After another fascinating spectacle in Phoenix last week, the PGA Tour heads back to the coast for this week’s tournament, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The event takes place over 3 courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links (the host course), Spyglass Hill GC, and Moterey Peninsula CC. The amateurs and celebrities will duck out after 54-holes and leave it to the pros to battle it out on Sunday at Pebble Beach itself.

Looking at last year’s leaderboard, where our tip D.A. Points prevailed, it’s interesting to note that four of the top-5 had finished inside the top-20 at the Farmers Insurance Open just two weeks previous. The events clearly share many attributes including a coastal setting, Poa Annua greens and exposure to wind, so it’s well worth looking at this year’s Farmers Insurance leaderboard to give us pointers as to who might go well this week.

Decent knowledge of the courses on the Pebble Beach circuit certainly won’t do any harm, and we have the 2010 US Open and the annual Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational to help point us in the direction of course form.

Here are my 7 picks for this week:

Hunter Mahan – It wouldn’t be unfair to accuse Mahan of flattering to deceive on occasion. Many punters fancied him to go well in last week’s Qatar Masters after showing some form the week before, but he shot 74-75 to miss the cut. That might well be a blessing in disguise as he will have made an earlier return to his homeland and should therefore not be too troubled by the adverse effects of long-distance travel. What I like about Mahan this week is a combination of his good showing at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open (where he finished tied for 6th) and a runner-up finish in this event last time around. Having grown up in California, this is familiar territory for the 29 year-old and he will struggle less than most on Poa Annua greens.

4pts each way 25/1 Ladbrokes

Bryce Molder – Although the price may leave a little to be desired at exactly half last week’s offering, Molder has a lot going for him this week. Molder was one of my picks last week, and despite never really being in contention, he got things going in the final round and finished in a very respectable tie for 15th. Recent form in this tournament is what really catches the eye this week. In 2010, Molder entered the final round in 3rd place before a disappointing 76 sent into a tie for 10th. Last year was a similar story where Molder was in 2nd place after 54 holes before a final round 74 pushed him out to 6th. On both occasions, it would seem that Molder was struggling with the pressure of being in contention on a Sunday. However, with a PGA tour title under his belt since then, he should handle such a situation much better this time around.

3pts each way 30/1 Hollywood, BetXchange, Voltbet

D.J. Trahan – It’s a big leap in price to the next selection, D.J. Trahan at 80/1. 2011 was a quiet year for Trahan, with only one top-10 finish to his name, and the two-time PGA tour winner started 2012 off in much the same vein with missed cuts in his first two events. However, Trahan sprung into life last week in Phoenix, shooting 64-66 on the weekend to propel him into 4th place, and that will do wonders for his confidence. Trahan also has some good form to his name at Pebble Beach; he finished tied 6th in the shortened 2009 edition of the event, followed by a tie for 10th in 2010. The 31 year-old is clearly not distracted by the circus of pro-am events either having won his last title at the Bob Hope Classic (now Humana Challenge), and he looks a lively outsider this week.

1.5pts each way 80/1 World Sports Betting, Hollywood, BetXchange, Sportsbet

Cameron Tringale – Tringale is one of a crop of young American players who looks to have a bright future ahead of him. Last season brought moderate success with Tringale notching five top-10 finishes over the course of the season and he’s bagged himself a top-5 finish in 2012 already which came two weeks ago at the aforementioned Farmers Insurance Open. If the link between good performances in the two events isn’t enough to go on, Tringale also ranked 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting in that very event on similar Poa Annua greens. Although Tringale’s form in this particular tournament doesn’t look very impressive, the 24 year-old teed it up in the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational at the back-end of last year where he finished 3rd.

1pt each way 90/1 World Sports Betting, Hollywood, BetXchange

John Mallinger – If we’re looking at the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational as a pointer to success here, we should consider the chances of John Mallinger who won the event in 2010. Without a full PGA tour card in 2011, Mallinger played a fair amount of golf on the Nationwide Tour where he really shone during the fall. His consistent play was enough to win back his full PGA tour card and he’s already made a good start in his bid to retain it with a runner-up finish at the Humana Challenge pro-am event three weeks ago. Although Mallinger’s form in his event over the last few years hasn’t been too impressive, he finished 3rd in two consecutive years here in 2007 & 2008 and he’ll be looking for another strong showing this time around.

1pt each way 80/1 World Sports Betting, Hollywood, BetXchange, Sportsbet

Brendan Steele – Another outsider who catches my eye this week is Brendan Steele. What Steele managed in 2011 was to notch a PGA tour win in his first full season on tour which is always an impressive achievement, and the California native will be looking forward to this week’s event right on his doorstep. Steele fired a superb 64 to close out his tournament last week in Phoenix, hitting 83% GIR in the process, so it looks like something has clicked in his game. Last year, Steele missed the cut here after opening with a 77 at the tough Spyglass Hill, but his efforts were much better on the host track where he shot a 3-under 69, and it’s this level I expect to see from Steele this week.

1pt each way 100/1 Ladbrokes

Martin Flores – Joining John Mallinger in winning back his PGA tour card this year is Texan Martin Flores. It’s been a promising start to 2012 for Flores who finished tied for 8th in the Farmers Insurance Open and followed that up with a top-20 finish last week in Phoenix. Flores struggled in both these events in his first PGA tour season (back in 2010) so he’s clearly doing something right at the moment. Furthermore, the 29 year-old ranked 2nd in Putts per GIR at Torrey Pines, so he should be more than capable on these tricky Poa Annua greens.

0.75pts each way 150/1 Ladbrokes

You are most welcome to add your own picks on our discussion forum

Sam Harrop has been a golfing enthusiast most of his life and has developed an in depth knowledge of the players, tournaments and stats on the PGA Tour. He has launched a website www.golfpuntersguide.com and he has kindly made his preview available to Goodforthegame.

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