JORDAN SPIETH GOT HIS WISH. A year ago at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, rumors circulated of a possible change to the tournament’s format. There was speculation that celebrities would be dropped from the field, that amateur play could be cut short, that the PGA Tour might elevate Pebble Beach to signature event status.
Spieth, the 2017 tournament champion also known for a death-defying cliff-dangling shot in 2022, met with media members and addressed the matter. Imagine, he said, the world’s two hottest golfers dueling on 16, 17 and 18. Imagine, he added, a lineup of top 10 players trying to hunt them down.
“It would be must-watch television,” he told reporters. “I would love to see it happen somehow.”
GOLF IS NOT LIKE MANY OTHER SPORTS. There are winners and standings and points to be earned, certainly. But the players are not required to take part in each event – nor are all qualified.
In brief, a maximum of 156 golfers start a typical four-day tournament on the PGA Tour. Already – after just four events of the 2024 schedule – over 200 have played at least two rounds on tour, and that number will grow. More than 8,600 professionals are listed in the Official World Golf Rankings.
There is also a rift in the game. Two years ago Saudi Arabia launched the rival LIV Golf tour, backed by funding from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which according to reports, sits on assets of more than $600 billion. The LIV tour poached some players from the PGA and Europe’s DP World Tour for guaranteed contracts, some in the triple-figure millions.
In June of 2023, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan shocked the golfing world by announcing a tentative agreement to merge the three organizations, with the PGA overseeing on course events and PIF providing financial support. The deadline for formalizing the agreement has since passed and talks continue.
Signature events are, in part, the PGA Tour’s response to this. In August, the PGA Tour confirmed Pebble Beach as a signature event, one of eight on the 2024 schedule. With that status comes a powerful incentive – a prize purse of $20 million (last year the Pro-Am paid $9 million overall), with some $3.6 million slated for the winner.
For golfers chasing the FedEx Cup, there’s another carrot: more points available toward the season championship. And the field is limited to 80 of the top professionals, with no cut. Every pro in the field takes home a share of the money.
Shoring up the line against more LIV departures is a big reason why signature events were created. There is, however, a second impetus for big stage tournaments, one that Spieth alluded to last year.
“The fans have been telling us they want to see the best play against each other,” explains John Norris, senior vice president of tournament business for the PGA Tour. The concept boiled down to a select number of events bringing the biggest names to the iconic courses. Pebble Beach, he adds, “was kind of a no-brainer. If we didn’t have Pebble Beach as a signature event, people would say, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
This, of course, required a lot of scrambling to reshape a week that had been centered around celebrities as well as tour pros since Bing Crosby invited friends out for a little golf, a bit of hijinks and a portion of charity in 1937. In the new format, the 80 pros will be paired with 80 amateurs over two courses – Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pebble Beach Golf Links – over two days. Saturday and Sunday, only the professionals continue at Pebble Beach.
Monterey Peninsula Country Club was dropped from the lineup. Also gone from the field are fan favorites like Bill Murray, Ray Romano and other celebrities. A few star athletes – Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Buster Posey among them – are the remaining names in an amateur field of corporate executives.
For Steve John, CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the nonprofit responsible for organizing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the loss of notable amateurs is balanced by a gain that puts the tournament on par with the sport’s lauded majors – The Masters, the U.S. Open, Britain’s The Open Championship and The PGA.
“The best players in the world are coming to Pebble Beach for the first time,” he says with evident enthusiasm. “If you’re a golf fan, buckle up.”
As of Jan. 27, 18 of the top 20 golfers in the world are in the field, and 48 of last year’s FedEx Cup top 50. World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler is appearing for the first time, as are no. 12 Collin Morikawa, no. 13 Tom Kim and no. 19 Cameron Young. World no. 2 Rory McIlroy joins defending FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland (no. 4) on the board. Infrequent participants like Patrick Cantlay (no. 6) is teeing up, as is Xander Schauffele (no. 5).
The only other time Schauffele played the Pro-Am was in 2017. His absence is an example of a trend that has troubled the event in recent years. While the tournament remained a draw for amateurs and fans, more of the leading names in golf chose to skip Pebble Beach, often citing longer playing times – often six hours or more – and a distaste for the unique atmosphere.
Watching the 2022 event, retired tour pro with 13 wins to his credit Mark Calcavecchia tweeted, “I think Bill Murray is an amazing actor. Huge fan of his movies. But this golf course act is getting SOOO tired.”
Last year, only 21 of the professionals ranked among the world’s top 100 took part. The 2023 tournament champion, Justin Rose, was a former world no. 1 who had hit a slump. Pebble Beach marked his first win in four years – and it was a victory over less accomplished competition. Much of the field was padded by those falling below 300 in the world rankings.
One of the ways that golfers without the points, ranking or wins necessary to be exempted into a tournament are Monday qualifying rounds for any remaining spots in a tournament. Last year, when severe weather postponed play on Saturday, forcing the Pro-Am to drag on into Monday, 14 pros chose to bow out in order to make it to the qualifiers for the following weekend’s Phoenix Open.
While John admits that it was difficult to shed the past – he heard from many that celebrities and the fun atmosphere were the soul of the old Crosby Clambake – ticket sales by the beginning of January were $200,000 ahead of last year. The organization has also doubled the number of grandstands available to the crowd, even adding seats at the driving range.
“We will see more ticket sales,” John says. “The week before the tournament is always a big week. If we have good weather, we’ll break a record.”
Because of the changes, tournament staff made personal phone calls to all the event’s celebrity regulars, names like musician Darius Rucker, actor Jason Bateman, chef Thomas Keller, in the past stars of the Clint Eastwood magnitude, more recently rappers like Macklemore and, seemingly always, Bill Murray.
Even tour pros addressing rumors a year ago admitted that Murray had become the heart of the Pro-Am, making his first appearance in 1993.
John says that breaking the news to Murray was difficult. “Bill understood; Bill was fine,” he adds. “It was quite a run. I think it’s the right decision.”
THE TIMELINE TO PULL OFF SUCH A MAJOR OVERHAUL was tight. In March 2023, Monahan informed tour members of the plan to create a series of signature events – then called designated events. However, it wasn’t until August, months later than normal, that the full 2024 schedule was confirmed publicly.
“Waiting for a decision,” John says, noting that the delay was the hardest part of the process for the Monterey Peninsula Foundation team. “There are a lot of people involved, and each decision triggers other decisions.”
There are sponsorship partners and television rights to consider. Pebble Beach Company would have to agree to dates. The Monterey Peninsula Foundation organizes the event and relies on money from fees and ticket sales for the $18 million it provides to local charities each year, so there was concern over a potential loss in contributions. And those were just some of the bigger items on the agenda – starting with the title sponsor.
“AT&T is a longstanding partner, for the tour and for the event,” Norris points out. “You have to make sure they are good [with the decision].”
The communications company committed to covering the increased purse, which started the process rolling. But there was more, of course.
“There are a number of constituents,” Norris says. “And it all has to fit in the puzzle of the tour schedule. We still wanted to make the season opening swing on the West Coast.”
According to Golfweek’s Adam Schupak, in addition to AT&T bearing the brunt of the ramped-up purse, the amount donated by amateurs for the right to participate jumped from around $40,000 to $70,000. As a result of this and increased fees for some secondary sponsorships, as well as booming ticket sales, John believes the foundation will meet or exceed $18 million in contributions again this year.
None of the invited amateurs balked at the lofty contribution. “It’s always been a golden ticket [for amateurs],” John explains. “But this year, what a golden ticket.”
The Pro-Am has weathered changes in the past. It was first played not at Pebble Beach, but in Rancho Sante Fe, moving to the Peninsula following World War II. It has been contested at Cypress Point and Poppy Hills, as well as the more recent course lineup.
Yet there is the long history of celebrities and professionals in an almost casual atmosphere to contend with. Bing Crosby himself noted in his prologue to Dwayne Netland’s The Crosby: Greatest Show in Golf that he counted the Pro-Am as his greatest achievement – a difficult statement to top.
Although Norris says the tour will have to see how the 2024 edition goes, he believes they have come up with the right formula, bringing an elite field to an iconic course.
“It had a long history of success; how do you still keep that Pro-Am experience?” he says. “We found the perfect combination.”
Heading into tournament weekend, John can barely contain his excitement.
“The best of the best,” he says, ticking off some of the PGA Tour star power set to tee off. “Pebble deserves it.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.