The biggest party on the PGA Tour is unquestionably held at TPC Scottsdale, and “The People’s Open” at the WM Phoenix Open begins Thursday with a field that features World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
WM PHOENIX OPEN
WM Phoenix Open, Scottsdale, Ariz., Feb. 6-9
Course: TPC Scottsdale (Par 71, 7,261 Yards)
Purse: $9.2M (Winner: $1.656M)
Defending Champion: Nick Taylor
FedEx Cup leader: Sepp Straka
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS); Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 9:15 a.m.-8 p.m. ET; Saturday: 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Sunday: 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @WMPhoenixOpen
PROP PICKS
–Hideki Matsuyama to Beat Justin Thomas (-110 at DraftKings): Sure, Matsuyama has trended backward with a T16, T32 and T48 in three events since winning The Sentry. But he’s also a two-time winner at TPC Scottsdale, where Thomas has yet to win in 10 previous attempts. He does have four consecutive top-10s in the event, but this is a course Matsuyama has a lengthy history of success at — including a T2 in 2015 and a T4 the previous year.
–Sepp Straka Top 20 (+175 at BetRivers): Straka held the 54-hole lead at Pebble Beach before settling with a T7 after posting a 72 on Sunday. That followed a win at The American Express and a T30 at the Sony Open, so Straka is playing some excellent golf to begin 2025.
–Hole-In-One During Tournament (Yes -115 at DraftKings): So much of the attention is placed on the famous 16th hole, where there have been just 11 hole-in-ones over 38 years, and none since Carlos Ortiz made one in 2022. So while the payout isn’t as enticing as +250 on the 16th hole seeing an ace specifically, we like the better likelihood on one of the four par-3s on the course surrendering a hole-in-one.
2025 Prop Pick Record: 4-6-1
BEST BETS
–Scottie Scheffler (+275 at DraftKings) won the event in 2022 and ‘23 and has four consecutive top-10 finishes at TPC Scottsdale. Despite his status as the heavy pre-tournament favorite, Scheffler leads all players in the field by a long ways with 23 percent of the total bets and 18 percent of the money backing him to win this week.
–Justin Thomas (+1400) has a previous best event finish of third in 2019 and is seeking his first win since the 2022 PGA Championship. After a solo second at the AmEx, Thomas finished T48 last week.
–Hideki Matsuyama (+1600) is also a two-time event champion (2016-17) and won the season-opening The Sentry.
–Tom Kim (+2800) is coming off a strong showing at Pebble Beach, where he finished T70 despite scuffling to a final-round 70. Kim enjoys playing to a raucous crowd (recall the Presidents Cup), and he’s second in the field with 7 percent of the money backing him to win.
–Nick Taylor (+6000) beat Charley Hoffman in a playoff last year after finishing second to Scheffler in 2023. He also collected his fifth career PGA Tour win at the Sony Open last month.
NOTES
–The field features 29 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
–This is the final event for players not otherwise qualified to earn spots via the Aon Swing 5 in next week’s signature event at The Genesis Invitational.
–Jordan Spieth, who finished T6 here each of the past two years, makes his second consecutive start following wrist surgery.
–Florida State junior Luke Clanton will become eligible for PGA Tour membership if he makes the cut this week. He needs one point to reach the required 20 in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program.
–Arizona State senior Jose Luis Ballester Barrio of Spain is in the field as a sponsor exemption. He’s currently No. 2 in the PGA Tour University ranking. Another sponsor exemption, two-time Arizona state high school champion Frankie Capan III, is seeking his fourth consecutive made cut this season.
–Mark Calcavecchia (2001) and Phil Mickelson (2013) share the tournament scoring record of 256.
–Field Level Media
