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2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Scottsdale

By Mike Randleman

Bubba Watson watches his sho onto the 16th green during the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale February 2, 2020,Phoenix Open
Bubba Watson watches his sho onto the 16th green during the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale February 2, 2020,Phoenix Open /
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Hideki Matsuyama plays his second shot on the 17th hole during second round action on Feb. 1 during the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course.Waste Management Phoenix Open
Hideki Matsuyama plays his second shot on the 17th hole during second round action on Feb. 1 during the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course.Waste Management Phoenix Open /

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many players who’ve played a tournament as well in their first four appearances as Hideki Matsuyama has at the Phoenix Open.

Japan’s top golfer has always owned TPC Scottsdale, particularly from 2014. Check this out: T-4th (68-67-68-69) in 2014, T-2nd (69-71-63-67) in 2015, win (65-70-68-67) in 2016 and win (63-68-68-66) in 2017.

This event is only 132 players, but this is no limited field/no-cut event we’re talking about here.

He’s gone through some battles.

Matsuyama was just a shot away from matching Bubba in 2015, then beat eventual Phoenix Open champions in playoffs against Rickie Fowler in 2016 and Webb Simpson in 2017.

Matsuyama fired 2-under 69 to sit in T-44th after round one in 2018 before withdrawing with a wrist injury. That plagued him at times throughout the year and he still hasn’t won worldwide since 2017.

Matsuyama has still played world class golf in the meantime. That includes T-15th (68-69-69-69) at TPC Scottsdale in 2019.

His worst finish out of six came last year when the poor guy settled for T-16th (67-74-65-68).

Matsuyama unfortunately is a disaster on the greens regardless of venue. With that said, Bermuda greens tend to roll truer. Less guess work on slow greens seems to bring Matsuyama back to the field at this event.

Unfortunately course history isn’t the total equation. Matsuyama tied for last place at the Tournament of Champions to open 2021. He bounced back for T-19th at the Sony Open and made another cut last week at the Farmers Insurance Open (T-53rd).

He was off for two months following the Masters, so I think he’s shaking off some rust. Matsuyama played great golf to close 2020 with four top-30s, including T-2nd at the Houston Open.

Matsuyama ranks 21st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained tee to green (1.204). His driver can get wayward at times, but this is a course where he can mitigate his mistakes well.

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