HIS TEAM didn’t win the Super Bowl, but head coach Jim Harbaugh was able to console himself at least a little by joining the field of this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, one of the most popular and successful tournaments on the PGA Tour.

“He played last year, and he’s a friend of the tournament, and obviously, he’s a major draw,” Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO Steve John, who oversees the tournament, said Thursday from the 1st Tee at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course as celebrities and top pros started their first round of competition.

“He draws crowds, he’s a wonderful guy, and he loves the game,” John said of Harbaugh, whose handicap is a 12. He is playing alongside Jason Day, a pro out of Australia, and the other half of the foursome is pro Matt Bettencourt and San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain.

“It’s a little Bay Area battle on the golf course,” John said.

Also late to join the amateur field was John Westwood, pro Lee Westwood’s father, and the two were paired for the tournament, which began with practice rounds Monday and runs through Sunday.

Competition rounds Thursday, Friday and Saturday are played at three courses — the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course.

Tickets are still available for the tournament at various locations. For information on schedules, pairings, transportation and the players, as well as other Pro-Am related news, see the special section inside this week’s Pine Cone.