What a frustrating two weeks it has been for the column. Viktor Hovland landed the place in Abu Dhabi (when we were on him) and won seven days later in Dubai (when we weren’t!). Meanwhile, Jon Rahm made a superb start in his quest for a third Torrey Pines win last Wednesday, but seemed a little out of sorts at the weekend, pushing for the win rather than letting it happen.

Onwards, however, up the Californian coast, from San Diego to the golfing dreamland of the Monterrey Peninsula. It’s a wonderful spot, perched high on the cliff tops, with a ridiculously playable set of courses, three of which host this annual shindig which boasts a regular cast of famous people in the amateur section (many of whose fame doesn’t really stretch across the Atlantic, making for a curious sideshow).

Over the first three days the field plays one lap at each of Monterrey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill Golf Club and Pebble Beach Golf Links, with the latter also hosting the final round. Pebble is the toughest test, but there are plenty of similarities across the trio. All are vulnerable to any sea breezes, bad weather is not unknown (although currently not forecast), the greens are small, and they also have Poa Annua grass on them – the tricky variation that played a part last week at Torrey Pines, of course.

After clattering both the post and the bar in the last fortnight, let’s try and hit the back of the net this week.

Each Way – Jordan Spieth at 20/1

This time last year we were all enjoying the revival of Jordan Spieth’s form and this tournament witnessed the second chapter of it. He’d shared the 54 hole lead the week before at the Phoenix Open and then found himself clear of the field after 36 and 54 holes here in California. A final round 70 saw him miss out on a first win in four years, but he’s always been an honest and informed assessor of his own game and he insisted that it would take him some time getting re-acquainted with the business of contending for wins late on Sunday.

True to his word, he kept plugging away and the week before the Masters he duly learned his lessons in winning the Texas Open. He finished third at Augusta National and would add second in the Open at Royal St George’s, but then the birth of his first child interrupted the latter months of the year.

I like the idea that a return to a favourite spot is the ideal time for a return to contending ways. He’s made nine starts in this tournament, finished top 25 eight times, five of them top 10s, with victory in 2017. He didn’t play too well last week at Torrey Pines, but he’s rarely found that spot to his liking. I actually prefer that he missed the weekend and we get a little extra juice in his price.

Each Way – Matt Jones at 66/1

There’s a slight echo of a Spieth thought in second selection Matt Jones because the Aussie also missed the cut last week at Torrey Pines – but he’s another who has never quite got to grips with that challenge. At Pebble Beach, however, it has been a difference kettle of fish. He’s an experienced campaigner there, having made no less than 14 visits for this tournament.

Back in 2010 he finished T10th having been third with 18 holes to play. He was T15th a year later, T11th in 2016, and tied fifth just two years ago. Perhaps his best effort came in 2015 when he was sharing the halfway lead, second after three rounds, and ended the week seventh.

He rediscovered the winning touch last year at the Honda Classic, thrashing the field by five shots, and he opened the year in spectacular style, closing 62-61 at the Tournament of Champions when third. There was a bit of a hangover in his two missed cuts since, but on neither occasion did he play poorly.

Each Way – Maverick McNealy at 28/1

This is a skinny price for a fellow yet to win at this level, but in these conditions we can make a case for him. In the last three years he has finished tied fifth and second in this tournament and his excellent returns extend to similar courses. On the Californian cliff tops at Torrey Pines? T15th in 2020 and T30th last week (when second for Putting Average). Trying to win in California? He was first heading into the last lap of the 2020 Barracuda Championship. On Poa Annua grass? The leader through 36 and 54 holes at Silverado last September before finishing second.