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Pebble Beach History says Past Success at the Course matters

By Zachary Michael Jack

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot during a practice round prior to the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 11, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot during a practice round prior to the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 11, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /
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In the lead-up to Thursday’s first round of the 119th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links many of golf’s cognoscenti are predictably picking Tiger Woods or Brooks Koepka to take home the trophy.

Those who know Pebble Beach, though, know that it favors repeats, like a fine wine known for consistent finishes. Mark O’Meara, for example, won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am a record five times. Granted, the AT&T is played across several courses, including Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club, though the pros play Pebble twice as the tourney’s signature course.

Woods and other pros point out that Pebble Beach in February is an altogether different animal, with its bumpy Poa greens, amateur-slowed rounds, and epic blasts of rain, cold, and wind. The U.S. Open in June, they claim, is all about high rough, lightning-fast greens, and baked-out conditions.

Changeable as it is, Pebble is a pedigree, and past performances suggest precedents to watch.

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The Northern Irishmen

I was in the Pebble Beach press-room for Graeme McDowell’s 2010 U.S. Open triumph. Since then G-Mac briefly dropped out of the top 200 in the world rankings before winning for the first time since 2015 earlier this year at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.

Last week he finished a solid eighth at the Canadian Open won by fellow Ulsterman Rory McIlroy, another northern Irishman trending  upward. Pebble, reminiscent of Irish seaside links, suits Irish eyes.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am Regulars

In addition to routine high-finishers Johnson and Jason Day and Brandt Snedeker are solid top-ten finishers at the AT&T each February. Snedeker finished T-4 at last week’s RBC Canadian Open and T-16 at the PGA Championship won by Koepka in May, with Johnson a close second. If the injury-prone Day and Snedeker are healthy this week, look for them to contend.

Phil the Thrill

Pebble Beach brings out the absolute best in Phil Mickelson, a California native whose grandfather grew up in Monterey and caddied at the links.

On the eve of Thursday’s first round “expert picks” may be the order of the day, but golf fans don’t have to be experts to pick the ponies at Pebble Beach this year.

Next. Tiger Woods Finishing up Preparation for 2019 U.S. Open. dark

Golf is a horse race, and while dark horses (recall Frenchman Gregory Havret and his runner-up finish at Pebble in 2010) can and do pop up amid the vagaries and caprices of links golf, the pedigreed contenders with proven track records are the finishers to watch.

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