2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open: Tournament preview and picks
After an eventful Farmers Insurance Open, the PGA Tour heads to Arizona for the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Have you recovered yet from all the drama at the Farmer Insurance Open this past weekend?. It was certainly an eventful week that unfortunately ended in more disappointment for us.
The week started off both rocky and great at the same time with Matthew Wolf’s withdrawal due to an apparent hand injury and all of Adam Scott, Gary Woodland, and Alex Noren’s ascension towards the top of the leaderboard.
In the end, it was more disappointment however as Woodland and Noren faded and Adam Scott faltered on Sunday, and so we move on and look towards this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The course and field at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open
The #PeoplesOpen will be a far cry from the norm this week at TPC Scottsdale just northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Annually host to some of the biggest crowds in not just golf but all of sports, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale will be severely limited like many things in recent times with a plan in place to allow 5,000 spectators per day at this year’s tournament.
TPC Scottsdale has hosted the Phoenix Open every year since 1987 and it was designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf with later renovations taking place by Weiskopf in 2015. The course is a PAR 71 design that plays at just over 7,200 yards and is home to one of the most famous and usually loud holes in all of golf, the PAR 3 16th.
This week’s field at the Waste Management Phoenix Open includes 5 of the World’s top 10 golfers in The Official World Golf ranking including both Justin Thomas who makes his way back to the United States for the first time since the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, and Rory Mcllroy who will be making his first start at this event.
Jon Rahm, who has finished no worse than 16th in four consecutive starts at TPC Scottsdale will join Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Harris English, and the rest of the 132 man field this week in Arizona.
Past Winners at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
2020: Webb Simpson -17 (After playoff over Tony Finau)
2019: Rickie Fowler -17
2018: Gary Woodland -18 (After playoff over Chez Reavie)
2017: Hideki Matsuyama -17 (After playoff over Webb Simpson)
2016: Hideki Matsuyama -14 (After playoff over Rickie Fowler)
The Favorites at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open
The odds used in this article can be found online at popular betting sites, for more information on the best odds and sportsbook’s available locally to you check out The Action Network
This week there are six players that open at +2000 or lower, Jon Rahm +625 opens as the slight favorite over Justin Thomas +775 this week. Thomas has back to back 3rd place finishes last year and in 2019 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, while Rahm has three top-ten finishes in five starts at TPC Scottsdale.
Xander Schauffele +850, Rory Mcllroy +1150, and Webb Simpson +1500 follow next before Daniel Berger +1700 closes out the under twenty range this week. Schauffele comes in following his best-ever performance at the Farmers Insurance Open last week where he finished in a tie for 2nd.
Rory has started 2021 in excellent form with a 3rd in Abu Dhabi and a 16th last week at Torrey Pines, though he will be making his first start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week.
Webb Simpson returns to defend his title this week after his playoff victory here last year, while Daniel Berger has three top-ten finishes in five starts in Phoenix and has started his 2021 with two top-ten finishes as well.
Mid-Tier
Four names stand out in the +5000 range this week. Will Zalatoris +5000 comes in following a top-ten finish last week and is another player who will be making his debut this week at TPC Scottsdale.
Brooks Koepka +5500 comes in at one of the biggest numbers he has been seen at in quite some time. Koepka has been in terrible form ever since parting ways with his longtime coach Claude Harmon III, but he returns to a place he has won at before and there have been good signs with both his irons and the short game recently, so it may just be about piecing it all together.
Bubba Watson +5500 and Matthew Wolf +5500 also slide into the mid-fifty range this week and both are coming off bad starts at the Farmers last week. Wolf withdrew after round one with an apparent hand injury last week and it will be interesting to see how healthy he is this week in Phoenix at a place that should set up very well for his game when healthy.
Bubba meanwhile has five top-five finishes at the Waste Management Phoenix Open since 2012 and he will be making just his second start this week since last year’s Masters.
Let’s dig into my favorite picks for this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.