PGA best bets for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
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The PGA Tour continues Thursday at the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The tournament will feature a unique setup with three different golf courses. The Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Monterey Peninsula Country Club will host the first three rounds of action before finishing up on Sunday at Pebble Beach.
Daniel Berger will return to Pebble Beach to defend his crown, while 2017 champion Jordan Spieth joins a number of former event winners as part of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am field.
Which players are the favorites this time around? Who offers good odds? And what props are worthwhile?
Betting analysts Chris Fallica and Anita Marks offer their best bets.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise noted.
Bets to win
Patrick Cantlay
Fallica's pick: To win (+750); top-10 finish (+100)Captain obvious, yes, but only ten of the top 50 players in the World Ranking are present. Cantlay finished three back of Berger last year and has started 2022 with a pair of Top 10 finishes. There's little reason to expect he will not be there again come Sunday.
Jason Day
Anita's pick: To win (+2200); top-5 finish (+450); top-10 (+225); top Australian (+125)Seven of the last 11 winners finished in the top 10 or better in one of their previous two starts. Day, who had a T-3 at the Farmers last weekend, checks that box!
Day comes in hot after a great performance last Saturday at Torrey Pines. No one plays Spyglass or MPCC better than Day, and he is one of the best putters on poa. Short courses with lots of wind in his wheelhouse.
Maverick McNealy
Anita's pick: To win (25-1); top-5 finish (+500); top-10 finish (+300)McNealy is off to a great season (making the cut in 7-of-8 events). He leads the field in SG putting on poa and finished here in the top 5 his last 2 starts. This could be the year he becomes a Pebble Prince!
Mackenzie Hughes
Fallica's pick: To win (+4000); top-10 finish (+450)The other theory when there is a field devoid of top players is to throw a dart at a few long shots. Hughes is that for me. He missed the cut last week because of a Marshal's error and his lack of length off the tee shouldn't be an issue here. He's Top 20 in SG: Total, SG: Around the Green and SG: Putting in the early going and posted a couple of Top 5 finishes in the wraparound portion of the schedule. Yes, he's failed to make the cut in three of his four trips here, but the other was a T-10 and his game has been in a better place than in the past.
Props
Daniel Berger
Fallica's pick: Top-10 finish (+140)The defending champ loves it here with a T-5 and T-10 in his other two appearances. Berger started the year with a T-5 at Kapalua and T-20 at Torrey. Given his form (3rd in SG: tee-to-green) and course history, it seems like a great opportunity to double your money.
Maverick McNealy
Fallica's pick: Top-10 finish (+300)The Stanford grad is in the Top 20 on Tour in SG: Total and has shown an affinity for Pebble Beach with consecutive Top 5 finishes.
Kevin Streelman
Fallica's pick: Top-10 finish (+400); Top-20 finish (+190)Streelman is a favorite for this course! Six straight Top 20 finishes here with three Top 10s in that run. His last Top 20 came in August but his history here means more and he will look for another fringe finish.
Justin Rose
Anita's pick: Top-20 finish (+125)Rose blooms on the West Coast swing! He comes in hot after finishing in the top 10 last weekend at the Farmers. His iron play (5th in SG on approach at Torrey Pines) will keep him in contention all weekend. He passed up on playing in the Middle -- to strut his stuff on the West Coast and get a jump start on FedEx points -- because he knows he plays so well here.
Jordan Spieth
Anita's pick: Top-20 finish (+110)Spieth shines at Pebble Beach and if he had a better start to the season I may have picked him to win.
Maybe becoming a new father has something to do with his early struggles, but he has such great success on this coastline as a former winner and a top-3 finish last year. I will place money that he at least finishes in the top 20, one of the safest bets this week.
Tom Hoge
Anita's pick: Top-40 finish (+110)Since 2000, each winner at Pebble Beach has had a T-16 or better finish in one or more of their previous starts. Hoge checks that box almost winning at the American Express. Hoge had a T-12 here last year, and is great from 100 to 125 out.
Troy Merritt
Anita's pick: Top 40 finishMerritt has finished in the top 25 his past three starts at Pebble Beach. He knows these fairways like the back of his hand and is a great putter on poa and on approach from 150 to 200 out.
Michael Thompson
Anita's pick: Top-40 finish (+130)Thompson is dialed in with his iron play and gained over 6 strokes on approach at the Sony Open, where he finished T-5. He had a T-11 at Torrey Pines last week and has a better fit at Pebble Beach without needing the length off the tee.
