PEBBLE BEACH — Before any early birdie sprees, errant shots into Stillwater Cove or even a single hole score posted, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has a two-day leader.
The tournament’s 80th edition begins Thursday with the weather again in control.
After 1 1/2 days of rain and periodic winds gusting to 30 miles per hour, a field of 80 is set for the first of eight Signature Events of the PGA Tour season. Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings since May 22, 2023, and for 143rd consecutive weeks, will again seek his first career victory on the Monterey Peninsula. He’ll be joined by defending AT&T titlist and reigning Masters titlist Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 2, and Justin Rose, No. 3, the tournament’s 2023 titlist.
In its third season, void of the celebrity field that built the tournament’s legend, the no-cut professional field will rotate on Thursday and Friday between Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
Amateurs, including a small field of celebrities, will participate for two days, also rotating between Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. The pros will continue with weekend rounds at Pebble Beach.
With its $20 million purse and $3.4 million winner’s share, the event has attracted 42 of the golf’s top-50 ranked players, including 18 of the top 20.
The pending competition, of course, is dependent upon the weather. By Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday’s forecast was “showers with embedded thunder,” which proved accurate. Thursday’s forecast calls for clear skies and no rain. But Sunday’s scheduled finale includes predicted afternoon showers.
“It was actually a lovely morning and you’re sort of thinking to yourself, ‘Oh, they’ve got the weather forecast completely wrong, blue sky, it was calm,'” said Rose after his Tuesday practice in which he played an abbreviated round with only a wedge and putter. “Then literally it was like a switch, like 30-mile-an-hour winds. The ocean started looking angry. The clouds started rolling in.”
Rose, who claimed his 27th pro title (13th on the PGA Tour) on Feb. 1 at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, also triumphed at the AT&T in inclement weather. It was the last year of the event’s former full-field status and three-round cut.
“Yeah, the weather can play a huge factor,” said Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open winner who finished third in the AT&T last year. “I think it’s a good part of Pebble Beach. I think if you were to play the perfect golf at Pebble, you would like it to be 75 degrees, you would like the course to be somewhat firm and you would like about a 12- to-15-mile an hour wind. To me, then you’ve got a great challenge on your hands.
“If you get Pebble in soft conditions without much wind, a little bit target golf. And the small greens don’t play small, and you can kind of end up sort of, the course can feel a little softer or easier than it should be for a major championship test.”
Scheffler, 29, didn’t compete in the AT&T until 2024, his fourth pro season, when the event’s original celebrity pro-am format ended. It’s also when the tournament shifted from a full field. He tied for sixth.
Scheffler won seven PGA Tour events in 2024 and six in 2025. He has 20 PGA Tour career titles. With his win at The American Express tournament on Jan. 25, he joined Tiger Woods and McIlroy as the only golfers to surpass $100 million in career earnings.
Besides McIlroy and Rose, five former AT&T titlists will compete: Jordan Spieth (2017), Nick Taylor (2020), Daniel Berger (2021), Tom Hoge (2022) and Wyndham Clark (2024). Clark won after his third-round, course-record 60 at Pebble Beach catapulted him into a 54-hole lead and eventual title when inclement weather halted the tournament.
McIlroy, 37, took command last year with his signature powerful drives, pinpoint approach shots and unwavering putting to win his 27th PGA Tour career event. He shot a final-round 6-under 66 en route to a 21-under-par 267 total and a two-shot win over close friend Shane Lowry. The win launched his stellar season, including completing the career Grand Slam with his win in April at The Masters.
Rose and Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open winner, finished tied for third at 18 under. Rose eagled the 18th, hitting his third shot from tree roots off the front off the green. Glover birdied the final two holes for a 67.
McIlroy began the final round tie for second with Lowry at 16 under and tied one shot behind 54-hole leader Sepp Straka. But the four-time major winner’s stellar round began with a birdie on the second. He finished the day with five birdies, an eagle and one bogey.
“Yeah, obviously last year was a great way to start the 2025 season,” said McIlroy, who’s making his season debut at Pebble Beach. “Historically I haven’t played Pebble Beach that well. I’ve played OK, but nothing spectacular. I think winning on a golf course that I hadn’t won on before, hadn’t really contended before, I feel like it gave me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season.”
Key opening-round pairings include McIlroy and Ryan Fox (10th hole, Spyglass Hill, 9:24 a.m.); Rose and Patrick Rodgers (10th hole, Spyglass Hill, 10:16 a.m.); Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama (Pebble Beach, 10:29 a.m.). to view the complete pairings visit https://www.attpbgolf.com/
If you go
The tournament runs from a little before 9 a.m. until about 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Portions will be televised by the Golf Channel and CBS. For tickets and more information, visit www.attpbgolf.com.
James Raia is a former Herald staff member who has been a longtime sports correspondent for the paper. Reach him at james@jamesraia.com.
