pga tour pro am format

How Does The Pro Am Work? Costs & Scoring Formats

There are many things that make professional golf unique as compared to other professional sports. One of those things is the pro-am tournament. Amateurs teaming up and playing with professionals is something that sets golf apart from other sports.

How does a pro am work?  A pro-am is a golf tournament where professional and amateur golfers play together. They’re typically one-day events held during the week of a tour event. Most pro-ams use the best ball format and are held for charity. You could join if you are willing to pay the fees, ranging from $12,000 to $40,000 for Tour events.

This article will look at all aspects of the Pro-Am tournament.

• What is a Pro-Am?
• How Does A Pro Am Work?
• How Does Pro Am Scoring Work?
• How Can You Participate in a Pro Am?

How Much Does a Pro-Am Cost to Play in?

• What is Golf’s Most Famous Pro-Am?

What is a Pro-Am in Golf?

What is the pro am scoring format, golf’s most famous pro-am, pro-am etiquette and suggested do’s and don’ts, charitable giving, sponsor appreciation, business networking, how much does it cost to play in at&t pro-am, can anyone play in a pro-am, do pros get paid to play in pro-ams.

A pro-am is typically a one-day event that takes place during the first part of the week of a PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, or other major Tour event. The event consists of teams made up of one Tour professional and anywhere from one to four amateurs.

If you consider other pro sports, such as the NBA, NFL, or MLB, they all only have competitions held with the pros playing. Golf is different. Through the pro-am, professionals and amateurs can tee it up together.

The pro-am has long been part of the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and the other major tours.

The most famous pro-am has to be the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which you’ll learn more about below. In this event, you see celebrities such as Bill Murray and Ray Romano, and athletes like Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young tee it up.

You could even join them. if you can pay the entry fees, and they’re not cheap.

Read More: How Do Tournaments Work?

How Does The Pro-Am Work

When it comes to the pro am meaning, we’ll first cover how to participate and then we’ll cover the format of the tournament.

Golf fans like yourself or celebrities can play in a pro am. But if you want to play in a PGA Tour or LPGA Tour Pro-Am it is by no means cheap.

According to Golf.com , the average PGA Tour Pro-Am will set a foursome back $31,000. On the LPGA Tour, between $12,000 and $16,000 per foursome.

The following is a look at what the cost was to play in some noteworthy pro-ams in 2021. You can bet that the price is a little higher this year.

• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM – $40,000 per person
• The Travelers Monday Pro-Am – $19,000 per foursome*
• The Travelers Wednesday Pro-Am – $27,000 per foursome*
• John Deere Monday Pro-Am – $12,000 per foursome*
• John Deere Wednesday Pro-Am – $20,000 per foursome*
• CME Group Tour Championship Pro-Am – $20,000 per foursome*

*Source: Golf.com

If you pay up, then you’d be randomly paired up with a golf pro, which would be announced at the pairing party before the event.

Pro ams can make dreams come true for a golf fan and could be an amazing gift and experience if you have the money for it.

Read more on Golf Span: What Are The Four Majors in Golf? Know Your Tournaments

The pro-am format is usually best  ball . Below, a few of the main highlights of the best ball format in a pro-am are explained.

All Golfers on the Team Play Their Own Ball

It is a given that the professional in the group will play their own ball throughout the entirety of the event. Each amateur will play their own ball throughout the round as well. If an amateur is playing a hole badly, and will likely make a much higher score than the others on the team, they can pick their ball up on that hole.

Your Team’s Score Is Based On The Best Score Per Hole

The best score on a hole from all players on the team will be recorded as the team score. The amateurs or am’s will be playing off their handicap, so their score on each hole will be the net score. Net score refers to the player’s score on a hole after their handicap is taken into account.

• If an amateur golfer is an 18 handicap, they will get one stroke on every hole. So if they make a birdie 4 on a par 5, they will make a net eagle 3.
• If an amateur golfer is a 20 handicap golfer, they will get one stroke a hole for handicap holes 1-16, and two strokes on the two hardest holes on the course.

You Play From The Appropriate Tee

The professionals will play from the tees they will play in the main tournament. The amateurs will play the appropriate tees based on factors such as handicap, gender, and even age. This will be determined by the tournament committee.

Do Pro-Ams Use Other Scoring Formats?

Occasionally, the format is a scramble . In a scramble format, the process works like this:

• All players hit a tee shot from their designated tee.
• The team will pick the best tee shot to use from all of the tee shots hit.
• From the chosen tee shot, all players will hit the second shot from that spot.
• They will continue this format until the ball is holed.

Check this out: What To Wear To A Golf Tournament: Tips for Men & Women

Golf’s most famous Pro-Am is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am .

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is different from most Pro-Ams. The teams are made up of one professional and one amateur, and for those that make the cut.

How many rounds are in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am? It is a 72-hole Pro-Am event in the team portion.

The amateurs (ams) that play are made up of celebrities, athletes, and titans of business.

This is a very entertaining event and one enjoyed by professionals, amateurs, and all those that watch it.

For amateur golfers that get to play in a Pro-Am, it can be an exciting experience. It can also be one that can make you a little nervous.

The following are some etiquette tips and dos and don’ts to consider if you are lucky enough to play in a Pro-Am.

• Pick it up-  Probably one of the most important things to consider when playing in a Pro-Am is your pace of play. It will most likely be a slow round anyway, but you don’t want to add to that. If you are clearly out of a hole, and your score will likely not count, pick your ball up.
• Stay cool and be yourself-  Let’s say you get paired with Tiger Woods. Yeah, I know, that would be incredible…but also, potentially terrifying too! Just remember to keep your cool, and be yourself. Tiger and all of the famous golfers on professional tours are human too. Some players may even be just as nervous in meeting the ams in their group.
• Don’t pester your pro-  Do make it a point to interact with your professional. Feel free to ask him about how he got started in the game, or perhaps about his equipment. I would suggest refraining from asking them questions about technique, however. Let them make suggestions to you when they see fit. Remember, they are also preparing for their tournament later in the week too. Too many questions on technique may not be good for them.
• Have fun and enjoy the moment-  Remember to have fun and enjoy the moment! You are playing on one of the game’s best golf courses, in peak conditions, and with a top professional in the game, that is special stuff! Enjoy!

What Is The Purpose Of  Pro-Am Events?

When learning, what does a pro am mean in golf, it’s also important to know why these events are held. There are many reasons why the PGA Tour and the other major Tours conduct Pro-Am events. They include the following:

One of the main purposes of a Pro-Am is to give back to the local community. Through events run under the PGA Tour umbrella, including their Pro-Am, the not-for-profit organization is closing in on $4 Billion raised for charity .

Professional golf raises more money for charity than all other professional sports combined.

The game of golf itself is remarkably charitable. Beyond what the PGA Tour, and other professional tours give back to the community, the game has long been a mechanism for fundraising and giving back.

According to the American Golf Industry Coalition , golf as an industry generates an astounding $4 Billion annually for charity.

With the Pro-Am’s conducted in conjunction with PGA Tour events, one of the reasons for having them is to thank event sponsors. Without the numerous corporate sponsors that contribute to making professional golf events what they are, there would not be the success we see today.

The Pro-Am is a chance to thank those sponsors by giving them the opportunity to take part in a one-of-a-kind event. Playing with the world’s best golfers, on some of the best courses in the world, is quite an honor. It is a memorable experience for those lucky enough to take part.

Golf has always been seen as a great way of networking for business. Many deals are made on the golf course. For those that play in a Pro-Am, both amateur and professional participants, there are many potential opportunities for growing their brands.

The golf course is the perfect place to really get to know someone. With most Pro-Am events taking anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, you will have plenty of time to do just that.

Find out more: Everything You Need To Know About The Masters Tournament

Know you should know the answer to the question, how does the pro am work? A pro-am is something special and unique to golf. Unlike all other sports, a pro am works in a way that allows both professionals and amateurs to play and compete together.

Pro ams are usually played in the Best Ball format with handicaps taken into account. This type of tournament allows the amateurs to be a major part of the final results. It is definitely not just the professional contributing.

Pro-am events serve many purposes. They are a chance to raise money for various local charities in the event’s host city. They are also an opportunity to thank the main event’s sponsors.

From the most famous, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, to the regular week-to-week Pro-Am events on the various Tours, it is not cheap to play in these. The benefits however are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and giving back to the community.

It has been reported that it costs roughly $40,000 per person to play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Just ponying up the money alone won’t get you in, however. You do need to be invited first to take part.

For most regular professional pro-am events, yes. In theory at least. As long as you can come up with the entry fee. However, some require you to be invited. While others are strictly open to those with ties to the event’s sponsors.

Yes. The professionals that take part in the pro-am events do get paid a little bit to take part. Beyond that, they are highly encouraged to take part. It is in their best interest to do so as well. It puts them in a good light with the sponsors and fans.

Brendon Elliott

Brendon is Class A PGA Professional and founded Little Linksters, LLC, and its nonprofit arm, the Little Linksters Association for Junior Golf Development. He won 25+ prestigious industry honors, including the 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award. He graduated from the PGA of America Management Program and has a handicap index of 7.8.

He has played golf for over 40 years and currently plays twice a month at the Eagle Dunes Golf Club near Sorrento, Florida. He loves Srixon clubs and plays a ZX5 driver with Z 585 irons. He's written over 60 articles on GolfSpan and specializes in sharing tips to improve your golf game. You can connect with Brendon at  LinkedIn , X , IG , FB , his website , or [email protected] .

• Best score : 69
• Favorite driver : Srixon ZX5
• Favorite ball : Srixon Z Star
• Favorite food at the turn : Turkey and cheese on white
• Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott Masters 2024 Highlights: Scheffler Wins Again
• Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott Driver vs. Iron Grip: Adjust By Club for Better Performance?
• Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott How Many Dimples Are on a Golf Ball?
• Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott How Far To Stand From A Golf Ball: A Simple Rule To Follow

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The Golf Pro Am Explained: A Golfer’s Dream

Golf is such a fun sport as you can play in so many different formats and tournaments. But what is a golf pro am?

It’s easy to get confused with so many formats –  Stableford , shamble, 4-ball,  Chapman , etc. However, a pro-am tournament is not like most golf formats as it’s a combination of amateurs and one pro golfer.

Imagine getting the chance to play golf with your favorite PGA (or LPGA) Tour player at the site of a PGA Tour event? For most of us it sounds like a dream and luckily, you might get to make it happen if you can find your way into a professional pro am.

This makes for a ton of fun on the golf course. Let’s get into the pro am format and different types of these events. 

What is a Golf Pro-Am Event? 

A golf pro-am is when an amateur golfer (or team of amateurs) plays with a professional golfer. This can happen at a local golf club pro level all the way up to PGA Tour events. It brings a professional and amateur golfers together for a fun day on the links.

Playing in a pro am is a great experience and unlike a normal round with your friends. We’ll provide some tips to help you from the registration process to not losing golf balls and helping the team out.

Key Takeaways 

• Pro-ams are a great way to have fun with your friends and play with pro golfers – sometimes at incredible golf courses.
• There are local pros ams that might happen at a country club and/or PGA pro-ams that happen with the best golfers in the world.
• A Monday pro am is less common as most take place the Wednesday before a tournament starts.  

Keep reading to learn more about pro-ams in golf.

Format and Scoring 

The format for these events tends to be four amateur golfers and one professional. But depending on the tournament it might be a 2-man event, one pro and one amateur. Or, one pro and three amateurs (which avoids having groups of five on the course).

It’s great for pros as they can help amateur golfers with some swing tips and also show off their game. While amateurs get to meet professional golfers, take pictures, get swag bags, and maybe even win the event. 

Local Pro-Ams 

Scoring will depend on the event as I’ve played several different ones. With local pro ams, it’s usually one gross score and two net scores. 

For example, I played in an annual event with four amateurs and one pro. Based on handicap, there is an A, B, C, and D player and we played the white tees (about 6,200 yards). While the pro played the back tees (about 400 yards longer). 

Each hole we all played our own golf ball then handicaps are factored in to figure out the scoring. In this event it was one gross and two nets – which could all come from amateurs or the pro too. 

These can be a single or two events in some cases. 

PGA Pro-Ams

Meanwhile, the PGA and LPGA Tour also have pro-ams almost every week. They tend to happen on Monday (not very often) or Wednesday in a morning and afternoon session.

The Monday pro-ams are usually cheaper to enter (more on entry fees coming up) and feature lower ranked golfers. Wednesday pro-ams feature higher ranked players and are single day events – either 9 or 18 holes. 

The format varies but it’s usually a  best-ball  or  scramble  format. The pros play the upcoming tournament tees to prepare for the event while amateurs play up to speed up pace of play.

Perhaps the best example of this in professional golf events is the Pebble Beach Pro-Am which is played every year. It takes place at Pebble Beach golf links and the other courses in the rotation.

It’s the most iconic event in golf as it pairs one PGA pro with one amateur. Some of the big names to compete over the years include Bill Murray, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Larry Fitzgerald, and many other athletes or celebrities.

These are tons of fun for amateurs as they get to see high-level golf first hand. Plus, there is usually some sort of networking party, swag bags, and prizes too. 

The entry fees are when things get interesting – especially when competing in a PGA Tour pro-am. Just how much? A lot more than your average tee time as described in this Golf.com  article .

“$31,000 per foursome on the PGA Tour, and between $12,000 and $16,000 on the LPGA Tour. The granddaddy of these events is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It commands $25,000 per person, but you need to secure an invite for the right to pay that amount.”

Yikes! This article was published in 2021 but now it’s been estimated the Pebble Beach pro-am is north of $40,000 per player… assuming you get an invitation. Needless to say, these are not cheap events.

But don’t worry, they’re for a good cause. As the same   Golf.com article mentioned,  “These events raise millions for the tournament’s charity partners, or, in some cases, they help finance the tournament itself. It’s the single largest revenue line for the majority of events.” 

Yes, they’re expensive but they’re also a bucket list day to play a bucket list course with a professional golfer. 

Local Pro-Am Entry Fees 

If you can find a local pro-am they’re much cheaper than a PGA Tour event. Depending on if it’s a one-day event or two days it might only be $200-$400 – including food and drink tickets. 

FAQs About Golf Tournaments

Do you have more questions about different types of competitive events in golf? If so, keep reading to learn more now. 

What does pro-am mean in golf?

A pro-am golf tournament is when a team of amateur golfers play with one pro in their group. This can happen at a local level at your country club all the way to a PGA or LPGA Tour event. 

What handicap do you need to play in a pro-am?

It depends on the tournament but generally there isn’t a requirement. Playing with a pro can feel intimidating so make sure you have the right mental attitude to score well. 

Do professional golfers get paid for pro-ams?

Sometimes they do get paid – other times it’s part of their “required” duties as PGA players and/or sponsorship obligations. 

Why is it called a pro-am? 

Because amateurs play with professional golfers for a team score vs other pro-am teams. These types of events have been around for decades and loved by amateurs as they get to meet and play with elite golfers. 

Does LIV Golf have pro ams?

Despite their non-conforming ways of three day events and wearing shorts in competition, yes they do have pro-ams. It’s three amateurs with one LIV golfer for 18 holes the day before the tournament starts. 

When researching an upcoming LIV tournament I found the pricing to be about 7,500 euros (per player). This includes the pro-am itself and also VIP passes to the event too. You can easily sign up online under the ticket sections – if you feel like forking over that kind of money. 

Can anyone play in a PGA pro am?

Yes, if you pay the entry fees you can play… unless there is a certain handicap limit that you do not reach. 

Can amateur golfers get paid? 

Yes, but only up to $1,000 per the  USGA  rules of golf.

Here’s the full language in the rule book,  “An amateur golfer may accept prize money up to the limit when playing in a scratch competition only. The $1000 limit applies to non-cash prizes in a handicap competition.”

This is typically rewarded in pro-shop credit and/or gift cards – not cash. However, amateur golfers can accept cash payments when competing in skins games. 

Is it hard to be a pro golfer?

Yes, it’s extremely competitive to make it on the Korn Ferry and/or PGA Tour. They only have a limited number of cards available which makes every shot throughout the year count. 

Want to learn more about pro golf?  Click here now . 

How do I prepare for a pro-am?

If you’re an amateur golfer and want to play good in pro am events follow these tips:

• Confirm registration date/time.
• Practice your short game and putting a lot.
• Avoid swing changes heading into the event.
• Make sure to work on your  pre-shot routine  to calm nerves.

Finally, make sure to have fun in your pro-am event!

My Pro-Am Experience

Playing in local pro-ams are a ton of fun as you get to hang out with your friends and play with good golfers. Plus, if you’re the A player in your group, you might even beat the pro on a good day (I’ve done this a few times and can say it doesn’t make them happy).

If you have a chance to play in a local pro-am I highly recommend it. While it tends to be a slower day of golf (since there are five players per group) it’s still usually a lot of fun.

While a bucket list goal for a lot of golfers is playing a PGA pro-am to play amazing courses with a top-rated player. Unfortunately, these cost a ton of money but never say never! I’ve yet to compete in a pro am event but it’s definitely on my list of  golf goals .

But if you’re ever able to play in a Wednesday pro-am at the club hosting a pro event, do it!  

Final Thoughts on a Pro Am Tournament

Pro am events serve as a great way to let amateur golfers play with elite golfers and raise money for a good cause. Pro am events at the professional level happen each week, either on a Monday or Wednesday.

Plus, it’s fun for golf fans to watch on TV too.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am format and rules: Why 2024 is drastically different

Breaking down the format and rules for this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as one of golf's most breathtaking venues hosts one of its strongest fields in recent memory.

By Josh Chandler | Feb 1, 2024

The 2024 edition of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will welcome some of the best players in the world this week to one of the game's most iconic and stunning venues.

Along with boasting its strongest field ever this week with nine of the world's Top 10 OWGR-ranked players in attendance, for the first time, outside of the 2021 pandemic-impacted event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will be played across two courses after having previously been held across three every year since Pebble first hosted the event back in 1947.

Following in the footsteps of the season-opening Sentry and chosen as one of eight of the PGA Tour's new signature events in 2024, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will host one of the strongest fields of the year along with one of the biggest purses of the season.

This week, a massive prize purse of $20 million along with 700 FedEx Cup points awarded to the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion is up for grabs. A new course rotation, an impressive field, and an eye-opening prize are just a few of the changes at Pebble this week. Let's take a look at the event's format for 2024 and what else will be different.

Will the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am implement a cut?

No. Unlike your traditional event on the PGA Tour and the four major championships, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will not have a cut at the halfway point this year.

As one of the newly minted 'signature events', this year's championship will follow in the footsteps of the majority of the PGA Tour's limited-field events and no longer implement a cut. Only the player-hosted invitationals, the Genesis, Arnold Palmer, and Memorial will still have a cut even with its elevated status as a signature event.

What about the Pro-Am?

Yes. As the name would suggest, the tournament will still have a Pro-Am for two of its four rounds. However, only a select few famous athletes will still participate this year and the celebrities who have been a staple of this event in years past won't take part this time around. Sorry, Bill Murray and company.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am rules: format for 2024

As a signature event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will host a field of 80 players across four rounds of action.

Some of the best golfers in the world alongside their amateur playing partners will compete at Pebble Beach on either Thursday or Friday and Spyglass Hill on the other.

Following the first two days, only the professionals will advance through to the weekend with both of the scheduled rounds on Saturday and Sunday taking place at the iconic Pebble Beach.

Next. 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am DFS Picks. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am DraftKings Picks. light

The 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is scheduled to begin on Thursday, February 1st, with ESPN+ and PGA Tour Live beginning its coverage at 11:45 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET. Golf Channel will have coverage from 3 - 7 p.m. ET. Begin your free trial of Fubo TV today and don't miss a second of the action!

Grace Kaufman, our Creative Director and a Golf Course Design Specialist, brings a touch of creativity and visual flair to The Golf Mine. With a keen eye for design and a deep understanding of course layout, she ensures that our content not only informs but also engages and inspires. Grace's innovative approach, combined with her specialization in golf course design, enhances the overall experience for our readers, making our blog more than just words on a screen.

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What Is A Pro-Am In Golf? Criteria And Cost To Attend

When it comes to tournaments in golf, people talk about professional events such as PGA championships, Master, U.S. Open, and LIV tournaments…These events are only for professional golfers who are skillful and famous in golf.

What about the play for amateur golfers?

The survey conducted by The Professional Athlete Index revealed that only one out of 51,346 golfers became professional. That means the chance for you to play in these professional tournaments is 0.00194%. This number tells all! It’s very difficult and costs you a lot of money to be a pro golfer.

That’s when Pro-Am comes to golf, where amateurs can play with professionals and also have their own play. Presenting their skill, introducing new seeds, as well as exchanging with pros golfers.

So, what is a Pro-Am in Golf? Is it beneficial to amateurs and other relevant parties, and how does it work? This article will reveal these things for you, including how to get a chance to play in this event. Let’s dive into it right now!

Table of Contents

What Is A Pro-Am In Golf?

What Is A Pro-Am in Golf?

A Pro-Am in golf, or Professional-Amateur tournament, is a competitive event where professional and amateur players are paired to compete. 

This type of tournament has been popular in the sport for years because it allows amateurs to gain valuable experience by playing alongside some of the world’s best pros. 

In addition, the Pro-Am format encourages social interaction between professional and amateur players as they encourage each other throughout their rounds. At the end of the play, prizes are awarded based on team scores.

There are many Pro-Am events a year. Most PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and PGA Tour Champions events have pro-am activities. 

Before the professional tournament, its Pro-Am will be organized, usually on Mondays and Wednesdays. One of the most popular and expensive Pro-Am tournaments is AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Why is it so famous and special? Let’s explore more about The Pebble Beach Pro-Am event.

The Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2023

The Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament held annually on the Monterey Peninsula in California, United States.

It is one of the most prestigious and iconic events on the PGA Tour. The tournament is known for its unique format, which pairs professional golfers with amateur players, including celebrities from various fields, creating a blend of golf and entertainment.

The tournament features a field of 156 professionals and 156 amateurs, including celebrities from the world of sports, entertainment, and business.

This year, Pebble Beach Pro-Am welcomes a list of famous celebrities to come, such as Thomas Keller, Macklemore, Gareth Bale, Jason Bateman, Bill Murray, Josh Duhamel, Nate Bargatze, Charles Kelly…

The Pro-Am this year ended up with a victory of 269 scored by professional golfer Justin Rose. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers & Ben Silverman’s team won the AM tournament by 189 scores at the 54-hole finish.

Jack Owen at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am 2023

How Does Pro-Am Work?

Now, you grasped the overview of Pro-Am tournaments. It’s time for you to dive into the details of how a pro-am golf tournament typically works:

Team Formation

Pro-Am tournaments consist of teams that are made up of one professional golfer and anywhere from one to four amateur golfers.

The teams are usually formed by the tournament organizers, who often pair professional golfers with amateur players based on handicaps, skill levels, or sometimes through random draws.

A golfer is also placed in a team if they want; just contact the Pro-Am organizer to discuss this requirement. 

Tournament Format

The format of a pro-am tournament can vary, but the most common format is a “best ball” or “scramble” format.

In a best-ball format, each player (professional and amateur) plays their own ball throughout the round, and the team’s score is determined by taking the best score (lowest number of strokes) among the team members on each hole.

In a scramble format, each team member tees off, and then the team selects the best shot, and all players play their next shots from that location. This process continues until the ball is holed. The team’s score is based on the total number of strokes taken to complete the hole.

Scoring and Prizes

Each team’s score is calculated based on the chosen format (best ball or scramble) and recorded for the pro-am tournament.

However, it’s important to note that pro-am scores are separate from professional tournament scores. Usually, pro-am tournaments have their own set of prizes and rewards for the top-performing teams.

These prizes can include trophies, merchandise, or even opportunities to play in future pro-am events.

For example, the purse of this year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am is 9 million dollars for professionals and 1,620,000 dollars for first place, while last year’s was 8,7 million dollars payout.

Interaction and Learning

One of the primary benefits of participating in a pro-am tournament for amateur golfers is the opportunity to play alongside and learn from professional golfers.

During the round, amateurs get the chance to observe the professionals’ techniques, strategies, and skills up close. This interaction can be a valuable learning experience and can also create memorable moments for amateurs.

Benefits of Pro-Am

The main purpose of a Pro-Am in golf is to bring together professional golfers and amateur players in a competitive and entertaining setting. 

Pro-Ams provide an opportunity for amateur golfers to experience playing alongside professionals, gaining insights into their game and getting a taste of the tournament atmosphere.

Besides the core purpose of creating a play for golf amateurs and pros, Pro-Am also brings a bunch of benefits to sponsor companies, also for golf fans, and other entertainment fans, communities…

Pro-Ams add an element of entertainment to the golfing experience. They often feature well-known celebrities, athletes from other sports, and influential individuals from the business world playing alongside the professionals. 

This combination of talent creates an engaging and enjoyable event for spectators and participants alike. As we mentioned before, this year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am welcomes a lot of celebrities, which brings excitement not only for golf fans but also for other entertainment fans.

Many Pro-Ams are organized as charity events, aiming to raise funds for worthy causes. Participants, sponsors, and spectators contribute to these charitable endeavors. 

The Pro-Am format helps attract attention, as people are more inclined to support and donate when they see prominent golfers and celebrities involved.

This is a unique opportunity for amateur golfers to interact with professionals, sponsors, and other influential individuals from various fields.

Participants can build connections, create business relationships, and forge lasting friendships in a relaxed and social environment.

Pro-Ams often have corporate sponsors, and these events also serve as an opportunity for sponsors to showcase their brands and products. 

Sponsors can align themselves with the prestige and excitement of professional golf, gaining exposure and enhancing their reputation among the golfing community and beyond.

Besides, this is also a chance for potential players to appear. What is more wonderful than there is a gemstone for other sponsor companies, other golf organizations catch and nurture them to be the new star. 

Criteria for Attending a Pro-Am

The criteria for attending a Pro-Am in golf can vary depending on the specific event and its organizers. Generally, there are a few key factors to consider when determining eligibility to participate in a Pro-Am:

Invitation: Some Pro-Ams, such as Pebble Beach Pro-Am, are typically invitation-only events, meaning players cannot simply sign up or register on their own. Invitations are extended to specific individuals, including sponsors, celebrities, influential figures, and amateur golfers who may have connections to the organizers or are affiliated with the event’s sponsors.

Handicap Requirement: Many Pro-Ams require amateur participants to have a valid golf handicap. The specific handicap requirement can vary, but it is common for organizers to set a handicap limit; common is around 20 handicaps.

Sponsorship or Pro-Am Package: In some cases, amateur participants may gain entry to a Pro-Am by securing a sponsorship or purchasing a Pro-Am package. These packages often include a spot in the tournament, access to practice rounds, attendance at social events, and sometimes the opportunity to play alongside specific professional golfers.

Donations or Fundraising: Certain Pro-Ams may allow amateur participants to gain entry by making a significant donation to the charitable cause associated with the event. This provides an avenue for individuals who may not meet other criteria to participate while contributing to the fundraising efforts.

Celebrity Status: In Pro-Ams that feature celebrities or influential figures, the criteria for attending may be based on one’s status in the entertainment, sports, or business world. Celebrities and influential individuals are often invited to participate to add entertainment value, generate media attention, and attract sponsors and spectators.

It’s important to note that the specific criteria for attending a Pro-Am can vary widely depending on the tournament and its organizers. Each event may have its own unique requirements and guidelines for participation.

It is advisable to check the official tournament website or contact the event organizers directly to understand the specific criteria and process for attending a particular Pro-Am.

Tiger Woods at AT&T  Pebble Beach Pro Am 2022

How Much Does It Cost to Attend a Pro-Am?

Attending a Pro-Am event comes at a price, with entry fees varying based on the specific event. Typically, these fees range between $2,500 and $10,000. 

It is common for these entrance fees to be charged per group, typically consisting of four players. 

For a PGA-level tour Pro-Am, the costs tend to be significantly higher. Take, for instance, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which can cost participants up to $40,000 . 

Alternatively, the Symetra Tour Pro-Am offers a more affordable option, charging $2,000 for a group of three. It’s important to keep in mind that these costs reflect the financial commitment associated with attending a Pro-Am event.

Besides the entry fee, participants should also consider other potential expenses, such as caddie fees, meals, accommodation and travel, and incidentals during their time at the Pro-Am. These costs can vary depending on personal preferences and the services provided by the tournament organizers.

Do You Need A Handicap To Play In A Pro-Am?

Many Pro-Ams require amateur participants to have a valid golf handicap. The specific handicap requirement can vary, but it is common for organizers to set the handicap around 20 handicaps.

Do Pros Get Paid To Play in Pro-Ams?

Professional golfers are usually paid to compete in pro-am. The amount varies depending on the tournament and its organizers. Professional golfers also often receive additional compensation for participating in pro-am in the form of merchandise, travel expenses, and other incentives.

Can Anyone Play in a Pro-Am?

The criteria for attending a Pro-Am can vary widely depending on the specific event and its organizers. Generally, there are a few key factors to consider when determining eligibility, such as invitation, handicap requirement, sponsorship or pro-am package, donations or fundraising and celebrity status. It is advisable to check the official tournament website or contact the event organizers directly to understand the specific criteria and process for attending a particular Pro-Am.

Final Thoughts

Pro-Ams can be an exciting and rewarding experience for golfers of all levels. These events allow players to play alongside professional golfers, build relationships with sponsors, and enjoy a unique atmosphere with like-minded individuals. However, it is important to keep in mind the criteria and costs associated with attending a Pro-Am before making any commitments. With that in mind, interested players can find out more information about specific Pro-Ams by checking event websites or contacting tournament organizers directly.

Hello everyone, I'm Alvin Daniel. I was born in the Philippines and came to the United States when I was 16 years old. I started playing golf at that age and have loved it ever since. I turned professional when I was 21 and have been working as a golf instructor and guide ever since. My goal is to help everyone know more about this great game of golf. And, hopefully, through my instruction, they can improve their skills and enjoy the game even more.

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There Are Good Pro-Ams, And There Are Bad Pro-Ams

Golfer: OSTILL/iStock/Getty Images; Key: Zone Creative/iStock/Getty Images Plus

In the past I've used this column to criticize PGA Tour policy, but sometimes you have to give credit where it's due. Quite simply, the tour has made Wednesdays great again. The new pro-am format hasn't been conducted at every tournament this season, but where it has, the vibe in the locker room has been better.

The guys are happier because they love having to play only nine holes. Amateurs still go 18 and get to team with two pros instead of one.

It's a smart change for several reasons. From the veterans' perspective, most of us don't want to play a full round on the eve of a 72-hole tournament. If I draw the afternoon wave on Wednesday and an early tee time on Thursday, chances are I'll leave the course at dark and return before dawn. But nine holes to see the course conditions, hit a bag of balls afterward if the swing needs some work, then have a relaxing dinner—that's perfect.

For young pros, twice as many get the benefit of the pro-am experience. The old format maxed out at 52 pros, but now it's 104, or about two-thirds of the field. I tell rookies, you won't always meet potential business contacts, but always work on sharpening your interpersonal skills for when you do.

Obviously the ams who get paired with Tiger, Jordan, Rory and the other big stars are bummed to get only half the time. But the ams with the connections to land in those groups are generally doing more than OK in life anyway.

If there's one pro-am format I detest, it's playing the same par 3 all day. When a sponsor wants maximum value and is looking to expose you to all 22 groups booked for an outing, this is what they'll ask for. But a 185-yard walk is not enough time for meaningful human interaction. I'm like a parrot: "Hey, how's your day going? Where you from? Kind of windy today, isn't it?"

“IT’S ABSURD, BUT I LEGITIMATELY START TO FEEL NERVES AND PRESSURE.”

The first thing I always do the morning of one of these torture sessions is adjust the tee markers. If I have to hit the same tee shot 22 times, you bet I'm making it a stock yardage. My performance will follow a consistent curve. It takes a few attempts until I get the hang of the shot, and then I get hot, and it's actually kind of fun for a while seeing how close I can hit it. Then, by about the 14th hole, I get bored and start spraying the ball. It's an odd mental space. It's absurd, but I legitimately start to feel nerves and pressure. This is the one hole these people get to see me play, and I know a poor shot from me will partly ruin their day. Yet at the same time, I don't care. Just when I think I'm drifting into insanity, the cart comes to rescue me.

When a sponsor is going for bulk, I tell them I'd prefer to play three holes each with say, six foursomes. This is enough time to learn a little about each person and offer a tip. But if a sponsor is dead set on doing the par-3 "wind-up doll" dance, I'll give 'em what they pay for.

I've played in lots of pro-am groups where I've been the least accomplished person by a mile. I've met generals, actors, CEOs, stars from other sports, philanthropists and interesting people from all walks of life. Quite often, the honor is truly mine.

But a word of advice if you ever play in a PGA Tour pro-am: Don't be the jerk sticking his chest out trying to outdrive me or beat me on a hole. Every week there are always a few. Good news is, we don't have to put up with you for more than nine holes now. — With Max Adler

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Pga tour plans to use “9&9” pro-am format at record 18 events this year.

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If success is best measured by imitation, consider the PGA Tour’s “9&9” pro-am format a qualified triumph.

In 2018, when the circuit introduced the format, which allows players to play nine holes of the pro-am with one pro before finishing the round with a second pro, the idea was to inject some new life into the events that had largely become stale for both players and amateurs.

When the policy was unveiled, seven events embraced the new format. According to last month’s Greensheet, an internal memo sent to players, that number has expanded to 18 Tour events this year, including new additions, this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Wyndham Championship later this year.

The “9&9” format mitigates the commitment each player must make and gives amateur participants a chance to meet and interact with two Tour pros.

The Tour halted pro-am’s during last year’s pandemic but selectively resumed the events in the fall. The revenue produced by each week’s pro-am provides a large portion of each tournament’s operating budget, particularly with the absence of fans because of COVID-19 restrictions.

A Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the PGA Tour’s new era has emerged. Au revoir, Bill Murray

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — There was a time you could show up here and see Clint Eastwood holding Jack Lemmon by his belt as the latter attempted to hit a ball off the edge of a cliff on the 16th hole, with Peter Jacobsen holding Eastwood and Greg Norman holding Jacobsen in a human chain to keep the movie star from being lost out to sea. You could turn on SportsCenter and see more highlights of Bill Murray’s shenanigans or Tony Romo’s shots than of the actual PGA Tour players.

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The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, known as the Clambake going back 80 years, is at the core of the tour’s history. It was this fun, different event on the beautiful coast of California that served as a little celebrity party with Hollywood stars and famous athletes putting on a show in front of large galleries. And more than you may realize, the story of the PGA Tour’s formation and development can’t be told without Bing Crosby and Pebble Beach.

But this week, Pebble Beach will be about the golf. At least more than ever before.

There are fewer celebrities. The pro-am will only last two days. And this tournament that hadn’t attracted elite fields for the last two decades suddenly has 48 of the top 50 players in last year’s FedEx Cup standings as the PGA Tour made it a “Signature Event” in 2024 with a $20 million purse. Suddenly the best of the best are back at one of golf’s most iconic courses.

This change is a big deal for the Clambake. It’s a big deal for the local community. But it also represents a small example of the entire shift happening in professional golf. It’s about the golf. It’s about TV. It’s about making an entertainment product that caters to the world and less about the people showing up in Northern California. This is what many golf fans have been pleading for. It’s also a shift that’s not easy.

“It’s incredibly challenging considering the history,” tournament director Steve John said, “… but it’s also exciting to evolve and bring the best pros here. This is such an exciting week.”

Bing Crosby was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars starting in the late 1930s and one of its most avid golfers. He boasted a 2 handicap and once bought a house at Los Angeles Country Club . He had the idea to start a tournament. See, this was long before the formation of any real governing body in golf or any scheduled tour. There were just tournaments spread out across the country, and golfers made the trek to wherever they wanted to play. There were no TV deals or large sponsorships to worry about. So in 1937, Crosby put up $10,000 of his own money for a fun team tournament combining professionals and amateurs at Rancho Santa Fe Country Club outside San Diego. After it was over, they’d have a clambake.

It quickly became one of the most popular events for golfers in the country, and in 1947 it moved up to the Monterey Peninsula, overlooking the gorgeous cliffs and coastlines. And the biggest stars always went. In the early days, it might be Lemmon, Eastwood, Dean Martin and Paul Newman. Later on it became Murray, Chris Berman and Kevin Costner, and NFL stars quickly became a steady presence.

Then came TV coverage of golf, and the Clambake was the perfect product. It could serve as some sort of golf-variety show hybrid. “Come see the stars hacking at golf balls and seeming just like us.” Viewers could see the original film Tarzan — Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller — hit a ball lodged in a tree and then hang from the branch to beat his chest and do the famous Tarzan yell. They could see Lemmon, who never made the cut, make a fool of himself — ABC’s Jim McKay once said on air, “And now here’s Jack Lemmon, about to hit that all-important eighth shot.” And of course, there’s the human chain incident of 1987. Then Bill Murray came along, and the golf-obsessed comedian made this his annual performance, interacting with the crowd and chugging beers.

But the impact was even more granular than just exposure. As the PGA Tour began in 1968, Crosby got other stars to host similar events, from Bob Hope in San Diego to Glen Campbell in Los Angeles to Sammy Davis Jr. in Hartford. Many of those events existed before the celebrity deals, but those celebrities then brought their own relationships with corporate sponsors. Those companies then got further into business with the PGA Tour, like Chrysler signing on to underwrite Hope’s Desert Classic.

And the fact that the Clambake was at Pebble Beach gave it a higher status. This was the course everybody wanted to go to — it’s at or near the top of many golfer’s bucket lists. So much of golf history is intertwined with Pebble, hosting six U.S. Opens with famous winners like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods.

But slowly over time, the top players stopped playing the pro-am at Pebble. By 2005, only five of the top 20 players on tour attended. Last year, only Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland represented. John became accustomed to having to recruit players.

The reasoning is complicated. For starters, rounds took forever. As much fun as it is for Murray to jump into the crowd and start dancing with spectators, those antics that made the event memorable on TV also led to six-hour rounds. Justin Thomas joked this week that he remembers a 2014 nine-hole practice round taking three and a half hours.

Another is the weather. Sure, maybe some of that lore is overstated, but Pebble in February became the most synonymous with the famed “Crosby weather” of fog and rain leading to delays, only adding to the already long days. As this sentence is being typed, some heavy winds caused a structural beam in the media tent to fall. Another factor was the early rounds were broken up across three courses, with Pebble Beach and Spyglass usually the core two. Golfers are rarely big fans of multi-course formats, throwing a large wrinkle of unpredictability and uneven conditions between players. Then you throw in players getting longer and longer off the tee, making the relatively short but iconic Pebble Beach somewhat easy for top players. On top of all of that, it ended up in a tough spot in the schedule. Sandwiched between Torrey Pines, the Phoenix Open and Riviera, plus the DP World Tour event in Dubai, it often turned into the odd man out as players usually avoid playing four tournaments in a row.

So when the PGA Tour made drastic changes for the 2023 season to create eight exclusive signature events with larger purses and more points for the best players, Pebble was not selected, but PGA Tour executive vice president Tyler Dennis said that was a transition year and not necessarily the long-term schedule.

Around that time, Steve John began working with the PGA Tour to see how to make the Pebble Beach Pro-Am one of those valuable tournaments. John said there wasn’t any major feedback from the tour in the way of necessary changes but more of a process in which once they opened the line of communications it seamlessly moved toward the steps of giving it signature status. It also doesn’t hurt that AT&T is the tour’s longest-serving sponsor. Until this year, it sponsored two PGA Tour events before ending its deal with the Byron Nelson for this season. It also didn’t hurt that the Monterey Peninsula Foundation is one of the strongest charitable gives on tour, per Dennis. Then, you throw in Pebble Beach itself.

“You know, when those three parties and the PGA Tour sat down to talk about it, it was just sort of obvious that we needed to make it happen,” Dennis said.

While John and Dennis didn’t say it was directly connected, they changed the format drastically this year right as they were given signature status. Many of the stars were not invited, with just a handful of athletes like Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Buster Posey, Alex Smith and Pau Gasol. The tour did not want to lose the beloved pro-am model, but it also needed to make the tournament work logistically. The trade-off ultimately became fewer celebrities for more elite golfers.

“It’s just two days now, but the experience for the ‘ams’ should be incredible,” John said.

In turn, we get to see the best players return to one of golf’s great courses. Suddenly the tournament is an 80-man, no-cut event at just two courses instead of three. It will be new to see Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and company playing at the Monterey Peninsula this time of year.

While the weather again looks quite hairy this week, the play times have been improved. Thomas said he went from that three-and-a-half-hour nine-hole round in 2014 to playing 18 in four and a half hours while chipping and practicing on each hole.

It’s pure carnage at Pebble Beach and the Golf Twitter feeds are clogged with private equity valuations. So here’s a palate cleanser: Tony Finau casually hitting driver on No. 7 (thank you Boyd Summerhays for this gem). pic.twitter.com/snZGXxBqrr — Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) January 31, 2024

“It has a little less Bing Crosby to it,” said Spieth, who is sponsored by AT&T and remained one of the few to play each year. “It was fun and unique in the way that it was, but it has the feel of closer to a major championship. So I think it will depend on what people that are not me want to do going forward with this event, but this week it feels more like a golfer’s major championship.”

But there’s something full circle about this moment for the Clambake. It was an event built on growing golf and combining star power with the sport. Thirty years later, the PGA Tour was founded because of increasing revenues and top players wanting more money and more exclusive events. And that is exactly where the PGA Tour finds itself this week. It has moved toward exclusive tournaments with more money to make top players happy and fight off the LIV Golf threat. On Wednesday, the PGA Tour announced a $3 billion deal with Strategic Sports Group , an investment collective featuring several prominent sports owners , to provide players with more financial equity in the tour.

The PGA Tour in 2024 is less about the community it’s inhabiting for the week than ever before. It’s less about gallery attendance than it is about creating the best possible television product with as many top players as possible.

That’s resulted in being more focused than ever on gathering great golfers at the same events. And the shift in the Clambake might be the final step in that evolution. Is this good for golf? Is it good for the PGA Tour?

Hold on and find out.

(Top photos of Pebble Beach’s 7th hole: Warren Little / Getty Images; and Bing Crosby: Getty Images)

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Brody Miller covers golf and the LSU Tigers for The Athletic. He came to The Athletic from the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A South Jersey native, Miller graduated from Indiana University before going on to stops at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Indianapolis Star, the Clarion Ledger and NOLA.com. Follow Brody on Twitter @ BrodyAMiller

Battling back, again: Former North Florida golfer Philip Knowles overcomes more adversity

Knowles shared the 54-hole lead in korn ferry tour event in savannah, anticipates a pga tour start in myrtle beach next month.

Former University of North Florida star Philip Knowles hasn't had the easiest time of it since earning his PGA Tour card in 2022. 

His first full season on the Tour came to a halt when he cut his hand on a can top at Pebble Beach last year, severing a nerve. At that point, Knowles had made three cuts in nine starts. 

Knowles was able to return to golf this year on a medical exemption and tied for 16th in the Korn Ferry Tour's event in Panama. But he then had bouts with mono and shingles and missed nearly a month. 

He's rallied again. 

Knowles tied for third two weeks ago in the Korn Ferry Tour Club Car Championship in Savannah with four sub-par rounds in a row and a final total of 11-under 277. He was tied for the lead through 54 holes and after a rough start to his final round, he birdied three of his last five holes. 

Knowles made 22 birdies for the week, and an eagle on a par-4 hole. He tied for fifth in driving accuracy and tied for second for fewest putts per round. 

"It was super-encouraging to play and play well," he said. "I feel great about what I was able to do in Savannah. I had a slow start but I was inches away on a few shots from making it a great front nine. I played the back nine well ... battled all day." 

Knowles said he didn't enter the tournament with very high expectations, given his third start of the season. 

"I you had told me before the tournament I would make the top-20, I would have been pleased," he said. "To play in the final group and have a chance to win on the last day was just awesome." 

Knowles will make his first PGA Tour start of the season at the Myrtle Beach Classic May 9-12 at The Dunes Golf Club, opposite a PGA Tour Signature Event at the Wells Fargo Championship. 

He should have some good memories: UNF played four times at the Dunes Club during Knowles' college career. He tied for 13th as a senior to help the Ospreys win the General Hackler Championship.

Miles Russell makes Korn Ferry Tour debut 

Miles Russell keeps stacking up the milestones based on age. 

Russell, a Jacksonville Beach resident, will become the youngest player from the First Coast to compete in a high-level professional tour when he plays this week in the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast at Lakewood National near Bradenton.

Russell is 15 years old and beats by nearly three years the age David Duval was in 1990 when he played in the U.S. Open at the age of 18. In 2023, Russell became the youngest to win the Junior Players and the youngest to earn  AJGA Player of the Year.  

Russell will tee off in the first round on Thursday at 9:07 a.m. at No. 10, playing with Kamaiu Johnson and Daniel Wetterich. The group then goes off the first hole on Friday at 2:37 p.m.

Braves pitchers head pro-am list 

Three-fifths of the famed Atlanta Braves pitching staff of the 1990s will be playing this week in the PGA Tour Champions Invited Celebrity Classic at the Las Colinas Country Club near Dallas. 

The format, used once a year, has separate competitions for the PGA Tour Champions players and the celebrity field. Mark Hensby is the defending Champions player and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is the defending celebrity champion. 

John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are playing, bringing together the Braves' "Big Three" rotation that combined for seven Cy Young Awards when they pitched for Atlanta from 1993-2002. 

Also in the celebrity field are World Golf Hall of Fame member Annika Sorenstam, Roger Clemens, Dwight Freeney, Larry the Cable Guy, Mark Mulder, Albert Pujols, Ivan Rodriguez, Emmitt Smith and DeMarcus Ware. 

LIV Golf inks deal with New Era 

The LIV Golf League has signed a multi-year partnership with New Era Caps to make the long-time Major League Baseball headwear partner "the official cap" of LIV Golf. 

New Era products will be worn by the LIV Golf teams and will be available for public purchase at shop.livgolf.com. 

New Era, a Buffalo-based company that began in 1920, also partners with the NFL and NBA. 

Event: RBC Heritage, Thursday-Sunday, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 

At stake: $20 million purse ($3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner). 

Defending champion: Matthew Fitzpatrick. 

TV:  Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.). 

Area players entered: Harris English, Brian Harman, J.T. Poston. 

Notable: Fitzpatrick birdied the first playoff hole to beat Jordan Spieth, after shooting 63-68 on the weekend. ... The tournament is one of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, with a strong field led by Masters and Players champion Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg, Rory McIlroy, Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas. 

Event: Corales Puntacana Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Puntacana Resort and Club, Dominican Republic. 

At stake: $4 million purse ($720,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner). 

Defending champion: Matt Wallace. 

TV:  Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 8-10 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.). 

Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Bud Cauley, Adrein Dumont de Chassart, Ben Griffin, Lanto Griffin, Billy Horschel, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, Ben Kohles, Raul Pereda, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Jimmy Stanger, Davis Thompson, Carl Yuan. 

Notable: Wallace, who is not playing because of a shoulder injury, defeated Tyler Duncan and Nicolai Hojgaard by one shot. 

LPGA TOUR  

Event: Chevron Championship, Thursday-Sunday, The Club at Carlton Woods, Houston. 

At stake: $5.2 million ($936,000 to the winner). 

Defending champion: Lilia Vu. 

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m.); NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.). 

Area players entered: Auston Kim. 

Notable: Vu birdied the first playoff hole to beat Angel Yin and win her first major championship. 

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS 

Event: Invited Celebrity Classic, Friday-Sunday, Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas. 

At stake: $2.2 million purse ($396,000 to the winner). 

Defending champion: Mark Hensby. 

TV:  Golf Channel (Friday, 1-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 5-7 p.m.). 

Area players entered: Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh. 

Notable: Hensby defeated Charlie Wi with a par on the fourth playoff hole. Wi had started the week as the fifth alternate. 

KORN FERRY TOUR

Event: LECOM Suncoast Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Lakewood National Golf Club, Commander Course, Lakewood Ranch. 

At stake: $1 million purse ($180,000 to the winner). 

Defending champion: Scott Gutschewski. 

Area players entered: Dawson Armstrong, Chris Baker, Fred Biondi, Chandler Blanchet, Cody Blick, Dillon Board, Ricky Castillo, Brett Drewitt, Joey Garber, Tano Goya, Evan Harmeling, Peter Knade, Rick Lamb, Doc Redman, Miles Russell, Julian Suri, Danny Walker, Thomas Walsh, Jared Wolfe. 

Notable: Gutschewski beat Logan McAllister with a 47-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole. 

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2024 rbc heritage thursday tee times, pga tour pairings and how to watch, share this article.

A week after the first men’s major championship of the year, the stakes don’t get much lower on the PGA Tour.

The 2024 RBC Heritage is set to kick off Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The tournament is the fifth signature event on the PGA Tour’s schedule for 2024, and most of the top players in the world are expected to be in the field, like world No. 1 and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick and many others.

The purse at the RBC Heritage is $20 million with $3.6 million going to the winner. The winner will also receive 700 FedEx Cup points.

RBC : Odds, picks to win

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2024 RBC Heritage. All times listed are ET.

Thursday tee times

How to watch, listen.

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live . You can also watch the RBC Heritage on Golf Channel free on Fubo . All times ET.

Thursday, April 18

Golf Channel / Peacock : 2-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 12-6 p.m

ESPN+ : 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m

Friday, April 19

Golf Channel/ Peacock : 2-6 p.m

Saturday, April 20

Golf Channel/ Peacock : 1-3 p.m

CBS: 3-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+ : 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m

Sunday, April 21

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Answering golf's biggest questions after Scottie Scheffler's Masters win

Scottie Scheffler tries to put into words what it means to win the 2024 Masters and wearing the iconic green jacket for the second time. (1:24)

• Senior college football writer
• Author of seven books on college football
• Graduate of the University of Georgia
• Paolo Uggetti

The 2024 Masters tournament is over and for the second time in three years Scottie Scheffler reigns supreme. With Scheffler now the owner of two green jackets, the rest of major season will feature the world's best players trying to take down the world No. 1.

From Scheffler's potential to Rory McIlroy's major quest to Tiger Woods' future plans, here are six lingering questions as the golf world shifts its focus from Augusta to the PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club in May.

What's the ceiling for Scheffler?

Schlabach: I honestly don't think Scheffler has a ceiling right now. Over the past two years, he has matured tremendously as a golfer. He admitted Sunday that playing golf will become less of a priority after his wife, Meredith, gives birth to their first child later this month.

But Scheffler also said that he will always care deeply about winning golf tournaments -- almost wanting to win too much. I think capturing a second green jacket is confirmation that he's the best golfer in the world. He has won nine times since February 2022, but only one of them was at a major championship.

Now, he has won two green jackets. I don't think it's a question of whether Scheffler will win another major championship. It's a question of how many he's going to win and how long it's going to take him to pile them up.

Honestly, is it too early to talk about him winning a potential Grand Slam this season? His ball striking and short game are at a completely different level than the rest of the fields he's playing.

Scheffler has played 35 competitive rounds in PGA Tour events this season (the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was shortened to 54 holes because of weather) and still hasn't recorded a round over par. That's absurd.

"I try not to think about the past or the future too much," Scheffler said. "I love trying to live in the present. I've had a really good start to the year, and I hope that I can continue on this path that I'm on.

"I'm going to continue to put in the work that's got me here. I mean, yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm going to continue to put in the work, keep my head down. I like when I step up on the tee at a tournament, being able to tell myself that I did everything I could to play well and the rest isn't up to me."

Uggetti: Scheffler isn't just the best golfer in the world right now. He also seems to be the most self-aware and level-headed one, too. That's a dangerous combination. On Sunday, Scheffler showed he can win any tournament he plays in and that he has the perfect mindset to do it.

"I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not satisfying career," Scheffler said. "I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will tonight when I get home. But at the end of the day, I think that's what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what's good."

Don't get Scheffler wrong. He still wants to win. And he said as much, admitting how much he loves winning and hates losing. As if to prove his point, he's teeing it up at Hilton Head on Thursday and will undoubtedly be the favorite to win.

That's Scheffler's new reality, if it wasn't already before: He will be expected to win and questioned when he doesn't. But if anyone is prepared to shoulder those expectations, it's him. And if anyone has the game to keep winning, be it PGA Tour events or majors this year and beyond, it's him.

Is Rory ever going to complete the career Grand Slam?

Schlabach: I'm still a believer in Rory finally winning a green jacket and becoming only the sixth men's golfer to complete the career Grand Slam in the Masters era. I don't think his performance at Augusta National was a result of him buckling under pressure or wanting a green jacket too much. His current form just isn't great, and he knows it.

McIlroy carded a 1-under 71 in the first round and a 6-over 77 in the second. He didn't play well in the windy conditions, but he wasn't the only one who struggled. He has just one top-10 finish in seven tour events, so his results weren't great coming into Augusta National.

After Sunday's round, McIlroy said he was confident he can turn things around before he plays the final three majors. He's scheduled to play in this week's RBC Heritage and with Shane Lowry in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event April 25-28. It sounds like Rory is going to keep grinding to figure things out.

"Yeah, probably not the right time to be analytical at the moment, but I think as well if you're really going to make wholesale changes it's hard to play a lot of golf and make them at the same time," McIlroy said.

"I don't feel like I need to make wholesale changes. That's why I'm playing a lot. But if the time comes that I need to make wholesale changes with my golf swing and really try to reassess, it could be a six-month to a year process. ... I don't think I'm there yet, but there may come a time where I need to address that and really go back to the drawing board."

Uggetti: Everything about McIlroy's experience and talent indicates that he will win another major. Whether it can be at Augusta is a whole other question.

As the four-time major winner talked about this week, he has tried almost every different approach coming into the Masters -- arriving early, arriving late -- and though he has done everything from finish in the top-10 to miss the cut the past few years, he has yet to come close to winning.

"All I can do is come here and try my best," McIlroy said after his 1-under round Saturday. "That's what I do every time I show up. Some years it's better than others. I've just got to keep showing up and try to do the right thing."

Though McIlroy leaves Augusta with a tie for 22nd, there are several opportunities this year for him to add to his major total. He heads to Valhalla for the PGA Championship next, the site of his last major win in 2014. Familiarity hasn't done much for McIlroy at Augusta -- or elsewhere for that matter -- but his game is simply too good to not result in another major.

I'm curious to see how McIlroy approaches Augusta next year after another disappointing result. Will he play more? Will he play less? Will he see another swing coach? Or can he simply stay the course? This year, McIlroy was a firsthand witness to how Scheffler was able to conquer Augusta for the second time in three years.

McIlroy needs only one, but perhaps the key would be winning a major before Augusta. Of course, that's easier said than done, but if McIlroy can win at Valhalla or Pinehurst or Royal Troon, maybe some of the pressure surrounding this week can dissipate and allow him to freely chase after the coveted fourth major on his résumé.

Biggest winner(s) of the tournament?

Schlabach: Besides Scheffler, it has to be Sweden's Ludvig Åberg , who finished solo second at 7 under in his Masters debut. The former Texas Tech star was trying to become the first golfer to win the Masters in his debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

Aberg would have been only the third player to win a major championship in his first start since the Masters was first played in 1934 -- Ben Curtis (2003 Open Championship) and Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship) are the others.

Aberg, 24, won the Omega European Masters on the DP World Tour in September, competed for the winning European Ryder Cup team in Rome, and then captured his first PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic in November.

According to Data Golf, Aberg led the Masters field in strokes gained: putting (3.19) and was third in strokes gained: off the tee (1.66). He has a complete game.

"I think he showed why at the Ryder Cup," McIlroy said. "I think every stage throughout his very, very young career, he's shown that he belongs. Gets the win in Europe, plays the Ryder Cup, gets the win in the States, playing in his first Masters, contending on the back nine on Sunday. He's sort of proven at every stage that he's played at that he belongs."

Uggetti: Let's talk about Max Homa . Though the final result might not have been what Homa and his social media devotees wanted, the week was undoubtedly a win for him. For the first time at Augusta, Homa was in true contention, and that counts for something. He played great golf and managed his way around a tough course by showing he belongs as a top-10 player in the world.

Homa has learned to use patience to his advantage, and though this result will require even more patience, Homa is equipped to handle it.

"I thought I handled myself great," Homa said Sunday. "Really didn't feel like I blinked."

There are certainly shots Homa would like to have back -- such as the tee ball on 12 that resulted in a double bogey -- but in the face of Scheffler's dominance, Homa was able to find solace in how he competed all week and what it meant for his chances at future majors.

"I just feel like I learned. I feel like I took a big leap," Homa said. "The rhetoric on me, and this is from myself, as well, is I have not performed in these things, and I performed for all four days. I didn't throw a 65 in there and sneak my way in. I had to sleep on this every single day, this feeling and kind of this monkey on my back. For me, I think it'll change some things, and then in other ways it'll change nothing at all."

Biggest loser(s) of the tournament?

Schlabach: I'm not sure if anyone has had back-to-back endings at the Masters as painful as Justin Thomas' the past two seasons.

In 2023, JT carded bogeys on three of the last four holes to miss the cut at the Masters by 1 stroke, which left him standing under an umbrella in the rain with his arms crossed in disbelief.

This year, Thomas was in great shape to make the cut and possibly make a move on the weekend. But then he went 7 over on the final four holes to miss the cut by 1 stroke. That's going to sting for a while.

Uggetti: Several golfers finished below Jon Rahm this week, but plenty of golfers finished above him, too, including Scheffler, who beat Rahm by 20 shots. As a defending Masters champion, it's never easy to be the one who has to put the green jacket on the winner knowing full well you did not retain it.

But for Rahm, the dilemma goes beyond Butler Cabin. He showed up to Augusta having played less golf in the lead-up than any other year because of his departure to LIV Golf. It was unclear how much his game would suffer, if at all, from playing in 54-hole events and not tournaments like the Genesis Invitational, where he had also won in 2023.

Rahm looked sluggish, never seeming to find the ideal form to compete, let alone contend. It's difficult to repeat as a Masters champion, but it's also not a great sign that Rahm will leave Augusta and have to wait a week before heading to Australia and Singapore to play against worse fields in order to get ready for the next major in mid May.

Favorites for majors?

Schlabach: The next major championship, the PGA Championship on May 16-19, is going to require a complete game. Based on what I saw at Augusta National, I wouldn't be surprised to see Aberg pick up his first major. But for now, it's hard to pass up Scheffler. I'm tempted to pick him for one or two more. I'm just not sure how being a father for the first time will affect him.

As far as the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina on June 13-16, I'll go with Norway's Viktor Hovland , the reigning FedEx Cup champion. I know his game was a mess at the Masters, but his game sets up perfectly for Pinehurst No. 2. Hovland hits the ball long and accurately off the tee, and he's one of the best ball strikers in the world with an iron in his hand. There's plenty of time for him to get his form back in order before the U.S. Open.

Against perhaps better judgment, I'll pick McIlroy to win The Open at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland on July 18-21. McIlroy's major drought will be nearly 10 years long by then -- he last won at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla -- and it has to end at some point.

He tied for fifth at Royal Troon in 2016 and for sixth at Royal Liverpool during Brian Harman 's breakthrough major win in July 2023. He tied for fifth at the 2016 Open at Royal Troon and had two top-six finishes in the past two Opens.

Uggetti: The PGA Championship at Valhalla will be very familiar for Rory McIlroy -- who won his last major there in 2014 -- but after watching Ludvig Aberg chart his way around Augusta National Golf Club this past week, it's difficult not to see him having a real shot at any of the year's remaining three majors.

The 24-year-old golfer from Sweden has already shown he can compete at the PGA Tour level and this week, during his first Masters, he did nothing to dissuade the notion that he will be a major winner one day. Aberg hung in with the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, and ...

Speaking of Scheffler, when it comes to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, there's little to no need to look past Scheffler whose ballstriking should shine on the famous No. 2 course. With improved putting and an underrated short game, I could see Scheffler replicating the kind of performance Martin Kaymer had in 2014, when he went wire-to-wire at Pinehurst to win the U.S. Open by eight shots.

Of all of this year's majors, the Open Championship at Royal Troon seems like the toughest to predict this far ahead. Weather will likely be a factor, and after watching Brian Harman dominate the field at Royal Liverpool, it could really be anyone's game in July. McIlroy should once again fair well, but I like Tommy Fleetwood's chances, too. He keeps getting close and just finished top 10 at the Masters, too.

What's next for Tiger?

Uggetti: Even after looking like a shell of himself Saturday and Sunday and finishing 16-over for the tournament, Woods didn't hesitate in verbally committing to the rest of the year's majors after his final round concluded.

"I'm going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon, but that's kind of the game plan," Woods said.

What will likely be more telling is if Tiger plays any other events at all. He had played only 24 competitive holes of golf coming into Augusta and in some instances, the rust really showed this weekend. On Saturday, he looked to be laboring, and though he returned Sunday and appeared to be doing much better, the question of how his body will continue to hold up remains.

Woods, however, remains undeterred from continuing to improve and compete no matter what.

"Keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing," Woods said of what's next. "Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer."

It's clear that the more golf Woods plays, the more prepared he will be for the majors in which he's still trying to compete. But it's not that easy when his body is still a daily obstacle he'll have to overcome. At least this week, he was able to finish 72 holes.

Schlabach: While posting the worst round of his Masters career (10-over 82) and worst 72-hole total as a professional (16-over 304) had to be humbling for the 15-time major champion, the fact that he finished a 72-hole tournament was a step in the right direction.

Outside of Saturday's third round, when he lost his swing and struggled in windy conditions, he didn't look that bad. He drove the ball well off the tee and had a really good short game. His iron play and putting looked rusty, but that was to be expected after he played only 24 competitive holes before the Masters.

The fact that Tiger set a Masters record with his 24th consecutive cut is pretty remarkable.

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2024 RBC Heritage one and done picks, strategy, field, sleepers: Golf predictions, expert PGA betting advice

O ne of the PGA Tour's eight signature events is on tap this week, with the 2024 RBC Heritage set to get underway on Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Scottie Scheffler, who is fresh off a win at the Masters, headlines the 2024 RBC Heritage field. Scheffler is listed as the 18-5 (+360) favorite in the latest 2024 RBC Heritage odds. Other top contenders in the field include Xander Schauffele (10-1), Rory McIlroy (11-1), Ludvig Åberg (12-1), Patrick Cantlay (16-1), Collin Morikawa (18-1), Tommy Fleetwood (20-1), Max Homa (22-1), and defending tournament champion Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1). 2022 RBC Heritage champion Jordan Spieth is listed as a 30-1 longshot. The players will be competing for a total tournament purse of $20 million, with the winner taking home $3.6 million.

Can Scheffler outlast the field and win his fourth event in his past five starts? Or will Scheffler stumble and open the door for a sleeper like Shane Lowry or Byeong Hun An to break through? Before locking in your 2024 RBC Heritage one and done picks, you need to see what SportsLine DFS pro and PGA expert Mike McClure has to say . 

The One and Done format is growing in popularity. It has several noticeable similarities to NFL Survivor pools, with the main difference being entries are not eliminated with a bad week. Players pick one golfer per week and earn points based on their selected golfer's prize money for that tournament. Golfers can only be used once per season, and the point format makes nailing majors, signature events, and big money tournaments critical.

McClure is a DFS legend with over $2 million in career winnings, and he's been red-hot on his PGA picks dating back to the PGA Tour restart in June of 2020. McClure uses his proprietary simulation model to analyze the field and crush his  golf picks .

McClure has been on fire with his One and Done picks in 2024. At The American Express he backed Justin Thomas, who finished in third place and took home $635,600. At the Genesis Invitational, McClure tabbed Patrick Cantlay, who finished in fourth place at the signature event, as his top OAD pick. At the Cognizant Classic, McClure's top one and done pick, Min Woo Lee, finished in a tie for second place. Finally, at the Arnold Palmer Invitation, another signature event, McClure recommended using Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. The Result: Scheffler won the event by five strokes, and Zalatoris finished in fourth place.

His hot steak continued at the Players Championship, where McClure again recommended using Scheffler (if was still available) and Xander Schauffele. Both players were in contention until the end, with Scheffler coming out with the win and Schauffele finishing in second place. Then, at the Valspar Championship, McClure recommended using Cameron Young, who finished in second place, in OAD pools.

Now, McClure has dialed in on the RBC Heritage golf tournament and just locked in his one and done picks and PGA predictions. They are a must-see for any player looking for an edge in their One and Done pool. You can only see McClure's RBC Heritage 2024 one and done picks at SportsLine .

Top 2024 RBC Heritage One and Done picks

One of McClure's favorite OAD picks this week for the 2024 RBC Heritage is former Texas Tech standout Ludvig Åberg. The 24-year-old burst onto the professional golf scene when he notched his first career PGA Tour win at the RSM Classic in November and hasn't slowed down since. Åberg has recorded top-25 or better finishes in seven of his last nine starts in 2024. 

Åberg has been particularly strong against elite fields. He finished in second place at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, eighth place at The Players Championship, and then second place at the Masters. He enters the RBC Heritage ranked 12th on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained (1.116), 15th in strokes gained off-the-tee (0.513), and 17th in strokes gained tee-to-green (0.974). McClure expects Åberg to once again be in contention this week at Harbour Town.  You can see who else to back at SportsLine .

How to make RBC Heritage 2024 One and Done picks

McClure is also targeting another golfer for his 2024 RBC Heritage one and done picks who has a long track record of success against elite competition. This multiple time PGA Tour winner has the ability to win any tournament he enters, and is one of the most talented golfers in this field. You can find out who it is, and check out all of McClure's RBC Heritage one and done picks at SportsLine .

Who wins the the RBC Heritage 2024, and which golfers should you target for your PGA one and done picks this week at Harbour Town Golf Links? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike McClure's RBC Heritage 2024 one and done picks, all from the DFS pro who called Nick Taylor's epic win at the RBC Canadian Open and Rickie Fowler's win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2023, and Scottie Scheffler's wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, and Masters in 2024 , and find out.

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2024 Masters one and done picks, DFS lineups, sleepers, fantasy golf projections, longshots by PGA expert

Mike mcclure locked in his expert pga golf picks, daily fantasy lineups, fantasy golf projections and sleepers for masters 2024 at augusta national.

The 2024 Masters gets underway on Thursday from Augusta National Golf Club at 10:30 a.m. ET, a two-and-a-half hour delay due to storms. No golfer around the world is playing better right now than World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler. The 2022 winner of this event, Scheffler won the elevated Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and again the following week at the Players Championship. He then nearly won for the third straight tournament, missing a putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the Houston Open. The tee-to-green specialist gained 17 strokes on the field when he won here in 2022 and will try to continue his torrid run. Given his run of dominant play, should Scheffler be the top choice when constructing your 2024 Masters DFS picks, 2024 Masters fantasy golf rankings, and 2024 Masters one and done strategy? Before locking in your 2024 Masters one and done picks, Masters DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel, and fantasy golf projections, you need to see what SportsLine DFS pro and PGA expert Mike McClure has to say . 

McClure is a DFS legend with over $2 million in career winnings, and he's been red-hot on his PGA picks dating back to the PGA Tour restart in June of 2020. McClure uses his proprietary simulation model to analyze the field and crush his  golf picks . He is up almost $9,500 on his best bets since the restart.  

McClure's model predicted Jon Rahm would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scottie Scheffler winning in 2022. 

McClure has been on fire with his One and Done picks in 2024. At The American Express, he backed Justin Thomas, who finished in third place and took home $635,600. At the Genesis Invitational, McClure tabbed Patrick Cantlay, who finished in fourth place at the signature event, as his top OAD pick. At the Cognizant Classic, McClure's top one and done pick, Min Woo Lee, finished in a tie for second place. Finally, at the Arnold Palmer Invitation, another signature event, McClure recommended using Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. The result: Scheffler won the event by five strokes, and Zalatoris finished in fourth place. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping 10 majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed McClure's picks has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has dialed in on the 2024 Masters golf tournament and just locked in his one and done picks, DFS projections and Fantasy Golf predictions. They are a must-see for any player looking for an edge. You can only see McClure's Masters 2024 one and done picks, DFS lineups and Fantasy Golf plays at SportsLine .

Top 2024 Masters One and Done picks

One of McClure's top One and Done picks for the Masters is Brooks Koepka. Though his recent form hasn't been overly impressive, with only one top-10 finish in 2024, Koepka is a 'big game hunter' who thrives in major tournaments. In his last five Masters Tournaments, the American has two second place finishes and a seventh.

The winner of last year's PGA Championship, Koepka has four wins and 12 top-10 finishes in his last 21 majors. With a green jacket because his most treasured goal going forward, Koepka is a viable play again at Augusta. McClure is once again confident in the five-time major champion's chances this week.  You can see who else to back at SportsLine .

Top 2024 Masters DFS picks, lineup advice

One golfer McClure is targeting in his 2024 Masters DFS lineups is Justin Thomas. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has long been considered one of the top ball-strikers and irons players in the world and has a proven track record of success in big events. Thomas has two career major championships and six top-25 finishes in eight career starts at Augusta National.

Thomas' ability to card birdies and eagles makes him standout among the field when building Masters DFS lineups. He enters Masters week ranked sixth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach (0.795) and 12th in strokes gained tee-to-green (1.124). After a disappointing 2023 season, Thomas has bounced back with four top-12 finishes already in 2024.  You can see the rest of McClure's Masters DFS picks at SportsLine . 

Top 2024 Masters Fantasy Golf picks, projections

One of McClure's top fantasy golf picks is Scottie Scheffler. He's won eight times in the last 26 months and been No. 1 in the world for the last 47 weeks in a row (81 total). You'll pay a premium for Scheffler and he'll be highly rostered in Masters DFS tournaments as well as the first player off the board in any draft format, but that's a price you should be willing to play considering how dominant he's been of late.

Scheffler has two wins and a runner-up finish over his last three starts, which happens to coincide with a putter change that has helped make him nearly a tour-average putter. Considering that he's already the world's best ball-striker (2.798 strokes gained: tee-to-green per round), his game could be elevated. Scheffler has never finished worse than 19th in four starts at Augusta and the 2022 Masters champion is a +325 favorite (bet $100 to win $325) in the 2024 Masters odds.  You can see the rest of McClure's Masters fantasy golf picks at SportsLine . 

How to make Masters 2024 picks, long shot bets

McClure is also targeting targeting six other golfers with odds of 20-1 or longer who will make a strong run at the green jacket. You can find out who they are, and check out all of McClure's Masters picks and best bets at SportsLine .

Who will win the Masters 2024, and which golfers should you target for your PGA one and done picks, DFS lineups, and Fantasy Golf plays this week at Augusta National Golf Club? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike McClure's Masters 2024 one and done picks, DFS lineups and fantasy golf plays  -- and find out.

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2024 The American Express tournament format, pro and pro-am cut rules

The 2024 The American Express pro-am format consists of two golf tournaments going on at the same time for the 156 professionals in the field.

The 156 pros in the 2024 The American Express field are each paired with an amateur player, forming 156 two-player pairings. Instead, the field is split into threesomes for each of the first two days. Each golfer will play one round on the host, PGA West's Pete Dye Stadium Course, La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Tournament Course. There will be 52 golfers on each course each day.

The American Express format

For the professionals, the tournament format is simple: the usual 72-hole, stroke-play tournament you see most weeks on the PGA Tour. Lowest score wins.

For the pro-am competition, the individual players are actually on their own. They do not form a team with their professional sherpas over the first three days. There are two competitions happening for the amateurs: a net and a gross competition. On each hole, then, an amateur has two scores: their actual score on the hole (gross) and their score minus their handicap for that hole (net). The total net score for a round is the gross score minus whatever handicap strokes are individually allocated to each player.

The American Express pro and pro-am cut rules

After the first three rounds are completed, the cut rule kicks in, dropping the field to the top 65 pros and ties who advance to the final round at PGA West's Stadium Course.

Prior to 2020, if more than 78 players made the 54-hole cut, then the cut was instead to the number nearest 70 for the final round. It was kind of like getting MDF'd when 78 or more players made the 36-hole cut at other PGA Tour events, except it happened after 54 holes.

With amateurs in the field, there's consideration for them in tee times and scheduling on the weekend. Players go out in order of their 54-hole total scores compared to the field.

For fourth round, the pairings and tee times are made based on each player's total score through three rounds, all on PGA West Stadium Course. Players with the highest total score go first, then in descending order until the two players with the lowest total score in the final group.

The player with the lowest total score after 72 holes is the winner and will earn the 2024 The American Express winner's share of the purse.

The winning player will earn 500 FedEx Cup points and will earn approximately 55 Official World Golf Ranking points.

The American Express playoff format

A playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under PGA Tour rules. The The American Express playoff format is a sudden-death format, with playoff holes being 18 played by any qualifying players. The players compete hole-by-hole until a winner is determined by a player scoring the lowest among the remaining players.

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How much do caddies make at the Masters? Here's how their pay at the PGA tournament works.

By Khristopher J. Brooks

Edited By Anne Marie Lee

Updated on: April 11, 2024 / 3:54 PM EDT / CBS News

Being a caddie at the Masters is an entirely different experience than doing the job anywhere else — just ask Ken Martin.

"Caddies are treated really great at Augusta," said Martin, who caddied for Scottish golfer Sandy Lyle at the major tournament last year. "We had our own locker room. They feed us just wonderful food — the best food I've ever had really. But it's a long week. You have to be fit to get around that hilly course."

Some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, will converge on the famously hilly course Thursday to compete in the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Golfers are playing for a multimillion dollar cash prize and the chance to don the coveted green jacket for a year.

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Much of this year's attention will be on the cash prize the winning golfer will receive at this year's tournament. The purse for the 2023 Masters totaled $18 million, which was $3 million more than the purse the year before — the largest year-over-year increase in tournament history. Of that total, 2023 winner Jon Rahm took home $3.24 million .

But players aren't the only ones in line for a big payout. The winner's caddie can easily go home with a six-figure paycheck after four days of work. But snagging the four-day gig is the culmination of years spent working one-on-one with the same professional golfer, Martin said. 

Caddies develop a strong friendship with a golfer long before it's time for an elite competition like the Masters, Martin said. Fans seated in the stands, as well those watching at home, can only see the caddie handing the player a club, but in reality, there's a constant back-and-forth communication taking place between golfer and caddie during commercial breaks and while the two are walking to the next hole, he explained. Martin, who played professionally from 1982 to 2015, now teaches the sport at Keiser University in Florida. 

Aside from carrying the heavy bag, the caddie also provides input on which club to use, as well as swing technique, Martin said. That's because most caddies working PGA Tour games  are former professional players with a wealth of knowledge on the game. 

But technique is only a small part of the exchange, he added. With a strong camaraderie forged over the years, it's very likely the two spend most of time chatting like old friends, he said. 

"It's boring to talk about only golf for four to six hours," Martin said. "You're out there for a long time together so the friendship part of it plays a larger role." 

How much do caddies make at the Masters?

Caddies like Martin earn a salary from two sources during the Masters. One part is a weekly wage between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on the caddie's experience, the Association of Professional Caddies and the Caddies Network told CBS MoneyWatch. The weekly wage helps caddies recoup financially because they're required to pay their own travel to Georgia, along with hotel and food while working the tournament. 

Caddies also get a percentage of whatever their player earns after the tournament ends. The caddie of the Master's winner will get 10% of the prize money. For context, Jon Rahm won the Masters' last year and got $3.24 million. 

The caddie for the runner up at the Masters will get 7% of that player's prize winnings; every caddie after that will get 5%. 

Caddies Network CEO John von Stade told CBS MoneyWatch there are rare occasions when a caddie has a private contract with the player, in which case that person's salary will not follow the traditional setup. 

Over the past five years, caddie have seen some positive changes. PGA Tour officials have increased caddies' weekly wages and players' prize money has also climbed — potentially giving caddies a chance to bring home six figures after a tournament.

"But what hasn't changed is, if your player doesn't make the cut, there is no other source of money other than the weekly fee," von Stade said. 

Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.

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