⛳️ Pebble Beach Bets
Good afternoon! Welcome to Shanks. It’s been a busy week in professional golf and we’ve got it all for you today; Pebble Beach bets, Rory’s comments on LIV, the huge PGAT cash infusion, and more.
Golf Trivia: What was Bing Crosby’s handicap?
Answer at the bottom of the email.
Here's what we've got for ya today:
- Doin Lines: Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
- Rory’s U-Turn
- DUDE LOL
- PGAT Gets Billions From SSG
- Shots Heard Round The World
- Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke
Doin Lines: Pebble Beach Pro-Am
🚩 Location: Pebble Beach & Spyglass Hill
💰 Purse: $20M -$3.6M to first.
👑 Previous Winner: Justin Rose
👀 Watch On: Golf Channel, CBS.
The Pebble Beach Field and How To Watch
This years edition of the Pebble Beach Pro Am is gonna look and feel a lot different than years past.
As 80’s rock band Scorpions once sang:
“The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change”
Well, the gusts blowing out of Saudi Arabia have changed everything about professional golf, including one of it’s oldest events, and this one for the better.
Gone are the days of Bill Murray and Ray Romano hacking it out across three different courses. Gone are the weak fields and “small” purses. The Pebble Beach pro-am will only be played on two courses this year (Pebble and Spyglass) instead of three (Monterrey Peninsula got cut) and the amateurs will only play Thursday and Friday.
Plus, it’s a signature event. That means a big purse, no cut, and a loaded field.
In fact, it’s the most loaded the field has ever been for this event. That’s what Pebble Beach deserves, frankly.
Of the 80 golfers competing, it includes 41 of the top 50 in OWGR.
Nick Dunlap, who made history two weeks ago by becoming the first amateur to win on tour since Phil Mickelson 33 years ago, is making his pro debut.
The best in the field:
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schaufele, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, and Collin Morikawa.
View Full Field and Tee Times Here.
How To Watch
- Thursday, Feb. 1: 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
- Friday, Feb. 2: 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
- Saturday, Feb. 3: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3-7 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Sunday, Feb. 4: 1-3 p.m. ET(Golf Channel); 3-6:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Previous Winners
2020 – Nick Taylor
2021 – Daniel Berger
2022 – Tom Hoge
2023 - Justin Rose
Shanks Picks
For four straight weeks, we have watched a long odds player secure victory on tour. If you’d have bet Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray, Nick Dunlap, and Matthieu Pavon four weeks in a row and rolled the winnings over, starting with a dollar, you’d probably be a billionaire.
Winner: Justin Thomas +2500
People are going to hate this pick, but we’re here to tell you we think the JT Comeback SZN is on. He finished T3 last week and has finished in the top-five in his last four starts.
Top Five: Jordan Spieth +333
He won here in 2017 and he has five top-ten finishes in his ten starts at this event. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a good Jordan Spieth rollercoaster ride?
Top Ten: Hideki Matsuyama +350
Hideki looked good last week, this is a “rounding into form” pick.
Top Twenty: Sahith Theegala +188
Sahith ranks amongst the top in the field at Spyglass Hill, where part of the tournament will be played. We are so due to hit a top-twenty.
Longshot: Nick Dunlap +9000
Why not him?
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Rory’s U-Turn
After spending the better part of the year talkin’ smack, Rory McIlroy has changed his mind about LIV Golf. Here’s what he said on Tuesday:
"I think life is about choices. Guys made choices to go and play LIV; guys made choices to stay here. If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back. I mean ... I think it's hard to punish people.
"I don't think there should be a punishment for -- obviously I've changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties. It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game. That's my opinion of it. So, to me, the faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think is great for golf."
Shanks Says:
On one hand, the ability to change ones mind as he receives new information is the mark of a balanced adult with a healthy brain.
On the other hand, so is learning when to just stop talking.
Also, we have a policy here about not crapping all over the pros, but does Rory ever, ever mention the fans during his rants?
DUDE LOL
PGAT Gets Billions From SSG
“SSG will invest $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial input of $1.5 billion for a valuation of over $12 billion. Players will receive equity into PGA Tour Enterprises; these grants, made over time, will be based on playing accomplishments, future participation and tour status.
Left mostly unsaid was what role, if any, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will have in the new for-profit venture. The tour announced that the deal with SSG will allow for co-investment from PIF in the future, and SSG, sources tell Golf Digest, made the deal with the tour under the belief that PIF involvement will ultimately come to fruition. But there are antitrust regulations that need to be hurdled, and Congress announced this week that its investigation into PIF and its investments in American businesses will continue.”
Shots Heard Round The World
LIV GOLF SEASON KICKS OFF AT MAYAKOBA
Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke
Here’s one thing you can bet on, if FootJoy releases a new colorway for their HyperFlex Carbon shoe, you’ll be the first to know because we are obsessed with the style and comfort of this shoe. The latest color edition from the gang at FootJoy, the white/teal, was was released as part of their whole 2024 spring collection.
What else is there to say? It’s one of FootJoy’s most popular shoe in the last year for a reason. It has a custom molded Carbon Fiber plate, StratoFoam tuned for walking comfort, and added ankle padding, yet still looks like a sleek modern shoe. And now it comes in this absolutely nasty teal and white colorway.
Get the Teal/White HyperFlex Carbon golf shoe today from FootJoy.com!
Trivia Answer: 2
That’s all folks! See you Saturday Morning.
