The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am begins this week, marking 87 years since the singer and actor Bing Crosby and his friends first got together to play some golf, have some drinks and raise money for charity.
The tournament has evolved over the decades, but this year’s changes are significant. Gone are the show business celebrities. No Bill Murray. No Ray Romano. Instead, some of the best golfers in the world will take their shot at a $3.5 million top prize.
The loss of the star-studded spectacle is a concern for some and a cause for nostalgia for others.
“You know, change is challenging,” said CEO Steve John of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the non-profit backing the tournament. “Do I miss what we had? Of course I miss it. I mean, I loved it.”
Bing Crosby started the first tournament in southern California — a charity event for a nearby agricultural community suffering through hard times because of the Great Depression. Crosby put up the $3,000 prize money, equivalent to over $50,000 today.
“He found out that his friends in the professional golf business were having trouble getting sponsors,” said Neal Hotelling, a golf historian who has written four books on the sport. “So, he created a new tournament that they could enjoy and he could enjoy with his celebrity friends.”
Hotelling has a tiny office in the archive room at Pebble Beach Resorts. Old newspaper articles and photos line the walls. In an adjacent room there are more articles, maps and whiskey bottles that celebrate the Pro-Am. If Pebble Beach had an attic, this is what it would look like.
Hotelling says the first tournament almost didn’t happen. Rain washed out the first day.
“Some of the roads even washed out,” he said. “So some of the golfers couldn't get there for the second day, so they had to realign the pairings."
Eventually they played all 18 holes and a new tradition was born: "Crosby weather" — the foul, rainy weather that has challenged golfers at the Pro-Am ever since.
The tournament moved to Pebble Beach following World War II. Along the way, it became known as the Crosby Clambake. The term “Clambake” is 1930’s slang for a party — and party they did. Big bandleader Phil Harris once quipped he was playing for the Jack Daniels Country Club.
Eight years after Crosby’s death in the 1970’s, his name was officially dropped from the tournament, and AT&T became the sponsor. There were other changes as well. The number of players changed, the event was played on different courses, and the prize money increased.
But the number of top pros began to decline.
“The rounds can be long, and the conditions can be cold and wet,” Hotelling said. “So, a lot of the pros say, ‘Yeah, no. It's not worth it.’”
To reverse that decline, this year, the Pro-Am has been elevated to a major golf tournament known as a Signature PGA event. There are only eight such events a year. The prize money also doubled to $20 million, with the winner of the tournament bringing home more than $3.5 million.
Do I miss what we had? Of course I miss it. I mean, I loved it.Steve John, CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation.
Although there are no movie stars, there will be athletes: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Buster Posey, to name a few.
“It's a smaller field, two day Pro-Am versus potentially four, (and) two golf courses versus three. Pebble beach (is played) only on the weekend,” said Steve John, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO.
The loss of the celebrities is offset by an increase in top pro golfers, including Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, and Rory Mcilory who is ranked as No. 2. Nick Dunlap, the University of Alabama sophomore who just turned pro, will also compete.
“So if you name someone that's on a PGA tour, they're probably playing in this golf tournament,” said John.
John says ticket sales are better than expected — good news for the 200 nonprofits that receive grants from the foundation. Last year, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation gave out nearly $18 million.
Rob O’Keef, the CEO of See Monterey, which represents hotels and restaurants on the peninsula, looks forward to top name players bringing golf fans from around the world to the tournament.
“It's a broadcast event, a national and international broadcast event,” he said. “This is putting Monterey County on display around the world.”
He says it's like a four-day-long commercial for visiting Monterey. And that’s particularly important for visitors from overseas, who have so far failed to reach pre-pandemic levels.
“We want them to taste the wine when they come for golf. They're going to go to the aquarium when they come for golf. They're going whale watching and hiking and biking and spread out throughout the county,” O’Keef said.
Practice rounds are Wednesday, then the Pro-Am on Thursday and Friday. The pros take over on Saturday and Sunday.
The forecast is for rain and showers with cold temperatures into the weekend — classic Crosby weather. Some things never change.
