All eyes will be on Scottie Scheffler as he makes his first appearance of 2025 in the second PGA Tour Signature Event of the season, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The Masters champion has not been seen since suffering a freak hand injury on Christmas Day which required surgery, forcing him to withdraw from the Tour's seasonal curtain-raiser at the Sentry as well as the American Express a fortnight ago.
Scheffler's participation remained in doubt as of last week, but he appears set to tee it up in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where an elite 80-player field will compete for a £20million overall purse.
Previously played across three California courses, the Pro-Am was upgraded in status last year and the field reduced in size.
The first two rounds will see the players rotate around Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course before the weekend rounds are staged exclusively at Pebble.
Scheffler, who is 5/1 to add the Pro-Am to his rapidly expanding title collection, is joined in the field by a host of big names including Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Ludvig Aberg. There is, however, no sign of Xander Schauffele, who is still nursing a rib injury.
Justin Thomas to win and each-way - 16/1
A winner of seven PGA Tour titles last year plus the Olympics and the Hero World Challenge, Scheffler will be difficult to beat if he's close to his best, but he is a meticulous operator who has been forced into a disrupted preparation.
Scheffler finished sixth behind Wyndham Clark on his Pebble Beach Pro-Am debut last year, in a week when poor weather saw the tournament reduced to 54 holes.
His laser-like approaches are a huge positive at the iconic Monterey Peninsula venue, which is renowned for its small greens.
However, if Scheffler has been unable to practice fully, he could be rustier than his rivals, almost all of whom have made at least one 2025 appearance, with the exception of 2017 champion Jordan Spieth, who is returning after wrist surgery.
With iron play so important at Pebble Beach, this looks like an excellent opportunity for Justin Thomas to return to winning ways, having gone close on a number of occasions in recent weeks.
Last year was one of struggle for Thomas, who never really looked at his best, but he found form in the Zozo Championship in October, finishing second, then he followed up with third behind Scheffler at the Hero World Challenge.
After a mediocre 2025 reappearance in the Sentry, Thomas was a runner-up again at the American Express, where he putted better than he has for some time.
He was sixth in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am a year ago and he looks an obvious contender with fewer questions to answer than his main rivals.
Maverick McNealy to win and each-way - 45/1
It's arguable that no player in this field knows Pebble Beach Golf Links like Maverick McNealy, who was brought up next to the property and played the main course for the first time on his 16th birthday.
McNealy has an understandable affinity for the Pro-Am and has already come close to winning it on more than one occasion, finishing fifth in 2020 and second the following season.
This time around, he returns as a PGA Tour champion, having bagged a maiden success at the RSM Classic in November. He was eighth at the Sentry on his subsequent start and can bounce back from a mediocre fortnight by contending again this week.
Tom Hoge to win and each-way - 75/1
A former champion and top-class iron player catches the eye in the shape of Tom Hoge, who held off Spieth to win the Pro-Am in 2022 and who was one of a host of players who shared sixth spot last season.
Hoge has been hitting his approaches with his trademark precision in recent weeks.
He returned to action with a top-ten finish in the Sentry and there was a lot to like about his 29th-place finish at the AmEx last time out, when only a cold putter prevented him from contending.
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Scottie Scheffler | |
Rory McIlroy | |
Collin Morikawa | |
Justin Thomas | |
Ludvig Aberg | |
Patrick Cantlay | |
Hideki Matsuyama | |
Sungjae Im | |
Jason Day | |
Tommy Fleetwood |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.