It’s back out to California this week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am gets underway. As always at this event, three courses will be used over the opening three days — Monterey, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach — before the latter is played once more on Sunday.

With the alternating courses, Shotlink is only available for Pebble Beach, which provides difficulty in assessing course statistics and frustration following your picks for the week. As the event is a pro-am, you can also expect to see as many shots from the likes of Bill Murray, Ray Romano and Andy Garcia on television coverage over the opening few days as you will of the pros.

All three courses are short; none measure over 7,000 yards. That makes form with the short irons imperative. Some of the smallest greens on Tour are also on display this week, which means any mistakes with irons will provide players with a lot more work to do than usual around the greens. Last year, Jordan Spieth claimed the title, posting 19-under par, four shots clear of Kelly Kraft.

Selected Tournament Odds (via Bet365)

• Dustin Johnson 11/2
• Jason Day 10/1
• Rory Mcilroy 10/1
• Jon Rahm 10/1
• Jordan Spieth 12/1
• Gary Woodland 25/1
• Phil Mickelson 28/1

Headlining my picks for this week is four-time champion Phil Mickelson (28/1, DK Price $9,600). The California native produced his best display of his year so far last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing T5. After his final round, he sounded very positive telling the media: “I think that my game’s gotten better each week, my focus is getting better each week. So I’m hoping that I continue to build on this. This shouldn’t just be a one-week deal. I should be getting better and better as the weeks go on.”

With his confidence clearly high at the moment, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am may have arrived at the perfect time for Lefty. Last week, Mickelson was T6 in the field for Strokes Gained Approaching the Green and third in Strokes Gained Putting.

Each course this week provides four Par 5’s, which players will need to take care of should they have hopes of claiming this championship. Mickelson will be very confident in doing so, as he comes into this event second in this field for Strokes Gained on Par 5’s over his last 24 rounds. Mickelson is also a fabulous putter on poa annua greens. Over his last 50 rounds on poa annua greens, he sits third in Strokes Gained Putting.

Despite beginning his year with a missed cut at the CareerBuilder and a T45 at The Farmers, Mickelson ranks second in this field for Strokes Gained Approaching the Green over his last 12 rounds and second in Strokes Gained Putting over the same period. At a course which Mickelson thrives on, there’s a sense that his game is rounding into shape to give him a great opportunity to win for the first time since 2013.

Another Pebble Beach specialist who I like this week is Brandt Snedeker (35/1, DK Price $8,100). The two-time champion has been slow to get back in the groove after his injury last year, but last week he recorded his best finish since his layoff. That should have him feeling good on his return to a place he loves.

Possessing one of the best short games in golf, it should be no surprise that Snedeker has excelled here. He’s second in this field for Strokes Gained Around the Green for his last 24 rounds and first for Strokes Gained: Short Game. His scrambling ability is something that makes him a specialist at this event, where getting the ball up and down around these small greens is vital.

His ability to score on short Par 4’s is another asset that he possesses. Over his past 24 rounds, Snedeker is No. 1 in this field for Efficiency on Par 4’s measuring between 350-400 yards and third in Proximity to the Hole for approaches between 125-150 yards — a yardage he will see plenty of this week. He finished fourth at this event last year, and barring an off week with his reliable wedge game and superb short game you can expect to see Snedeker in the hunt for title No. 3 here.

While Mickelson and Snedeker both have terrific records at Pebble Beach, my No. 3 pick is making his debut this week — and the fact that this is the first visit for Branden Grace (40/1, DK Price $9,100) is my only concern about him. It’s a surprise that this is his first trip to Pebble Beach, as it’s an event that should suit his game.

Grace possesses a very tidy short game — he sits 5th in this field for Strokes Gained Around the Green for his last 24 rounds — but it’s his performance on short-to-medium Par 4’s that grabbed my attention. His last 12 rounds on the PGA Tour at the end of last year see him ranked fourth in the field for Efficiency on Par 4’s between 350-400 yards and seventh on Par 4’s between 400-450 yards.

Grace is making his first start of the year on the PGA Tour, but he isn’t coming in cold. He has performed well to start his season on the European Tour, winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge in November and beginning 2018 with a solo second at his home event, the BMW SA Open.

Grace’s form at the RBC Heritage makes me believe that this event should match up very well for his type of game. Just like this week’s venue, Harbour Town Golf Links is a short links course that possesses some of the smallest greens on tour. It is also an event that can get windy like Pebble Beach can. Grace has a very impressive record at the RBC Heritage, with results of seventh, first, and 11th, and I believe his game should prove just as good a fit at Pebble Beach.

Recommended Plays

• Phil Mickelson 28/1, DK Price $9,600
• Brandt Snedeker 35/1, DK Price $8,100
• Branden Grace 40/1, DK Price $9,100