AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

I wish that somebody could explain to me why on earth the PGA Tour thought that it was a good idea to designate the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as one of its Signature Events. 

This is the tournament that sees the world’s best professionals sharing the fairways with a host of celebrities - and rounds that routinely take the thick end of six hours. And the powers-that-be will be hoping that this year’s event manages to go the distance - it was reduced to 54 holes 12 months ago because of adverse weather conditions.

The final round was abandoned because of bad weather and safety concerns, with 54-hole leader Wyndham Clark declared the winner.

The round had already been moved to the Monday due to strong winds and rain. Conditions were forecast to improve but officials decided to abandon the event out of an "abundance of caution" after talks with emergency authorities.

Former US Open champion Clark held a one-shot lead after three rounds on 17 under. The American shot a course-record 60 on Saturday to lead from Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, with France's Matthieu Pavon two shots further back.

Clark said: "It's pretty surreal right now. It's maybe not the way you dream of winning. With that said, a lot of us yesterday had - not that we knew - but we definitely had this outside shot and [were] thinking that maybe this is our last round."

The tournament will once again boast an incredibly strong field, with Scottie Scheffler making his return to action after recovering from a hand injury. 

He was last seen at the Hero World Challenge in December - a tournament he won to add to his seven PGA Tour victories and success at the Olympic Games in Paris. The other 79 players in the field have every reason to be afraid - to be very afraid.

Rory McIlroy will also be making his 2025 PGA Tour bow. It is a measure of McIlroy’s ability that he managed to contend at the Dubai Desert Classic despite being well short of his best. The Northern Irishman has made it clear that he will be reducing his playing schedule in 2025 after teeing it up 27 times last season. 

He won the Dubai Desert Classic, the Zurich Classic in partnership with Shane Lowry and the DP World Tour Championship, claiming the Race to Dubai for a fifth time. He also finished second at the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship and suffered heartbreak when missing out on the US Open by a single stroke. He will be hoping that playing fewer events will help him as he strives to end a major drought that now extends to 11 long and frustrating years.

He will be joined by Jordan Spieth in his first outing since recovering from wrist surgery. This is a big year for Spieth, who had a poor 2024 and has tumbled down the world rankings. He is now 77th.

Like McIlroy, Spieth needs just one more major to complete the career grand slam. Only the US PGA is missing from his CV. He won The Masters and US Open in 2015 and The Open in 2017. He was also runner-up at the US PGA in 2015. But those successes are starting to feel like a long time ago.

After winning The Open he had to wait until 2021 for his next victory, at the Texas Open. He also added the 2022 RBC Heritage but there has been nothing since then.

He spent much of last year playing in pain and finally decided to go under the knife when he failed to make the Tour Championship.

He said: "I had some really bad habits for a long time. Whether it was something that would have happened anyway or whether anything in my wrist was causing me to not be able to get into certain positions, I don't have that issue now. Having to take three months off swinging forces you to come back and be wet concrete."

He first injured his wrist in May 2023 but did not have surgery until August last year. Spieth said he went nearly 12 weeks before he could hit balls, and then another month before he played his first round.

"I’m not calling this swing changes," he said. "These are just a reset into some of the stuff I did that was my DNA, that was super advantageous that I had gotten away from for one reason or another. I don't want to put too much pressure on a hot start. I just want to get back into a rhythm. This is by far the longest I've gone between tournament rounds."

Jason Day has also had his injury problems but seems to have put them behind him. He is a wonderful ball striker and remains a great putter. And he has shown some fine early-season form.

Aberg will be hoping to go one better than last year. There are many who believe that had the tournament gone the distance then he would have caught Clark. The Swede is a generational talent but it is about time that he added to his one PGA Tour victory. He has no weaknesses whatsoever, and many believe that he has the game to win a major this year. Remember that he finished second at The Masters behind the imperious Scheffler on what was his first ever appearance in any major. Things like that are not supposed to happen, are they?

I am expecting a big year from double major champion Collin Morikawa. Although he failed to add to his six PGA Tour titles in 2024 he did everything but win. He finished second at both The Memorial and the Tour Championship, as well as ending The Masters tied third, tied fourth at the US PGA, tied 14th at the US Open and tied 16th at The Open. He ended the year with $8.3m in prize money and finished second in the FedEx Cup.

And he kicked off 2025 by finishing second at The Sentry, where he ended the week on 32 under par.

Without wanting to sound like a stuck record, there is no better iron player on the planet than the American. If he has a weakness it is on the greens. When he turns up anywhere and putts well then he is a golfer who takes some beating.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2016 by Vaughn Taylor, in 2017 by Jordan Spieth, in 2018 by Ted Potter, in 2019 by Phil Mickelson, in 2020 by Nick Taylor, in 2021 by Daniel Berger, in 2022 by Tom Hoge, in 2023 by Justin Rose and last year by Wyndham Clark.

The Courses:

Pebble Beach is an iconic layout that measures a little over 6,800 yards and is a par 72. It features a series of stunning holes at which the Pacific Ocean comes into play. The 18th hole is one of the most famous in the game. Spyglass Hill is also a par 72, measuring just over 7,000 yards.

Form Guide:

All eyes will be on Scottie Scheffler after his stellar 2024. But Rory McIlroy, who proved in Dubai that he can contend even when not at his best, will hope to have something to say about that. He will be looking to start his PGA Tour season with a victory.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $20m, with $3.6m going to the winner along with 700 FedEx Cup points (regular events award 500 points).

How to Watch:

Thursday, January 30, Friday, January 31, 4.45pm, Sky Sports Golf; Saturday, February 1, 4.30pm, Sky Sports Golf; Sunday, February 2, Sky Sports Golf, 4pm.

To Win:

Scottie Scheffler. Looking to carry on where he left off

Each Way:

Rory McIlroy. Looking to hole some 

Each Way:

Collin Morikawa. Wondrous iron player

Five Players to Follow:

Scottie Scheffler. Here we go again

Rory McIlroy. A big crowd favourite

Collin Morikawa, Back to his best

Tommy Fleetwood. Still looking for the elusive PGA Tour win

Wyndham Clark. Could do with a decent week