Aon Swing 5 qualifiers finalized for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Five spots at next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am were finalized Saturday via the Aon Swing 5 after the dust settled on a wild afternoon at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Matthieu Pavon, Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Kevin Yu and Stephan Jaeger will compete at Pebble Beach Golf Links as the top five FedExCup points earners across the last three Full-Field Events — the Sony Open in Hawaii, The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open — not otherwise exempt.

Pavon finished atop the Aon Swing 5 on the strength of his victory at the Farmers, where he made birdie on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines Golf Course for a one-stroke win over Nicolai Højgaard.

Murray won the Sony Open in Hawaii to comfortably finish second on the Aon Swing 5, with Bezuidenhout finishing runner-up at The American Express to take third place on the Aon Swing 5.

Tournament winners are exempt into all Signature Events for the remainder of the season, but they are also included in the Aon Swing 5 if eligible. (The American Express winner Nick Dunlap is exempt into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as a tournament winner, but since his victory came as a non-member, he did not receive FedExCup points and hence is not part of the Aon Swing 5.)

The Aon Swing 5’s final two spots were in doubt until late Saturday afternoon at Torrey Pines. Yu carded a final-round 67 at the Farmers en route to a T6 finish, allowing him to jump to fourth on the Aon Swing 5; the Arizona State alum also finished T3 at The American Express last week.

Jaeger two-putted for birdie on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines to move into a share of third place for the week, ultimately surpassing TOUR rookie Jake Knapp for the fifth spot on the Aon Swing 5.

For the tournament, Jaeger, Knapp and Nate Lashley shared third place at 11-under, two strokes back of Pavon. Jaeger entered Farmers with more points than Knapp and Lashley across the Sony Open and The American Express, hence edging them on the Aon Swing 5.

In a unique twist, Jaeger’s inclusion in the Aon Swing 5 ultimately provided his high school teammate Keith Mitchell the final spot in the Pebble Beach field. Had he not finished in the Aon Swing 5, Jaeger would have gained access to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am via a “fill the field” category of finishers beyond No. 60 on the 2023 FedExCup Fall standings.

The 80-player field at Pebble Beach includes the top 50 on the 2023 FedExCup, Nos. 51-60 on the 2023 FedExCup Fall standings, the top finisher on the 2023 Race to Dubai not otherwise exempt (Højgaard), the Aon Swing 5, tournament winners not otherwise exempt (Dunlap), players inside the top 30 on the Official World Golf Ranking not otherwise exempt (Justin Thomas) and four sponsor exemptions. This adds up to 72 players, leaving eight remaining spots via the “fill the field” category.

Jaeger finished No. 61 on the FedExCup Fall standings and would have earned a spot via the “fill the field” category. Since he finished in the Aon Swing 5, though, he opened an additional spot from this category, which now includes Nos. 62-69 on the 2023 FedExCup Fall standings — Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Mark Hubbard, Erik van Rooyen, Brandon Wu, Davis Riley, S.H. Kim and Mitchell, respectively.

Unlike other Signature Events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am features a set field size of 80 players; alternates will earn spots if there are any WDs.

Here’s how the points broke down for the Aon Swing 5, and the next five who narrowly missed:

1. Matthieu Pavon, 598.56 points
2. Grayson Murray, 500 points
3. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 300 points
4. Kevin Yu, 236.67 points
5. Stephan Jaeger, 234.5 points

6. Jake Knapp, 186.7 points
7. Nate Lashley, 183.75 points
8. Justin Thomas, 145 points (exempt into AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am via OWGR top 30)
9. Taylor Pendrith, 142.5 points
10. Carl Yuan, 122.5 points