AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links – 2026 Preview

The PGA Tour returns to California’s Pacific Coast, heading to the Monterey Bay Peninsula for the season’s first official Signature Event, contested across the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.

Two years ago, the tournament introduced a series of structural changes that remain in place this year. The field was reduced to 80 players, with competition now split between just two courses. The first 36 holes are contested Thursday and Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill, with each PGA Tour professional paired alongside an amateur. There is no cut, and the final two rounds are played exclusively by the pros at Pebble Beach.

Though Spyglass is slightly more protected by trees, both courses sit exposed along the Pacific Coast, where rapidly changing weather can play a significant role in shaping the tournament. Beyond the coastal elements, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill share several key similarities. Each ranks among the shortest courses on the PGA Tour at under 7,100 yards, and both feature some of the smallest greens on Tour. Pebble Beach, in particular, has the smallest greens, averaging just 3,500 square feet.

Agronomically, the courses are identical, with Poa annua and ryegrass blends in the fairways and rough, and pure Poa annua greens. While Spyglass Hill is scenic in its own right, Pebble Beach is the crown jewel of this tournament. The way the jagged coastline meets the cliffs is beyond words. It truly is the greatest meeting of land and sea in American golf. Said Jack Nicklaus, “If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play at Pebble Beach. I loved this course from the first time I saw it. It’s possibly the best in the world.”

A second-shot course if there ever was one, players will be provided with a challenging test of patience, pitching wedges, and Poa putting. For the golfers who have played the last couple of weeks in Torrey Pines and Scottsdale, the emphasis shifts from distance and long-iron play to short-iron precision on very difficult green complexes.

Since 2010, winning scores have averaged 19-under par. Having hosted this event since 1947, past winners are a historical “who’s who” of golf including Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper, Ken Venturi, Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, and last year, Rory McIlroy.

The Field

It’s the strongest field of the year thus far with 27 of the top 30-ranked golfers in the world in attendance. The only players missing are Justin Thomas (injury), Patrick Reed (ineligible), and Bryson DeChambeau (LIV).

Rory McIlroy arrives for his first PGA event of the year, hoping to repeat as champion at Pebble Beach and claim the first signature event of the season. World No. 4 Tommy Fleetwood is also making his state-side debut fresh off his 2025 FedExCup title.

Both will have their work cut out for them as Scottie Scheffler comes in as the overwhelming favorite (+300) once again, having already proven he is in championship form by recently capturing the American Express and finishing T3 in Scottsdale last week.

Pebble Beach Course History

Pebble Beach Golf Links was built by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant during the golden age of golf course architecture in 1919. When it opened for play on February 22nd, it measured slightly over 6,000 yards. “The big idea was to get as many holes as possible along the bay,” Neville said. “Nature had intended it to be nothing else but a golf links.”

The San Francisco Chronicle said the course was opened “somewhat prematurely.” At a time when golf balls cost more than the greens fee, the course was deemed too difficult. The California Golf Association, however, did not believe the course suitable to host even the state amateur. Improvements were continually made over the next decade, culminating with a renovation to prepare Pebble Beach to host the 1929 U.S. Amateur, which was the first of the United States Golf Association’s major championships to be held west of the Mississippi.

Neville’s and Grant’s routing provided the framework for today’s course, but H. Chandler Egan is most responsible for how the course plays today. In 1928, he extensively revised the layout by replacing 16 of the 18 greens and completely reconfigured the bunkering on the course bringing much more strategy into play. Other architects who have helped to renovate the course in different ways include Alistair MacKenzie, Robert Hunter, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus (who created the new 5th hole in 1998).

The Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was originally called the Bing Crosby Pro-Am, and it has been held at Pebble Beach Golf Links every year since 1947. This year’s tournament notwithstanding, this event has typically had a trio of courses in play for the week. Along with Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula – Cypress Point and Poppy Hills have also been utilized in years past. Along with all of the legendary golfers who have walked its fairways, it has hosted six U.S. Opens and one PGA Championship.

Recent changes at Pebble Beach include a rebuilt 6th green which was expanded by 1,200 square feet providing more pin locations. 50+ trees were also planted on the course. At Spyglass Hill, the No. 15 green complex was renovated last spring, increasing the green by roughly 1,000 sq. ft. and nearly doubling the pinnable area. The new design brings the back bunkers and pond more into play. Also, 50 trees (mainly oaks with a couple of cypress) were planted outside of and between holes.

Finish Position and Strokes Gained History at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill (2016-2025)

This includes the average finish position and Strokes Gained per round. Players are sorted by SG: Total. Pebble Beach is the 26th most predictive course on the PGA Tour. Data also includes the 2019 U.S. Open held here.

Pebble Beach Golf Links – Course Features

Pebble Beach is perhaps the most visually mesmerizing course in the world. It hugs the rugged California coastline along the cliffs of the Monterey Peninsula with wide open views of Carmel Bay and the Pacific Ocean. As you would expect, coastal winds are one of the course’s main defenses. In 2023, winds were a factor for every round with gusts over 30 mph each day. High winds along with wet course conditions forced a rare Monday finish. And then 2024’s storm forced the tournament to end after 54 holes. Overall, Pebble Beach rates as the 17th easiest course on Tour averaging -1.22 strokes per round since 2021.

Unlike the U.S. Opens contested at Pebble Beach, the course is typically set up with generous fairways and non-penal rough to accommodate the pro-am format and keep pace of play moving. However, with the event now designated as a Signature Event and featuring a significantly stronger field, the rough has been allowed to grow longer than in past years, measuring approximately 2.5 to 3 inches.

As for the course itself, Pebble Beach is a par 72 that measures just 6,989 yards, making it the second-shortest track on the PGA Tour. Despite its length, it features more bunkers than any course on Tour, with 118 in total, many of which surround the greens and present a unique challenge. From an agronomic standpoint, the fairways and rough are a blend of Poa annua and ryegrass, while the greens are the famously bumpy West Coast Poa annua.

One of the primary reasons this classic course has remained such a stern test over time is its ingenious use of the natural slopes that traverse the property. Many of the fairways tilt toward the ocean and run across the line of play, forcing players to hit approach shots from uneven lies, often with the ball above or below their feet. That dynamic only heightens the difficulty of controlling distance and trajectory into Pebble Beach’s diminutive greens.

Following a manageable opening seven holes, where four holes play under par, the course quickly bares its teeth with three of the most demanding and visually stunning par 4s in the game. This front-nine stretch is often regarded as the finest sequence of holes in golf. Any hopes of easing off are quickly dashed on the back nine, where seven holes play over par. Pebble Beach’s par 4s and par 5s collectively rank as the third-shortest group on the PGA Tour, averaging just 443 yards per hole.

Staying true to that theme, three of the par 5s measure under 545 yards, while six par 4s come in under 400 yards. Despite the modest yardage, the par 5s are anything but easy. The 14th hole consistently plays over par and ranks among the most challenging par 5s on Tour, climbing uphill away from the water before bending sharply to the right. The closing 18th offers a classic risk-reward finish, tempting players to challenge Stillwater Cove along the coastline.  

Spyglass Hill – Course Features

 

Often overshadowed by Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill is rated as the 11th-best public golf course in the U.S. by Golf Digest and is one of the most underrated courses in America. Designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1966, it is operated by the Pebble Beach Company and has been in the rotation for this event since 1967.

Spyglass Hill is a 7,071-yard par 72 course that most players agree is the more difficult test when conditions are calm. It averages -0.33 strokes per round which makes it the 14th toughest annual course. It is rated one of the most challenging courses in the world from the Championship tees, boasting a course rating of 75.5 and a slope rating of 147. Many a golfer has described Spyglass as relentless and a course that demands high-quality golf shots. When the wind kicks up, however, it tends to play slightly easier than Pebble Beach because it is more tree-lined and sheltered from the coastal breezes.

The first five holes are exposed to the coastline and are among the most beautiful in the area. Holes 6-18 are like stepping onto an entirely different course as they turn inland and wind through the Del Monte forest. Robert Trent Jones said that the opening coastal holes through dunes are supposed to bring memories of Pine Valley, while the rest were designed to mimic Augusta National.

Holes often contain dramatic elevation changes with a good number of them playing uphill with fairways substantially tilted in different directions. This makes Spyglass play longer than its measured yardage. Three of the par 3s play under 180 yards while four par 4s play under 400 yards. The four par 5s have an average birdie or better rate of 36% and are by far the four easiest holes on the course.

The biggest difference between Spyglass and Pebble Beach is that distance off the tee is a much more predictive measurement of success at Spyglass than it is at Pebble. Along with the sloping terrain, the 13 forested holes play very straight with few doglegs. The fairways also don’t bottleneck in as much as they do at Pebble Beach to force a layup. With straighter holes, golfers can swing away with driver at Spyglass much more than they can at Pebble Beach.

That being said, the average fairway width is much more narrow at only 26 yards (3rd narrowest on Tour). The rough has also been increased to 3″ inches. These facts, combined with small greens at an average of 5,000 square feet per hole make Spyglass Hill one of the most stringent ball-striking challenges you can find.

True to its Robert Trent Jones Sr. roots, Spyglass Hill defends its elevated greens with an imposing collection of large, deep bunkers, many of them set well below the putting surfaces. Escaping these hazards cleanly is a demanding task and a key test of short-game skill.

The greens at Spyglass Hill are peppered with “sucker pins” in challenging locations. Players who aim for the center and allow the ball to feed toward the hole generally fare better than those trying to attack the flag directly. While the greens lack massive undulations, subtle ridges and tiers create tricky breaks, making many putts difficult to read and execute.

Strokes Gained Analysis

Off the Tee

 

With its forced layups and tight angles, Pebble Beach rewards precision over power, making it perhaps the ultimate “less-than-driver” course. Since 2021, players have relied on their driver for just 46% of tee shots, and the average driving distance at the course is a modest 274 yards, well below the Tour norm of 292. Long hitters see little advantage, although last year the tournament recorded its highest driver usage ever at 55%, highlighted by Rory McIlroy, who launched nearly a third of his drives over 320 yards by taking lines off the tee that have rarely been seen here.

Accuracy off the tee isn’t as crucial at Pebble Beach, thanks to wide fairways and forgiving rough. Players often club down, resulting in a driving accuracy of roughly 71%. Though fairway bunkers pepper the course and the ocean waits beyond the cliffs, careful positioning on the tee keeps most players safely clear of trouble.

Approach

 

Overall, Pebble Beach has the smallest greens on Tour at an average of only 3,500 square feet compared to the average of 6,100. Players who can find the green and get close to the pin should create the most birdie opportunities on the tricky Poa surfaces. On average, over 46% of approach shots are under 150 yards. Expect wedges galore this week. Jordan Spieth summed it up best by calling it “a dart-throwing contest to see who can make the most putts”.

With wide fairways and non-penal rough making off-the-tee impact minimal, players can separate from the field with pinpoint accuracy on approach shots. This is much easier said than done. Besides facing many sidehill lies, many of the greens are also elevated. All of these factors combined, along with the effects of the wind, make Pebble Beach the sixth toughest annual ShotLink-measured course in which to gain strokes on approach.

Those greens are one reason Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Championship winner, called Pebble Beach “one of the most intimidating golf courses I’ve ever played.” “You get caught up in the views so easily,” he said, “and all of a sudden you’ve got all of these difficult shots into greens that look like the size of dimes.”

Around the Greens and Putting

 

Scrambling is a key factor at Pebble Beach, with missed greens coming from both the rough and the course’s tricky greenside bunkers. Fortunately, the course offers plenty of scoring opportunities around the green, as chipping from short grass and fringe areas is usually forgiving.

The Poa annua greens at Pebble Beach are notoriously difficult inside 15 feet, ranking among the five toughest on Tour. Three-putts are 26% more common than average, thanks to the tricky breaks and subtle slopes. Even though they run slower at roughly 10.5 on the stimpmeter, elite putting is a must for anyone looking to contend here.

Most Important Stats For Success at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

*In order of importance

• SG: APP
• SG: Putting (Poa)
• SG: Coastal Courses
• Proximity 75-150 yds
• SG: ARG/Scrambling
• Good Drive %
• SG: Short Courses
• Par 5 Scoring
• BoB%
• Bogey Avoidance

Unique Rabbit Hole Filters

• Course Region: West
• Scoring Conditions: Average
• Course Length: Short/Very Short
• Course Type: Coastal
• Field Size: Small Field
• Event Season: West Coast
• Greens Surface: Poa
• Bunkers #: High
• Greens Size: Small
• OTT Club Type: Less Than Driver
• Gain Approach: Very Difficult
• Sand Saves: Difficult
• Gain Putting: Very Difficult
• Putting Inside 15 ft: Difficult
• 3-Putt AVD: Difficult

Weather Forecast – Pebble Beach, CA