In the first week of February, the Pebble Beach Pro Am golf tournament hosted an impressive group of golf stars and celebrities at Pebble Beach, Monterey. The Pro Am tournament is one of the biggest national golf tournaments in the country, and it attracted crowds from all over the world. 

“The Pro Am is a huge event because it gives amateurs an opportunity to play with professionals. We’ve had students from Amador Valley High School play in the Pro Am, and it was very exciting,” said Amador Golf coach Neil Bello. 

This tournament is especially appealing to spectators and players because celebrities such as boxer Canello Alvarez and NFL player Larry Fitzgerald showed up to play in the Amatuer division against big pro golfers.

“Golf is the only sport where an amateur can compete against professionals in a tournament. They don’t even need to play the professionals because they can go and play a course the pro golfer played and compare scores,” said Bello.

Sponsored by AT&T, tickets to this event ranged from $100-$1000 and around 190,000 people attended; millions more watched from their homes. 

“The golf tournament this weekend was so exciting to watch. It was my first time there, and the place was packed. I spent half the time trying to track down Macklemore because I heard he was playing. I didn’t find him, but it was still a lot of fun,” said Helena Taheritari (‘23). 

The three golf courses at Pebble Beach – Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and Pebble Beach Golf Links – have been hosting this event since 1947. These exclusive clubs are world famous for their breathtaking views of the California coast and long standing histories with champion golfers such as Sam Snead and Tiger Woods. 

“Pebble Beach is one of the best and most cherished golf courses in all of the world. It is stunningly beautiful, and I would love to be able to play there one day,” said Psychology teacher and amateur golf player Mark Kushner. 

The winner of the 2022 Pro Am Golf Tournament was Tom Hoge, who beat three-time major winner Jordan Speith by only two strokes and won a prize of $1,566,000. In second place Jordan Speith won $948,300, and third place golfer Beau Hossler won $600,300.

“It’s interesting to see how other players play certain courses and to see their strategies. I like seeing what they take into account when hitting a shot, like distance, wind, and elevation change. It helps me develop a better strategy when I play,” said golf player Keira Howard (‘23). 

Each year, the Pro Am rakes in millions of dollars from admission rates. Since the Monterey Peninsula Foundation that hosts the Pro Am is a non-profit organization, they donate around $200 million of the profits from the event to charity each year. By giving back to the surrounding communities, this long standing tradition honors the beloved course as well as the sport itself.