee-to-green layout, and the poa annua greens at Pebble always give some players fits. We have plenty of course history to go on here, and we’ve seen nearly everyone in the field in action at some point in 2025, so hopefully we can throw some pretty targeted darts. Let’s give these three a try:

WIN MARKET

Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)

Scottie Scheffler (6.7)- Is the goal here to be cute, or to be correct? If it’s the latter, you know the move: it’s Scottie time. The world’s best player was last seen winning December’s Hero World Challenge by six shots, his third win and fourth top-5 in his last five starts. He apparently sustained a hand injury while cooking Christmas dinner and therefore has yet to tee it up in 2025, which I suppose is why we can get him at 6.7 here instead of around 5.0. But as for any supposed “rust” or questions about his form, Shane Lowry reported on Tuesday that Scheffler had been 6-under through six holes on his practice round earlier that day. Sounds about right, doesn’t it? He finished 6th here last year and has yet to win at Pebble, giving him a chance to add another nice pelt to the wall this week. If he doesn’t do it, I’ll be surprised.

Sam Burns (49.0)- Burns is off to a great start this season, finishing T8 at The Sentry and T29 at The American Express. In those eight rounds, the only eight he’s played thus far in 2025, Burns is a combined 37-under and has hit 81% of greens in regulation, putting him 4th on Tour in that particular stat. He’ll look to keep it going this week at a place where he looked pretty comfortable last year, finishing 10th after breaking 70 in all three rounds (Sunday was a washout). Burns is a terrific iron player who will give himself plenty of chances this week, and with the way he’s been rolling it lately — 10th on Tour in strokes gained putting in this young season — he can make birdies in bunches. He’s got a real chance this week and is a nice value at nearly 50/1.

Nick Taylor (112.0)- This is the deep end of the pool for Taylor, a journeyman with five career wins across 285 PGA Tour starts. One of those wins came quite recently, though: earlier this month at the Sony Open — two starts ago for Taylor — he closed with rounds of 65-65 to get into a playoff with Nico Echavarria, whom he then eliminated on the second hole after making back-to-back birdies. He followed that performance up with a T12 at The American Express two weeks ago, posting a four-round total of 17-under 271, so he’s in top form heading into this week and he should be fresh and well-rested after taking last week off. Another one of Taylor’s five career victories came right here, at this tournament, back in 2020, and he’s logged two top-20s here since then, so he’s clearly quite comfortable with the courses as well as the pro-am format. He’s got both the game and the nerve to win this week, making him a must-bet at such an inflated price.


THE ULTRA Weds: REAL MADRID v MANCHESTER CITY
THE STRIKER Weds: ASTON VILLA v LIVERPOOL
DAQMAN Tues: Market Rasen NAP
DAQSTATS Tues: Taunton NAP
THE EDGE Weds: Champions Trophy Pakistan v New Zealand
THE ULTRA Tues: Champions League Preview
bestodds-2024
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