2005 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Not Everyone Flocking to Pebble Beach By The Golf Central Newsroom - February 08, 2005 There was a time, not so long ago, when a course alone could draw the top players in the world to a tournament. Pebble Beach was one; Riviera another. Over the next two weeks, two of the most historic tournaments on the PGA Tour will take place ?on two vintage venues. Vijay Singh is trying to become the sixth repeat winner at Pebble Beach.Some of the game뭩 best will be at this week뭩 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, while others will be at next week뭩 Nissan Open. But few will be at both. 밒t used to be there were two or three good tournaments on the West Coast, now there are seven or eight maybe,?said two-time AT&T winner Davis Love III, who will again play Pebble but skip Riviera. 밒n the old days, you would play Pebble and Riviera and just throw another one or two in there.? Money is one reason for diversity along the left coast. Pebble pays out a $5.3 million purse; Riviera $4.8 million. Those might seem like big, big numbers, but every tournament on the West Coast swing ?with the exception of the Chrysler Classic of Tucson, which is played concurrently with the WGC-Match Play ?has a purse of at least $4.7 million. And once players change time zones, they뭠l find that only one tournament has a purse of less than $5 million through the month of June. The West Coast swing is an eight-week stretch comprised of nine tournaments. Pebble Beach and the Nissan are the precursors to the WGC-Accenture Match Play. With all of the money on offer, it makes it easier for players to pick and choose where they desire to play ?so as not to wear themselves out . 밒 feel obligated to play a lot of other tournaments,?said 1998 Pebble Beach winner Phil Mickelson, who is taking off the week of the Nissan. 밒 don뭪 want to play seven in a row.? In 2001, Tiger Woods was the defending champion at Pebble Beach. There were seven of the top 10 players in the world in attendance that year; the next year there were five; then three; and three again last year. This year, four of the top 10 in the world are on the commitment list: Mickelson, Love, Mike Weir and defending champion Vijay Singh. By comparison, Mickelson and Love will definitely skip the Nissan; however, players like Woods, Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink will more than likely take their place. Woods competed at Pebble Beach from 1997-2002, winning in 2000 (the same year he also won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach). But he has soured on the conditions of greens, saying last year, 밳ou walk off the golf course saying you can never make a 1-foot putt.?