AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am preview and picks

Course vitals
Yardage: 6,816
Par: 72
Designed by: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, 1919
Bunkers: 111
Water Hazards: Ocean on half the holes
Green speeds: 10-feet on Stimpmeter
2010 Difficulty rank: 31 out of 52
Course record: 62, Tom Kite, David Duval (1983, 1997)
Defending Champion: Dustin Johnson, -16.

Key back nine holes

573-yard par-five 14th and 543-yard par-five 18th -- Generally par-fives are where the pros really set themselves apart in tournaments. Thus far in 2011 the winners have played the par-fives at 9.6 under par on average, with the worst par-five performance of any winner being Mark Wilson (seven-under in both of his wins). With that in mind, the two par-fives on the back nine at Pebble Beach are not generally known as great scoring opportunities. Last year the pair ranked as the three toughest par fives on Tour -- the 14th in U.S. Open conditions was first, with the AT&T Pebble Beach second and the 18th at the U.S. Open third -- even if Dustin Johnson did register a birdie on the 72nd hole last year's AT&T National. The 18th has also been the place of quite a few spectacular moments over the years. From Hale Irwin's tee-shot that seemed destined for the Pacific Ocean, only to miraculously bounce back into play (the 26 second mark of the first video below) to the one Tiger Woods played in the third round of last year's U.S. Open -- challenging the ocean yet again with a big cut to avoid trees.





Foursome picks

Tim Clark, 20-1: Other than a blister problem -- stemming from a 36-hole Sunday finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii -- it's been a pretty good start for the South African, having posted a T17 and a T2. He's had pretty good success at Pebble Beach over the years posting the following finishes in eight tournaments, including last year's U.S. Open: T10, T12, T22, Cut, T12, T4, T10, W/D.

Brandt Snedeker, 30-1: It's been a pretty good start for 2011 for Snedeker. He was cut in his first tournament at the Bob Hope Classic, but he has played all 12 rounds this year under par. He's posted back-to-back top-10s and played pretty well at Pebble in 2010 with a T21 at the AT&T and T8 at the U.S. Open.

Pat Perez, 66-1: In eight appearances in this tournament, Perez has been pretty consistent, posting the following finishes: T35, T39, T24, T57, T14, cut, T47, 2. The Pro-am format probably doesn't bother him too much, as his lone PGA Tour win came in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.

D.A. Points, 80-1: This is more a pick about how he's playing this year instead of his history at Pebble Beach. In three starts, he's posted a T42, 5 and T18 with only one round -- an opening 73 at the Farmers Insurance Open -- over par.

Longshot -- Alex Cejka, 150-1: He's missed the cut in back-to-back weeks, but in 2010 the German played well at Pebble Beach. In last year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he finished T10 and later in the year at the U.S. Open -- under brutally tough conditions -- he finished T8.