The following are the scoring averages for the three courses of the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 

Round 1 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  70.71

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  72.46

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  72.44

Round 2 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  69.29

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  71.40

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  72.68

Round 3 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  69.52

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  72.10

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  72.06

The following are the scoring averages for the three courses of the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  Through round 1 MPCC is playing the easiest and Spyglass Hill the hardest.

Round 1 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  68.98

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  70.88

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  71.52

Round 2 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  68.75

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  70.92

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  71.63

Round 3 Scoring Averages:

Monterey Peninsula Country Club:  69.12

Pebble Beach Golf Links:  70.69

Spyglass Hill Golf Course:  71.65

AimPoint PGA Tour Picks

Fantasy Golf Picks

I’m giving myself points for picking winners.  Hopefully my picks can help you win your fantasy golf league this season.  My goal is to get to 111 points for the season, or the equivlant of picking a Top 3 finisher or better each week, based on the point scale below:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Total:  12 Points

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Weekly Average:  2.40 Points

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season.  See here for official BTE rules.

There was no outright weekly winner last week but four peeps (Giles, Hamilton, Littlefield and McClung) picked Stricker for 10 points.  It won’t count for a weekly win but it moves everyone up the BTE Leaderboard.  McClung has a good lead at the top of the LB with 26 total points in just 3 weeks!

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

Everyone and their grandma beat the “expert” last week.  Seems I was the only golf prognosticator this side of common sense that didn’t pick Stricker.  For the second straight week Phil was in early contention but faded on the weekend.  K.J. kept his made cut streak alive at Riviera but didn’t even crack the Top 20.  And alas Paddy was a big disappointment in his first PGA Tour start of 2010, shooting 72-73 and missing the cut.  It was a bad week to take a shutout with almost everyone lapping me on the Expert LB.

This week:

For the first time in more then 30 years the Monterey Peninsula County Club’s Shore Course will be used in the Pebble Beach rotation, replacing the difficult Poppy Hills.  The new MPCC course has had an overhaul since the last time it was part of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am so how difficult it will play is anyones guess.  Of the other two courses in the rotation, Pebble Beach (the host course and also the site of the 2010 U.S. Open) played over a full stroke easier then SpyGlass Hill in 2009, though weather was a big factor last season.  There may be some small showers in the early rounds this year but overall the forecast looks good.  Check back here after each round this week for updated course scoring averages.   Be sure to check what courses your golfers will be playing each round and adjust your lineup acordingly.

1. Luke Donald

Donald shot 66-66 last weekend and finished 2nd in his third start of 2010.  He has not played at Pebble Beach since 2007 but does have three Top 20 finishes (including a T7 in 2006) and two missed cuts in five career starts here.  Donald is a streaky player so now is the time to jump on his bandwagon while he is hot. 

 2. Dustin Johnson

Last year’s 54 hole champion, DJ is coming off a T3 finish last week and has been playing solid golf on the West Coast swing.  Outside of a missed cut at the Farmers, he has finished no worse then T16.  He is 4th in Driving Distance this year which will be crucial on the long courses at Pebble.  There has not been a repeat champion in this event since 1990 (Mark O’Meara) so it won’t be an easy task but a Top 10 this week should be easy for DJ.

3. Sergio Garcia

This is the first time Serg will play at Pebble Beach since 2001.  He has only played here twice with his best finish being a T35 in 2000.  I’m actually impressed that Garcia will be starting his PGA Tour schedule this early and it can only mean he has confidence in his game.  In his last start on the European Tour just a few weeks ago he finished T24 at the Qatar Masters.  I’m playing a hunch on this one so don’t let me down Sergio.

AimPoint PGA Tour Picks

Fantasy Golf Picks

I’m giving myself points for picking winners.  Hopefully my picks can help you win your fantasy golf league this season.  My goal is to get to 111 points for the season, or the equivlant of picking a Top 3 finisher or better each week.

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

2009 Fantasy Golf Picks Total:  16 Points

2009 Fantasy Golf Preview Weekly Average:  3.2 Points

Last week: 

I’ve gone cold. Three straight weeks without a Top 3 pick, not that I thought my 16 points in two weeks would be the norm.  Paddy played ok but no where near great, Obi is still injured and withdrew (DOH!) and Kresge missed the cut. 

This week:

Fantasy Golf Note:  Three different courses will be in play this week through the first three rounds with the cut coming after round 3.  While all course averages were over par last season, Spyglass was the most difficult and Pebble the easiest, though high winds on any course could spell trouble.  You might want to make note after each round of when your golfers are playing on what course. 

1. Padraig Harrington

Deja Vu all over again.  Paddy has a T14 and T30 finish in his only appearances here.  And though he looked a little rusty at the difficult Torrey Pines South course, he is once again the top ranked golfer in the field this week.  Paddy should bounce back this week in a big way with at least a Top 10 and possible win.

2. Davis Love III

DL III has a long history at this event with 7 Top 10s and two wins going back to 1990.  Davis is having a great 2009 season, finishing T2 at the Mercedes last month.  And if not for a miserable 77 in miserable weather last Friday Love most likely would have had another Top 10 finish at the Buick.  DL’s experience in this tournament is a huge strength and expect him to be in contention late.

3. David Toms

Where have you been David Toms?  Toms does not have a great track record at Pebble Beach, missing the cut in three of his last four appearances (1999-2002) but you can’t argue with Toms play this season.  He has 2 Top 5 finishes in three starts thus far.  Look for Toms improved play to continue and don’t be suprised if he makes it three Top 5 finishes in four starts.

AHHHHHHHHH!  I hate it when Phil loses (in a playoff).  That is all I will say about that.</phil-homer-comment>

I don’t know if there is a better non-major tournament for Sunday drama then the FBR.  How about J.B. Holmes winning his second FBR Open title in three years?  For J.B. to come back and win after going in the water on 15 was beyond clutch.  It sure made for entertaining golf.

There will be lots of water in play this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to go with the biggest field (180) on the PGA Tour.  Pebble Beach Golf Links is the host course but everyone will also be playing at Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills, with the cut coming after round 3.  Of the three courses Pebble Beach played the hardest last year, with Poppy Hills as the easiest, though all three course scoring averages were over par.

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links (Host Course) – Pebble Beach, California

This tournament is a grind with the long rounds and multi-course play.  Look for past winners here to be on top of the leaderboard come Sunday.  Past winners include Phil, Oberholser, Singh and Tiger.  You can stratch off Tiger because he’s not playing and stratch off Vijah because he’s not playing well.  That said this is Phil’s tournament to win.  He’s won two of the last three years and after his play last week he looks to be in top form again.

Update:  As of Tuesday Aaron Oberholser has withdrawn and will not play.

In looking at Top 10 finishes here over the last few years Jim Furyk, Daniel Chopra (well I’ll count T11), and Tim Clark all have two.  Pat Perez finished 2nd in 2002 and looked impressive through the first two rounds last week.  It would not suprise me too see any of these players get the win. 

Could Win:  Phil, Jim Furyk

Sleepers:  Daniel Chopra, Tim Clark, Pat Perez