Pebble Beach Pro Am Betting
The 72nd Pebble Beach Pro Am goes this weekend – defending champion Phil Mickelson arrives on quite a high after an absolute gem at the Waste Management last week. Pebble Beach is the shortest course on the PGA TOUR measuring just 6,816 yards.
2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am
Location: Pebble Beach, California, United States
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links
Date: Feb 7-10, 2013
Total Purse: US $ 6,400,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,152,000 (18% of total purse)
Golf Odds from Bovada
Defending Champion: Phil Mickelson ($1,152,000)
The Pro- Am will be played on three different courses this week with the cut coming after 54 holes – after each of the 156 entries played each course once.
Distance is not the be-all, end-all on this track – greens in regulation and putting are musts for any of the field to have success. Weather may be an issue as well this week but nothing that these season Pros can’t handle.
So let’s break down the contenders for what is one of the more entertaining stops on the PGA TOUR.
The Favorites:
Phil Mickelson 7/1
Phil is a four-time champion of this event and he has two third place finishes here as well to go along with a T4 at the US Open when it was played here in 2010. He also holds the course record at one of the courses that this tournament employs – Spyglass Hill and he is the all-time money leader here too. Last week he was as good as we have ever seen him. Is it any wonder he is the favorite this week? That said, repeating is extremely difficult on TOUR and with the new adjustments in his swing he employed last week, he has to falter a tad sometime doesn’t he?
Dustin Johnson 9/1
As mentioned in the intro – distance is not necessarily the key at this event so Dustin’s advantages are limited just a tad. But he did win here in 2009 and 2010 and he did finish top 10 in 2008 and 2012. Add in a T8 at the 2010 US Open and that is five top 10s in six starts on this track! Incredible. He’s already won this year, he has an incredible ability to shrug off wind and he has a history of success here. Paulina Gretzky is the only factor that could slow him down – she stops many in her tracks!
Brandt Snedeker 12/1
Comes to Pebble Beach as arguably the hottest player on TOUR – 2 straight runner-up finishes but no wins and leading the FedEx Cup. His history in this event is not good – 3 for 5 with no top 20s although he did finish T8 in the 2010 US Open here. I love Sneds – just not this week for some reason.
The Contenders:
Hunter Mahan 20/1
Has played three times this year and has made the cut in all with back-to-back top 16s and he has four top 20s in his last seven appearances in this event – T2 in 2011 being his best. He`s been threatening to break though with top 20s in the last two weeks. I had a feeling about Mahan last week and this week is the same.
Nick Watney 20/1
Had an ugly T43 last week to end a streak of five straight top 20s – putting was his downfall at Scottsdale. He’s 8/9 including eight straight cuts made with two top 10s and another top 25 in this event – a T6 in 2011 being his best result. Watney ranks third on TOUR in GIR which should help him immensely this week.
Padraig Harrington 25/1
Finished a good T9 last week at Scottsdale. He had a T7 in his last trip and has two other top 16s in six starts, with only one missed cut at this event. He was T22 at the 2010 US Open here. Paddy is a sneaky bet to do well here. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Robert Garrigus 28/1
Finished T6 at Torrey Pines two weeks ago and followed that with a nice T11 last week. That`s he’s 3/3 with all inside the top 16 to start the year. His best result here is a T20 although he has made five of six cuts and enters this week in arguably the best form of his career.
Jimmy Walker 35/1
Has finished T9 in his last two appearances here after disappointing final rounds in both. He has made 13 straight cuts on TOUR including three T4s and enters this week with something to prove. If he can put it all together Sunday, Walker could contend.
Tim Clark 40/1
I love Clark`s game and on a course that doesn`t require immense length, he could be a factor. He has made five of seven cuts here – all top 25s and he did record a T12 in the 2010 US Open when it was played here. He come in this week having missed the cut at the Humana and having finished T49 last week but this course is right in his wheel house.
The Sleepers:
Bryce Molder 60/1
Has a good history here despite missing the cut here last year. Prior to that was two straight top 10s after entering the final rounds of those events T3 and T2 respectively. He has recorded two top 25s this season in three starts and heads to one of his favorite tracks on TOUR this week. He ranks fourth on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained-putting.
Steve Marino 66/1
Finished T15 at the Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago and returns to Pebble Beach after taking last year off to rehab a balky knee. Prior to that he had two straight 4th place finishes – solo in 2010 and shared in 2011. Marino is at his best here and could surprise.
Billy Horschel 80/1
Riding a consecutive cuts made streak of 15, second-longest on TOUR. Tied for 10th at the Humana Challenge and shared 11th place at last week’s stop in Scottsdale. Sits 20th on TOUR in adjusted scoring and 10th in the all-around.
The Pick:
It is hard not to like Phil this week but repeating two weeks in a row is a monumental task. So I’m going with Dustin Johnson at 9/1 on a course that doesn’t necessarily suit his game but obviously fits his eye. He has two wins and four top 10s in five appearances here and is my pick to make it three wins.
My sleepers is Steve Marino at 66/1. He could easily have won two times here and he showed well in his leadup to this even with a T15 at Torrey Pines.
