With the NFL season having concluded on Sunday and Major League Baseball teams reporting for Spring Training this week, fans of those sports are in transition. It’s the annual emergence from hibernation in the frozen tundra to daydreams in a T-shirt on a Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field or a warm summer night at Fenway Park.

The PGA TOUR is the through line of it all and more than replete with its own classic yards on which the athletes compete. Perhaps no host site would garner the most votes as the most iconic than Pebble Beach Golf Links, so it’s fitting that it’s where the PGA TOUR is during this inflection point on the sports calendar.

On top of that, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am launches the series of Signature Events for the 2026 season. The first of eight accommodates 80 golfers, none of whom will be sweating a cut because there isn’t one.

Read more below on the format of the tournament that’s actually contested across two courses for two rounds, how each sets up and more.

In hindsight, last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am served as a springboard for the two most-feared talents in the sport. For Scottie Scheffler, it marked his delayed return from a holiday hiccup in the kitchen that still didn’t disrupt his streak of PGA TOUR Player of the Year Awards, now at four in a row. For Rory McIlroy, it ignited a flurry of impressive and meaningful victories worldwide with the bonus of completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters. He’s now chasing the kind of history that doesn’t seem possible even when you dream big.

Both are back on the Monterey Peninsula this week. It’s the kind of backdrop built for reunions like this one. Because it’s Pebble Beach, it accentuates the reflection of the impact of what was achieved since they were last here. It’s historic, beautiful, momentous and fulfilling. And now they get another chance to contribute to their legacies on it.

The 85th edition of the tournament will again be presented in two stages of sorts. For each of the first two rounds, all 80 golfers will be paired with an amateur and play one round each on Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. For the final two rounds, only Pebble Beach will be used.

The courses have ranked as the shortest two par 72s on the PGA TOUR every season since 2015-16. While hardly egregious, that fact might be in jeopardy by the time the 2026 season is in the books. The par-5 14th hole on Spyglass Hill now tips at 590 yards. The increase of 30 yards pushes its overall length to 7,071 yards. It’s the only change on the scorecard but the green on the par-3 15th hole has been redone and enlarged.

Meanwhile, thanks to a new tee on the par-5 sixth hole, Pebble Beach is 17 yards longer for an aggregate 6,989 yards. As part of a years-long plan ahead of hosting the U.S. Open next year, the green at the par-4 10th hole is new and larger compared to its previous square footage. Hey, even Wrigley Field has undergone a slew of upgrades and enhancements in the last 10 years.

Pebble’s greens remain the smallest on average at 3,500 square feet. The targets at Spyglass Hill are 5,000 square feet, so still measurably smaller than PGA TOUR average. All putting surfaces consist of Poa annua grass and are prepared to have the chance to reach 12 feet as measured by the Stimpmeter, but Mother Nature has the final say as always, especially here.

The first two rounds should be played in relatively cool but dry conditions. Wind may kick up later on Friday, but it’d be merely an omen for what’s possible on the weekend. As clouds move in on Saturday, the threat of rain will rise and temps will remain steady in the upper 50s. Sunday’s finale could be played entirely in rain and with a pesky wind off the coast as a teaser ahead of even more intense energy that promises to follow. Not surprisingly, Pebble Beach ranks shortest in distance of all drives almost every year, but when it’s wet, club selection will be imperative to avoid the primary rough that’s allowed to grow to 3 inches.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.COM's Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X where you can connect with him.

MONDAY: Power Rankings
TUESDAY: Sleepers*; Expert Picks**; Fantasy Insider
SUNDAY:Qualifiers

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**Rob also is included in Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf that publishes on Tuesday.