The WM Phoenix Open didn’t keep signature event status after being a “designated” event in 2023, but that won’t sap any of the noise and the Super Bowl-week energy always found at TPC Scottsdale.
Headlined by World No. 1 and two-time defending champ Scottie Scheffler, the field in Phoenix features five top-10 players and crowd favorites who’ve had success there before.
Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
WM PHOENIX OPEN
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz., Feb. 8-11
Course: TPC Scottsdale, Stadium (Par 71, 7,261 yards)
Purse: $8.8M (Winner: $1.584M)
Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Matthieu Pavon
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @WMPhoenixOpen
PROP PICKS
–Adam Scott, Adam Hadwin and Rickie Fowler to make the cut (+175 at BetMGM): Don’t let Scott’s age fool you into thinking he can’t hang with the younger generation. The 43-year-old made 17 of 19 cuts in 2022-23 and began his 2024 campaign with a T20 at Pebble Beach. Hadwin has made eight of nine cuts in Phoenix, while Fowler’s affinity for TPC Scottsdale is well-documented, with a T10 last year, a win in 2019 and two runners-up.
–Sahith Theegala Top 10 (+400 at DraftKings): Don’t forget that Theegala, at age 24 in February 2022, nearly beat the likes of Scheffler and Brooks Koepka to win the Phoenix Open. Theegala won the Fortinet in September, opened this season with a solo second at The Sentry and is on par with established names like Collin Morikawa and Max Homa in total strokes gained early on this season.
–Byeong Hun An first round under 69.5 (-145 at DraftKings): An is playing the best golf of his career. He started his season with a fourth and a playoff loss in Hawaii and ranks top-10 on tour in birdies in 2024. His first-round scores in five career Phoenix starts: 66, 68, 66, 65, 69. Hammer the under and watch for An to contend this weekend.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 7-8
BEST BETS
–Scheffler (+500 at BetMGM) hasn’t won an official stroke-play event since The Players last year. The two-time defending champion of this event is coming off a T6 last week.
–Justin Thomas (+1000) finished fourth last year and has displayed strong form of late with five consecutive top-5 finishes worldwide.
–Jordan Spieth (+1600) stumbled to a T39 last week following a solo third at The Sentry to open 2024. He finished T6 in Scottsdale last year.
–Max Homa (+1600) has made the cut in Phoenix for five straight years and has two top-15 finishes there.
–Sam Burns (+1800), known as one of the tour’s best putters, is coming off a T6 at The American Express and a 10th-place finish at Pebble Beach. He tied for sixth in Phoenix last season.
–Wyndham Clark (+2800) is a career-best sixth in the world following his victory at Pebble Beach. He finished T10 in Phoenix last year.
–Cameron Young (+3300) finished third in Dubai last month before a subpar 71-74-70 at Pebble Beach.
–Hideki Matsuyama (+4000) has failed to reach the weekend in four of his past nine starts and hasn’t won in more than two years. However, he’s a two-time event champion who has also tied for second.
NOTES
–Scheffler is attempting to become the first player to win the same event three consecutive years on tour since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic from 2009-11. He’s one of five of the top-10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings in the field.
–This is the only designated event from 2023 that was not made a signature event for the 2024 season.
–Pavon leads the Aon Swing 5 standings for players to earn spots in next week’s Genesis Invitational who are not otherwise exempt. The next four are Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Kevin Yu and Stephan Jager. They are followed by Jake Knapp, Nate Lashley and Thomas, who will be in next week’s field by virtue of his top-30 world ranking.
–Bud Cauley is making his first PGA Tour start since the 2020 Fortinet Championship. He is playing on a major medical extension with 27 starts available.
–Field Level Media
