The PGA Tour stays in California this week for the second signature event of 2025 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the event gives golf fans their first look of the year at Scottie Scheffler.
As is usual these days, the World No. 1 goes off as big favorite in the event where he finished sixth last year, but there are concerns because this is his first appearance since he severely cut his hand while preparing his Christmas dinner.
Rory McIlroy will have his supporters after he followed his DP World Tour Championship win with a tie for fourth place at the Dubai Desert Classic, but he has only tasted limited success at Pebble Beach, finishing 66th last year and missing the cut in both of his appearances before that.
The Pro-Am part of the tournament provides a different aspect to the event, as does the fact that the first two rounds are shared with the nearby Spyglass Hill, but the need for solid ball-striking to small targets will be a primary concern.
But with questions about the leading two golfers in the market, it looks to be an open contest and there is some decent value to be had further down the list.
It seems unbelievable that a player of Patrick Cantlay’s quality has not had a victory since the BMW Championship in August 2022, but the PGA Tour’s perennial bridesmaid has a great chance to put that right this week.
While the trophies have eluded him lately, he has remained the model of consistency by gaining top-20 finishes in his last eight PGA Tour regular events - he was 25th at the Open Championship - and he has knocked at the door plenty of times without getting his hand on the trophy.
He was 11th last year when weather forced the tournament to be settled after three rounds, and he was third and fourth in his two preceding performances. Cantlay has started this year by finishing 15th at The Sentry in Kapalua and then fifth in his most recent outing at the American Express.
Cantlay has the ball-striking ability to threaten this week and could finally break his streak without a trophy.
Two-time Major champion Justin Thomas has had up-and-down form in recent years, but the early 2025 signs have been encouraging for the man from Kentucky.
Thomas had an underwhelming 2024 but he ended it with a couple of decent results after he was second at the Zozo Championship and then finished third in a competitive Hero World Challenge field.
His new year sparked into life at the Sentry when his closing 63 was the best round of the final day at the Plantation Course, and he found Sepp Straka to be the only better player when he was at the American Express last time out.
Thomas finished third in that tournament last year before going on to be sixth at Pebble Beach in his following effort, so the omens are there for us to witness another strong performance.
Canadian Nick Taylor looks a lively outsider this week at a venue where he triumphed five years ago, even though Pebble Beach was not a signature event at that time.
That four-shot success should give him plenty of confidence and he has already been in the winner’s circle this year after seeing off Nicolas Echavarria in a playoff at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
That success was his first top-20 finish in 17 tournaments. It boosted his confidence as he finished 12th next time out at the American Express when his 65 at La Quinta’s Stadium Course was the best effort of the opening day, so he'll feel confident heading to a course where he has previously triumphed.
Scottie Scheffler | +525 |
Rory McIlroy | +1300 |
Collin Morikawa | +1500 |
Justin Thomas | +1700 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1700 |
Patrick Cantlay | +1900 |
Hideki Matsuyama | +2700 |
Sungjae Im | +3000 |
Jason Day | +3500 |
Sam Burns | +3500 |
Tommy Fleetwood | +3500 |
Viktor Hovland | +5000 |
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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.