Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (and its previous incarnation, the Crosby) used to be special at the namesake course, Pebble Beach Golf Links. Since it’s the weekend, there are more fans, of course, and in the original format Saturday was the day that the three-course rota brought the biggest names among the celebrity amateur players to the home course.
On Saturdays Pebble Beach Golf Links would be teeming with fans who didn’t know a driver from a wedge; they came to see the beautiful views and to spot famous faces playing golf amongst those views. The golfers among the spectators reveled in the fact that many of those stars, even with their staff bags and top-of-the-line equipment, and their memberships at high-rent private clubs like Riviera, Bel Air, and L.A. Country Club, had golf games that they could relate to. They were thrilled to see the stars, and also happy to see them display their human side on a golf course.
All of that has gone by the wayside with the transformation of this unique classic event into one of the PGA Tour’s “Signature” events. In order to create a schedule of events that concentrate more players from the upper echelons of the Tour’s membership, the eight Signature tournaments on the 2024 schedule will have bigger purses (Pebble’s went from $9 million to $20 million), with a larger percentage to the winner; smaller fields (70 – 80) drawn from the top tier of the Tour’s members; and except for three player-hosted Signature Events – the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and Memorial Tournament – no cut.
The Tour’s leadership seem to be of the opinion that a larger number of “big names” playing for four days straight will draw more fans to the course and the TV coverage, but to my mind these events represent a watered-down product with little of the drama inherent in the make-the-cut or-go-home tournament format that we have known for years.
Not everyone is unhappy about the new format, of course (see below.) There have always been the curmudgeonly grumps (usually folks from outside the area) who complained about slow play, amateur antics (see Bill Murray…), etc., but the original format is a tradition that stretches back to 1947 – and there are plenty of us who are sorry to see it go.
New format aside, there was still some good-to-great golf on display today. Reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark put on a show, carding two eagles, nine birdies, and a bogey on the way to a course record* 60 and the lead in the clubhouse at 17-under. Friday co-leader Ludvig Åberg, playing five holes behind Clark, was sitting at 15-under when Clark tapped in for his 60, and was in good position to challenge for the lead, as was last week’s winner of the Farmers Insurance Open, Matthieu Pavon, at 14-under through fourteen holes.
A clutch of players at 13-under – Jason Day, Mark Hubbard, Sam Burns, and another Friday co-leader, Thomas Detry; and a couple of big names at 12-under, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler – could all have been said to be in the hunt for the tournament title as Clark’s ball dropped for the historic 60.
As it turned out, the third round finished with a pack on Wyndham Clark’s tail. Ludvig Åberg made only his second birdie of the back nine on #18 to close to within a stroke at 16-under; Matthieu Pavon closed out a string of six pars with a birdie on #18 for a 15-under; former San Jose State golfer Mark Hubbard birdied 18 and joined Thomas Detry at 14-under, and Scottie Scheffler birdied #18 to join Jason Day, 2023 AT&T Pro-Am champ Tom Hoge, and Justin Thomas at 13-under, T6, four strokes back. Sam Burns rounds out the top 10 alone at 12-under – and five strokes back is the most a reasonable assessor would give any chance of being able to come from behind to steal a win.
The weather, though…High winds and significant rainfall amounts are predicted overnight into Sunday morning, and as play wound down Chief referee Gary Young came into the media center and laid out the possibilities for the tournament’s finish: Weather conditions will be evaluated overnight, and a decision on Sunday play made at 5:00 a.m. Players will be messaged at 5:15 a.m. as to whether play will proceed; wind and rain conditions will determine whether play will take place. Due to the anticipated conditions, no spectators will be allowed on the course on Sunday.
If play starts on Sunday, but the round cannot be finished, a Monday finish is in play, but ONLY if play can be concluded on Monday. Current green speeds can sustain play in winds up to ≈40 mph, but a combination of the wind and the effects of additional rain on an already soggy golf course will determine how, and when, the event is wrapped up. Sunday conditions are expected to be the most severe, so fans will be allowed on the course on Monday.
Stay tuned, folks.
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