Pebble Beach Pro-Am to be played without amateurs this year,

The 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will be played without amateur participants in 2021 due to the pandemic, the PGA Tour stated in a release Thursday.

The professional portion, featuring 156 players, will be played Feb. 8-14 and will be held on only two courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Monterey Peninsula Country Club was part of the rotation in recent years.

“While we will truly miss watching the actors, musicians, athletes and other amateur participants that make this event so special, we are pleased to continue on with the professional competition, enabling the foundation to support nonprofits in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties,” said Steve John, tournament director and Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO, in a release. “Our charitable giving will target basic needs like food insecurity, educational inequities and health inequities brought on by the pandemic.”

It was previously announced spectators will not be on-site at this year’s event.

The 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was won by Nick Taylor in 2020, will be broadcast by CBS, Golf Channel, PGA Tour Live, DirecTV’s “PGA Tour Experience” and PGA Tour Radio. Fans also can follow along the tournament’s social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Inkster will serve on the LPGA Board of Directors, which features eight LPGA members and six independent directors. Inkster, Canadian veteran Alena Sharp, Tour president Vicki GoetzeAckerman and Marvol Barnard, who is National President of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals, round out the LPGA members on the search committee.

PAYNE WINS SILICON VALLEY AM >> San Francisco’s Weston Payne, 31, birdied the 18th hole at Baylands Golf Links to capture the AmateurGolf.com Silicon Valley Amateur title on Sunday.

Payne, the 2009 Santa Cruz City Amateur champion, posted a 13-underpar 131 total. Fresno’s Blake Hathcoat (132) took second and Santa Maria’s Ethan Ashbrook (133) was third.

Soccer

GOOCH RECORDS ASSIST >> Former Soquel High talent Lynden Gooch assisted a goal from Aiden O’Brien in the 21st minute, and Sunderland AFC beat Port Vale 2-0 on Tuesday in the third round of the English Football League Trophy.

Aiden McGeady also scored for the Black Cats.

Gooch, 25, has two goals and five assists on the season.

Sunderland (7-3-9; 30 points) hosts AFC Wimbledon (5-9-6) on Saturday at 5 a.m.