2023 WM Phoenix Open: Expert Picks and Predictions For TPC Scottsdale
The weekend-long party known as the WM Phoenix Open is about to get underway in a matter of mere hours now; and if this wasn’t one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the PGA calendar before, it certainly is now.
The 2023 edition of the WM Phoenix Open will officially be the first full-field designated event on the PGA Tour this season. Twenty-two of the world’s top 25 players have made the trip to Arizona this week, with only Will Zalatoris and a couple who have joined the LIV Tour, not in attendance.
A four-day party that will culminate with the crowning of both a Phoenix Open champion and Super Bowl champion is about to begin in the Phoenix area. Here is who our experts are picking to lift the trophy on the PGA side of things this week.
Expert Picks and Predictions for the 2023 WM Phoenix Open
Jon Rahm
The ASU alum could regain his status as the world’s top-ranked player with a win at this week’s WM Phoenix Open. Several of our experts like Rahm’s chances of returning to the top this week.
Mike Randleman: “I’ve got Jon Rahm as my pick to win. Not the most bold pick, but he’s perhaps the hottest player in the world and the former Arizona State Sun Devil will be in comfortable climes this week.”
Alana Bannan: “Jon Rahm’s season has started hot after winning two of his last three starts. As a tournament with one of the highest average driving distances of any event, expect players to approach with drivers off the tee. Off the tee, Jon Rahm is averaging 313.8 and the Scottsdale resident can enjoy home-field advantage at an event that promises to be electric.”
Scottie Scheffler
West Valentine: “It’s really hard not to pick Rahm or Rory. I feel like those guys are on a mission this year. In the commotion, Scheffler has fallen out of the spotlight a little. I think he reasserts himself in the conversation as “Best player alive” this week at the WM Phoenix Open.”
Xander Schauffele
Brendan Carberry: “T3 in 2022 and T2 in 2021 is a good indication that Xander plays well here. Look back even further and he’s usually in the mix. Not to mention, he loves the big moment and raucous crowds.”
Justin Thomas
Derek Helm: “Justin Thomas has a great track record at this event finishing 8th, 13th, 3rd, 3rd, and 17th in his last five appearances here. He hasn’t won at the Waste Management yet but this will be the year.”
Cameron Young
Kathlene Bissell: “He was second last week at the Saudi International. If he’s not too fatigued from travel, at least he’s in form.”
Sungjae Im
Hans Geevers: “Since the beginning of October, Sungjae Im has played seven events on the PGA Tour. In those seven tournaments just mentioned, Im has accumulated four top-18 finishes, including a fourth-place result at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago.”
Next. This Phoenix Open Will Be Remembered as the PGA Tour’s Super Bowl. dark
Collin Morikawa
Josh Chandler: “TPC Scottsdale is a ball-strikers paradise and Collin Morikawa is one of, if not the best in the world in that department. Despite his monumental collapse at the Sentry TOC to begin the year, the 2021 ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ is off to a phenomenal start in 2023 with finishes of 2nd and 3rd in two starts. Morikawa is also putting well and if that’s not a sign that another win is just around the corner for the two-time major winner, I don’t know what is.”