Armour seeking third Pebble Beach title in three years

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Tommy Armour will take on a field composed of four separate tours to try to defend his two-time championship at the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Tommy Armour III will seek his third straight Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational title against a diverse field from the four major professional tours beginning on Thursday.

Players from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour as well as mini-tour players and club pros will compete in the 72-hole event, now in its 38th year. The first three rounds of the $300,000 event will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course.

Armour made a 36-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a three-way playoff with Scott Simpson and Brock MacKenzie to win the 2008 event after losing a five-stroke lead and finishing regulation play at Pebble Beach with a 4-over 76.

George McNeill, who had two runner-up finishes this season and finished 57th on the money list, is the highest of the field's 12 PGA TOUR players entered from the top 125 on the 2009 final money list.

The TOUR field also includes Rocco Mediate, runner-up in the 2008 U.S Open, former U.S. PGA Championship winner Rich Beem and former PGA TOUR winners Daniel Chopra, Kevin Sutherland, Andrew Magee, Mark Brooks, Steve Flesch, J.J. Henry, Cameron Beckman, Billy Mayfair, Notah Begay III, Marc Turnesa and Matt Gogel.

John Cook, who won twice this season and finished third on the money list, heads the field of 11 Champions Tour entrants that also includes Simpson.

The inaugural LPGA Tour Championship in Houston, Texas, is also scheduled this week, reducing the Pebble Beach Invitational women's field to four players.

Following the 54-hole cut, the top 40 pros and 10 amateur teams will play the final round on Sunday at Pebble Beach. The winner will earn $60,000.