Waste Management Phoenix Open: Power rankings at TPC Scottsdale

The PGA Tour’s highest attended event, and its rowdiest, is this week at the Phoenix Open.

Can you hear that? That’s the sound beginning to emanate from the famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale in advance of the Phoenix Open this week.

Over 20,000 rowdy fans can squeeze into the famed par-3. They’ll be among the 700,000+ expected to attend the PGA Tour’s highest attended tournament.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is one of the PGA Tour’s staple events dating back to 1932. Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, and Mickelson are among the victors in the desert.

TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course has been the host site since 1987. The Tom Weiskopf/Jay Morrish design measures 7,266 yards for a par 71.

The winning score tends to hover around the mid-teens under par. This course offers chances to go low, as we saw when Phil had a putt for 59 in 2013.

There are chances on this course to implode, and it’s why the Phoenix Open ranks near the middle of the pack on Tour in terms of difficulty. Sand and other desert wildlife can punish errant drives. Water, including the pond that guards the green on the drivable par-4 17th, is also a factor.

What shouldn’t be a big factor this week is the weather. The forecast indicates no rain, light wind, and temperatures in the 50s to 70s Fahrenheit.

So, maybe it’s the week to stay away from grinders.

It was a struggle to whittle down this week’s rankings down to 10. I could be kicking myself for leaving out young guns like Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, and Viktor Hovland.

Despite several big names going overseas to play in the European Tour’s Saudi International, we still have a good field in the states.

Let’s see who has a chance to win in the Tour’s only stop in Arizona.