2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Betting Preview: Bezuidenhout and Kirk Hold Value in California

We head from one iconic California golf course to another as the PGA TOUR heads north on Highway 1 to Monterey for the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links. 

Tourney / Course Overview

This 156-man field will each play alongside a celebrity amateur player, competing as teams in addition to the stroke-play individual format for the pros. Each will play three rounds on a rotation of the flagship Pebble Beach (Par 72, 6,972 yards), Spyglass Hill (Par 72, 7,041 yards), and Monterey Peninsula (Par 71, 6,957 yards) before a cut of the Top 60 and ties for the final round on Sunday at Pebble Beach.

We have a less-than-stellar field of pros as many of the game's best opt to sit the week out to avoid the long rounds with the amateurs and head down early to L.A. for next week's Genesis Invitational. However, most of the first-year pros and those with full cards will want to experience Pebble on TOUR in addition to FedEx Cup points that are equally valuable week in and week out. Course history and in-form wedge play are essential for this tournament. The past seven winners ranked inside the Top 12 in Birdie-or-Better percentage from within 125 yards and had a previous Top 21 finish at the tournament. 

The Picks

It was not too long ago that Joseph Bramlett (+12000) hoisted the trophy at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Since graduating to full-time on the PGA TOUR, Bramlett has struggled to make cuts but has recently started to turn the corner with finishes of 20-33-67 in his three most recent starts. As an above-average wedge player and putter, I find value in both his Top 10 (+1100) and Outright numbers.

Now considered an “old-timer” amongst the pro ranks, Matt Kuchar (+6500) will fly under the radar with most bettors this week. The 43-year-old Floridian checks the aforementioned boxes in Birdie-or-Better rank with wedges (12th, 35%) and course history. He also ranks 6th in the field in recent Poa green putting and is five for five in cuts made this season on TOUR, with a season-best T-7th last time out at the Sony Open.

A straight statistic model play for me this week is career journeyman Chris Kirk at +6500. Kirk has the chops to win an event like this (four-time winner on TOUR) and boasts the 6th best Birdie-or-Better rate in the field from inside 125 yards. He has two top 20's at Pebble Beach, to boot.

I will be fading the short prices at the very top of the board this week and finish my card up with South African Christian Bezuidenhout (+4100). The biggest hole in his game is his Driving Distance (201st on TOUR), but this tournament does not require a long-hitter to win. An excellent scrambler and putter who prides himself with accuracy, it is only a matter of time until the 27-year-old adds his name to a long list of South Africans who have won in America. A pick of mine to break through in the 2021-2022 season, jump on these odds before they regularly are shorter than this price.

All PGA odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook.

My Card 

Joseph Bramlett Top 10 (+1100)

Joseph Bramlett Outright (+1200)

Matt Kuchar Top 10 (+700)

Matt Kuchar Outright (+6500)

Chris Kirk Outright (+6500)

Christian Bezuidenhout Outright (+4100)

All PGA predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.
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