AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Expert Picks

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
When: February 11^th -14^th
Where: Pebble Beach Golf Links Monterey Peninsula Country Club Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, CA
2015 Winner: Brandt Snedeker (-22)

The format of this will go: I will select golfers based on the Yahoo format. I will select one A golfer, 2 B golfers and 1 C golfer that I think will do well as well as one dark horse pick, this should space out the selections and provide a vast field to select from for anyone who is in a format where you are limited to 10 starts per year.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course: Created by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1966, this course is thematic off the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel: Treasure Island. This course mixes sandy dunes with pines and elevated greens.  The first five holes run along the Pacific with the bunkers spread throughout. The last 13 require tactful navigation through the trees requiring accurate shows and good approaches to the greens.

A:
Jordan Spieth. It's official, the first Jordan Spieth pick of the year. He has played in three tournaments and is proving that his success is no fluke. He has a 7^th place finish (World Golf Championships), 4^th place (Hero World Challenge and finished 1^st at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He's second on the tour in hitting the green on approach shots, that will come in handy here. He finished 22^nd here in 2013, 4^th in 2014, and 7^th in 2015. There will be heavy pressure but somehow he seems to excel under those circumstances.

B:
Brandt Snedeker. Brandt won here last year and 2013. He has finished in the top 3 in 4 of the last 5 tournaments, no one on the tour is hitting the ball better right now.

Jimmy Walker. Jimmy has top 15 finishes over the last 4 straight tournaments. He finished 3^rd here in 2013, won here in 2014 and 21^st in 2015. Jimmy, much like Patrick Reed has a history of starting off years strong. He is driving the ball well and approaching the green very well right now. Much of the heavy pressure will be focused elsewhere so if Jimmy can play his game he can surprise the crowd with a solid finish here.

C:
David Lingmirth . I wanted to put Aaron Baddeley in this spot given his ability to scramble from bunkers but I think Lingmirth could be a top ten finalist here. First, he has one of the most accurate drives on the tour,  he can approach well from 100 yards, and is a great putter. Two  years ago he had a respectable 70 here before falling apart with a 75 and 80 in the subsequent rounds, last year he finished 41st. Prior to missing the cut last week at Waste Management he has 3 consecutive top 20 finishes, I think he can bounce back strongly here. He had a few rough patches last year but usually he recovered after a missed cut to finish around 25^th the next week especially early in the year where he bounced back with a 14^th, 24^th and 25^th finishes.

Dark Horse Bonus Pick:
James Hahn. A missed cut in 2014 and a 29^th finish here last year, the California native was playing well at the Waste Management last week. The 13 year vet out of California-Berkeley is playing quite well this year, he has no missed cuts and 3 top 30 finishes. He has an accurate drive and strikes the ball in general very well.

Last tournament results - Waste Management Phoenix Open: 131 total people.
A: 14^th place
B: 1^st place; 33^rd place
C: 17^th place
Dark Horse: 83^rd place

YTD Average Results: average 123 total people
A: 59^th place
B: 23^rd place
C: 42^nd place
Dark Horse: 25^th place