The PGA Tour returns to historic Pebble Beach for another edition of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where defending champion Rory McIlroy is making his 2026 season debut, at least on this side of the pond.
This week seems like it will be a much more tranquil affair compared to the shenanigans that occurred in Phoenix this past weekend, but this tournament won't be a bore.
The first of the Signature Events this year, Pebble Beach is playing host to 18 of the top 20 golfers in the world right now, including each of the top 11. We've had strong fields in the first few events already this season, but this is by far the best of the fields so far.
And while Pebble Beach is a short course by PGA Tour standards these days, the architecture and weather elements really make sure it's a stern test for anyone and everyone that plays there. It's a weekend I look forward to every year, and this year's event should not disappoint.
The rankings were all over the leaderboard on Sunday in Scottsdale, with three picks (and one honorable mention) finishing T3, just one shot out of the playoff between Hideki Matsuyama and eventual champion Chris Gotterup.
It's easy to feel disappointed in not getting the winner, but having that many bites at the apple always feels good, so we're going to plug right on ahead and try to find winner number two this weekend.
Honorable Mentions: Pierceson Coody, Ryan Gerard, Jake Knapp, Sepp Straka, Sahith Theegala
9. Michael Thorbjornsen
Well, at least Michael Thorbjornsen's collapse on Sunday wasn't the most disappointing New England sports display of the day. Obviously, it stinks that he couldn't seal the deal after getting to 17-under with three holes left, but there are a lot of positives to take with Thor's performance all week.
His putting was solid all week, he performed well in all aspects of his game, and he gave himself some more experience of being firmly in the hunt on Sunday. I think he can shake Sunday off and put together a strong performance around the Monterrey Peninsula.
8. Chris Gotterup
Chris Gotterup is maybe the only guy as hot in the world of golf right now as Patrick Reed. Complete oversight on my part to not have him in the rankings last week, but better late than never, I suppose.
I thought Gotterup's run last summer was fluky because it came over in Scotland, but he has backed up his strong play and become a true force to be reckoned with on Tour. I don't see him slowing down around Pebble this weekend.
7. Justin Rose
The old man still has it. There's truly no other word to describe Justin Rose's performance at Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago other than dominant (obviously, he was still carrying the juice from his TGL albatross with him).
Rose seemingly always plays well at Pebble (previous winner, T3 last year), as the course really rewards elite ball-striking. The main thing that I have learned over the last few years is to not count out Justin Rose, and I am not going to make that mistake this week.
6. Russell Henley
I would have expected Russell Henley to have a better track record around Pebble, but his T5 finish last season is a career-best for him, and is by far the closest he's come to the title. Henley has played well to start this season, with a T19 in Hawaii and a T8 at The American Express.
Especially with how the wind can blow around Pebble (see this clip of Tony Finau hitting driver into 7), ball-striking prowess is imperative, and you would be hard-pressed to find many ball-strikers better than Russell Henley.
5. Si Woo Kim
His worst finish on Tour this year in four starts is a T11 in Hawaii. If anything, Si Woo Kim could be seen as one of the most unlucky golfers right now, because he has put in at least two performances that have been good enough to win tournaments this year, and he's just gotten beaten by superhuman efforts.
As long as Kim keeps the putting stats right around neutral, then he is going to put himself into contention this weekend once again. It only feels like a matter of time until he gets another win.
4. J.J. Spaun
J.J. Spaun's putter has been ice-cold to start the year, which is disappointing considering he has kept up his solid ball-striking from 2025 so far. We may end up being late to the party on J.J. Spaun with giving him the respect he earned last year, but I'm willing to go down with him this weekend.
Things could get a little breezy and wet this weekend at Pebble, and Spaun may have visions of Oakmont this weekend if the weather turns sour.
3. Tommy Fleetwood
We have yet to see the reigning FedEx Cup champion on Tour this season, but I'm sure Tommy Fleetwood is eager to get his title defense started on the right foot. He's played in a couple DP World Tour events recently to stay sharp, where he didn't perform quite as well as one would imagine from the third-ranked player in the world.
However, Fleetwood had not played in a tournament since November, so I'm throwing it up to him knocking some rust off. One of the best iron players in the world, the Englishman should thrive at a course that requires elite approach play.
2. Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy finds himself in the same boat as Tommy Fleetwood, still knocking off rust from a well-earned offseason. McIlroy is getting his 2026 Tour campaign started at the same place that kickstarted his historic 2025, and I wouldn't be surprised by Rory riding the high vibes.
Now, McIlroy is not driving the ball quite as well as he had been when he won last year, and I think that's going to be the key to Rory's weekend. If he can find that same marriage of power and accuracy that he had last season, Rory should be well-positioned for a repeat.
1. Scottie Scheffler
It's very funny how Scottie spotted the field three shots to the scoring average after Thursday, and then almost won the tournament last week in Phoenix. The most interesting moments with Scottie right now are when he looks inexplicably human, like the duffed chip he had on 18 on Thursday.
When someone only needs their B-minus/C-plus game to win a tournament, they've achieved true domination. He's finished in the top 10 twice in two starts at this event. I think this year, he checks Pebble Beach off for career win No. 21.