It’s time for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the PGA Tour event that stared Thursday and runs through Sunday.
The three courses are the same again with Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club hosting the professional/amateur for the first three days, with the final round on Sunday played at Pebble Beach.
This year the “A” rotation – the ones where the most well know celebrities/amateurs played Thursday at Spyglass, and will play Friday at MPCC and Saturday at Pebble Beach.
The weather forecast for the tournament looks spectacular, providing Chamber of Commerce type days.
If you have been to the tournament before, I highly recommend getting there early Saturday and head out on the Pebble Beach course to stake out a great viewing spot. Camp there for most of the day and see everyone come through.
My personal favorite over the years is the 14th tee box. You can usually get very close to the tees on the par 5. It’s the toughest hole on the course so the groups back up on the tee meaning they have time to interact with the fans.
Over the years I have seen some great moments on the 14th tee box, including an impromptu harmonica jam session by Huey Lewis when he was in the same group of San Francisco 49ers legend, the late Dwight Clark.
The area around the 10th green and 11th tee is not bad as it’s the furthest area on the course and not a lot of people are not willing to make the trek. Plus, you are right on the edge of the course with great views of the ocean.
Of course, walking along the 18th fairway is always fun. With the continued rise of corporate sponsorship, it’s hard to get near the 18th green because of all the luxury suites and viewing areas but staking out a spot where the players hit their second shots provides great views.
One other tip I give for viewing if you don’t want to head out to the course early is to hang by the putting green as the players warm up. You can get close and for the most part, the professionals and the celebrities will interact with the fans when they are around the practice surface. Photo opportunities are also good in that spot.
Of course, if you just want to watch the professionals and get up close, hitting Spyglass or MPCC on Saturday will give you good access as the majority of the tournament goers jam into Pebble for the day.
Following are some the top pairings if you are gunning for the celebrity watching. They are listed by course, professional/amateur, followed by tee times for Friday and Saturday.
MPCC Friday, Pebble Saturday: Kevin Kisner/Charles Kelly, Lanto Griffin/Macklemore 8:55 a.m., 8 a.m.; Jordan Spieth/Jake Owen, Dustin Johnson/Wayne Gretzky, 9:06 a.m., 8:11 a.m.; Steve Stricker/Toby Keith, Jason Dufner/Cole Ford, 9:17 a.m., 8:22 a.m.; Sebastian Cappelen/Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Gligic/Ray Romano, 9:28 a.m., 8:33 a.m.; Jim Furyk/Tony Romo, Daniel Berger/Josh Duhamel 9:50 a.m., 8:55 a.m.; Phil Mickelson/Steve Young, Brandt Snedaker/Aneel Bhusri, 10:01 a.m., 9:06 a.m.; Chad Campbell/Huey Lewis, Chris Stroud/Pat Monahan, 8:00 a.m., 9:28 a.m.; Kevin Chappell/Eli Manning, Luke Donald/Peyton Manning, 8:11 a.m., 9:39 a.m.; D.A. Points/Bill Murray, Pat Perez/Michael Lund, 8:22 a.m., 9:50 a.m.; Charley Hoffman/Chris O’Donnell, Max Homa/Aaron Rodgers, 8:33 a.m., 10:01 a.m.; Wyndham Clark/Joe Don Rooney, Brian Gay/Chris Harrison, 9:17 a.m., 8:22 .m.;
Have a great time if you go!!