AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am preview: Putting prowess a key Beau-nus for Hossler

The PGA Tour heads to one of its most iconic locations this week, Pebble Beach. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am takes place over two different courses, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.

The pros will play one round on each of the two courses over Thursday and Friday, before taking on another two rounds at Pebble Beach Golf Links at the weekend.

With no cut, every player will play all four rounds, meaning the competition will be over for no one until their final putt sinks.

Last week our 300/1 selection, Charley Hoffman, was cruising nicely towards the upper realms of the leaderboard, before a quadruple bogey, followed by a bogey left him in the mire at the end of round three.

Below we have two selections for this week’s tournament, whom we hope will be able to keep it together for all 72 holes this time around.

Jordan Spieth 16/1

Jordan Spieth is a man who knows how to win on the PGA Tour, having done so 13 times since his pro debut back in 2012. Not only does he have a wealth of winning experience across the world, but he has claimed victory at this very tournament, back in 2017.

Spieth has had a quiet start to 2024, only playing once so far as he eases himself back into the swing of things following an injury-ridden 2023. Despite only playing once, he already has a T3 finish under his belt having finished just two shots behind Chris Kirk at The Sentry earlier this month.

This is yet another tournament where course experience will be key and Spieth has it in abundance, having competed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 11 times, recording one win, as well as a second, third, and fourth-place finish, along with a seventh and ninth to make it six top ten finishes in total.

As far as the tools required to win here are concerned, Spieth has them all. Playing well off the tee is not a top priority, luckily for Spieth, as the American ranks down at 110th for stokes gained off the tee.

It is getting on the green and into the hole which really counts, and Spieth is capable of doing both of those things at a high level. He ranks seventh on the Tour for stokes gained putting and fourth for Greens in Regulation percentage.

For someone who has just one piece of form to go off this season, Spieth is a relatively short-priced 16/1 here, but no price is too short should he lift the trophy on Sunday evening, and he has as good a chance at doing just that as anybody else in the field.

Beau Hossler 50/1

Our outsider pick for this week comes in the form of three-time PGA Tour runner-up Beau Hossler, with the American seeking his first win on the Tour at a course he is all too familiar with.

As previously stated, course form is a key factor to consider here, but so are the elements that actually reside on the course itself. The greens at both courses consist of Poa Annua grass, the same as at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, which could be key to going well at this tournament.

Hossler is an absolute wizard with the putter, in-fact he’s the third best on the tour when it comes to strokes gained with the flatstick. He has attempted 29 putts from within three feet so far this year, making all 29, the best conversion rate on the Tour.

Last week, on the Poa Annua greens of Torrey Pines, Hossler gained almost five strokes on the rest of the field with just the putter, ranking him third overall for putting strokes gained at the tournament.

The fact that in the past 15 years, all but two winners have ranked 15th or better for their putting average, shows just how crucial a hot flatstick can be – Hossler’s could be deemed to be on fire right now.

At 50/1, Hossler would fit the trend of previous winners here, with most sitting above the 35/1 range – there are only two exceptions to that rule in the past eight years, one being none other than Jordan Spieth. But back to Beau, he has no problem hitting greens in regulation, doing so at a rate of 72.22% at the Farmers Insurance Open, whilst also gaining two strokes on the field for his work around the green.

All-in-all, Hossler looks good value at 50/1 in that he has all of the key ingredients to cook up a solid effort at Pebble Beach this week.