- Defending champion Vaughn Taylor returns to scenic Pebble Beach to defend his title. (Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
• FIELD: Complete field for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
• COURSE: Pebble Beach Golf Links, 6,816 yards, par 72. Few courses provide such a match of fairways and ocean vistas, and no list of America’s best courses would be valid without Pebble Beach at or near the top. Using the spectacular Carmel Bay as a backdrop, amateurs Jack Neville and Douglas Grant were meticulous in building as many holes as possible along the craggy Pacific coastline. Pebble Beach hosted its first U.S. Amateur in 1929, and the PGA TOUR has made it a regular stop since 1947. It wasn't until 1972, that the U.S. Open became its first professional major. Four more Opens have followed, along with the 1977 PGA Championship. Spyglass Hill GC (6,953/72) and Monterey Peninsula CC’s Shore course (6,958/71) also are used in the first three days of pro-am play.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• CHARITY: Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which has handed out some $140 million in charitable contributions since the Pro-Am’s 1937 start. Last year, the tournament distributed $10.8 million to more than 250 organizations.
• FIELD WATCH: World No. 1 Jason Day and No. 3 Dustin Johnson, both seeking bouncebacks after missing the cut at Torrey Pines, head a lineup boasting eight of the top 25 players in the current world rankings. … Four of those are ranked among the top 10, with Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed rounding out that foursome. … Phil Mickelson, a four-time champion, is back for his 22nd appearance in the tournament. He's missed only once, when a conflict with his children’s school break arose two years ago. … Hall of Famers Ernie Els and Vijay Singh also return to the Monterey Peninsula.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 265, Brandt Snedeker (2015).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Sung Kang at Monterey Peninsula (2nd round, 2016). Pebble Beach record: 62, Tom Kite (3rd round, 1983), David Duval (3rd round, 1997). Spyglass Hill record: 62, Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2005), Luke Donald (1st round, 2006).
• LAST YEAR: Vaughn Taylor, who didn't get into the field until Monday of tournament week, threw a jolt into the tournament and his own career when he chased down Phil Mickelson for his first victory in a decade. Starting the day six shots off Mickelson's lead, Taylor blistered Pebble Beach with a 7-under-par 65 that included four straight birdies on the back nine. Even so, he wasn't sure it'd be enough when Mickelson stood over a 5-foot birdie putt. But Mickelson, eyeing a record-tying fifth Pebble Beach victory, was left in shock when the putt didn't fall. Taylor was no less shocked, three years since last holding a full PGA TOUR card and last seen toiling on the Web.com Tour. It was just 10 days before Pebble Beach, in fact, that he became so sick in Colombia that he withdrew from that event and flew back in hopes of getting into the Pebble Beach field.
• STORYLINES: Mickelson again tries to join Mark O’Meara atop the overall list with a fifth Pebble Beach victory, which also would be Lefty’s 20th in a West Coast Swing event. … Day and Johnson seek a return to form at Pebble Beach, two weeks after getting an early exit at the Farmers Insurance Open. Neither carded a round better than 72 on either of the Torrey Pines courses. … Brandt Snedeker, winner in 2013 and again in '15, hopes the odd-year magic extends into 2017. He was in the mix at Torrey Pines until dropping back with a final-round 73.
• SHORT CHIPS: Bill Murray, who left last year’s Pro-Am participation in limbo until just before tournament week, is locked in again this time. Hand surgery put last year’s entry in doubt until late. … Peyton Manning makes his second Pro-Am visit, three years after his first. Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith round out a foursome of QBs, with Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald also around to catch any passes. … Other celebs: Musicians Justin Timberlake, Toby Keith, Jake Owen, Huey Lewis and Kenny G, actors Mark Wahlberg, Andy Garcia and Ray Romano, pro surfer Kelly Slater. … Taylor became just the 10th man to capture both individual and pro-am titles in the same year, first since Brandt Snedeker in 2013.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS).
• PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Sunday, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Click here to subscribe to PGA TOUR LIVE.
• RADIO: Thursday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. ET. Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
The PGSF rolls into Pebble , coming off a week that saw every player pick the winner. ( We needed it after the previous 2 weeks)
ktnole comes out and in his first week of the new season captures a win ,
congratulations again ktnole
good luck to everyone this week
