The first Signature Event of the 2026 PGA Tour season commences Thursday with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.
While many of the top golfers in the world vie for the year's first signature event title, there are more ways to bet the tournament than just who will emerge victorious on Sunday. For more instant gratification, we turn to the First Round Leader market to find value on who will sit atop the leaderboard when play comes to an end on Thursday.
Here are my favorite AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am first-round leader picks and bets for Thursday.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: First Round Leader Picks, Bets
Maverick McNealy +2000 (Pebble Beach)
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is unique in that the field is evenly distributed across two courses during each of the first two rounds. As a result, there are two separate first-round leader markets, one for each course.
Both of these selections come from Pebble Beach, which is the only course featuring ShotLink data and is therefore easier to handicap.
Pebble Beach emphasizes wedge play and putting, given its shorter layout. There were three measured rounds at this venue last season, as every golfer also played Pebble Beach during the final two rounds of the tournament.
Among those golfers, each of the top four finishers ranked 19th or better in the field in strokes gained: putting across those three rounds at Pebble Beach. No other strokes-gained category showed a similar trend.
Because short-game performance is critical here, Maverick McNealy profiles well to contend. McNealy is elite on the greens, ranking in the 92nd percentile on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting.
It is therefore not surprising that he has recorded two top-five finishes at this event.
Wyndham Clark +3000 (Pebble Beach)
Another golfer playing Pebble Beach during Thursday’s opening round is Wyndham Clark. He holds the single-round course record of 60 at this venue, making him a strong candidate in this market.
Clark’s greatest strength is his short game, which played a major role in his victory at this event in 2024, when he gained 3.58 true strokes gained: putting. He is also effective with his wedges, finishing 2025 above the PGA Tour average in birdie-or-better percentage from inside 125 yards.
Last year, 28% of approach shots at Pebble Beach came from that range, well above the PGA Tour average.
Clark was also a strong starter last season, finishing the year with a sub-70 first-round scoring average.
