No Pro-Am? AT&T Pebble Beach Field Even Weaker Than Normal

It's staggering how weak the field is for Pebble this week. 34-36 OWGR points for 1st place. A handful of the top 50. If DJ weren't playing, it'd be really bad. What happened? Did PHX get some Pebble regulars because fewer fans? Saudi money making the trek not worth it?

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) February 9, 2021

The Saudi’s’ filthy lucre is hurting both Phoenix and Pebble, two of the oldest events on Tour. It’s sad. Maybe tragic. https://t.co/2JDW0qGZHc

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) February 8, 2021

With Dustin Johnson’s WD no top 10 players are making it to Pebble Beach this year.

Plenty of blame to go around for an elite schedule slot drawing a Fall field.

In no particular order, my guesses as to why the field for the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (without a Pro-Am) is so weak despite a $7.5 million purse and only two courses: Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill.

Matt Kuchar also WD’d to open a spot for Ricky Barnes, who is apparently still active as a player.

• Saudi Arabia appearance fee money drew several top players last week

• Waste Management Open drew a better field with players knowing that with only 5000 the baba-booeys crowd would be minimized

• One-two punch of Riviera and free-money WGC are lurking the next few weeks

• No pro-am, no fun. Yes, there really still are players who enjoy the networking and old pro-am vibe.

It would have been interesting to see if Pebble Beach picked up more big names had the WGC Mexico not been salvaged. Instead, one of America’s great resorts and courses featuring some of the biggest non-major ratings annually has failed to attract a stellar field.

On a separate note, sponsor AT&T now pays for two events that have been absolutely hammered by schedule changes and stronger competition. Given the corporation’s longtime devotion to golf and the millions they’ve paid out to PGA Tour pros, they deserve better.