An early look at the Waste Management Phoenix Open from Niall Lyons.
Six of the top 10 look likely to tee it up at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Waste Management Phoenix Open Field
This event has lost its 'designated' status since last year and in turn we are likely to see a drop off in terms of the quality of field. However, at the stage of writing we have plenty of the top players in the game who have committed to playing in Arizona.
Six of the top 10 players in the world rankings feature with Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Wyndham Clark joining the defending champion Scottie Scheffler who goes for a ‘three-timer’ in 2024.
Others who will tee it up at the Phoenix are Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, 2019 winner Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns and Sungjae Im. Regardless of the status of the event the Phoenix Open continues to draw a strong field simply because of the unique setup at TPC Scottsdale and in particular the stadium 16th hole par 3.
For Niall’s PGA Tour tips for this week’s event, click here.
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Waste Management Phoenix Open Course
Scheffler, Koepka and Matsuyama have shared six of the last nine renewals of this event. With Simpson winning in 2020 that makes eight of the last nine winners here having won a major either before or after their victory at Phoenix. The previous nine renewals tell somewhat of a different story in that regard, but maybe the increased intensity here with the escalation of the atmosphere at the 16th and around the course it takes a different type of character to win around here now.
TPC Scottsdale is second only to Augusta National in terms of how course history impacts future results, therefore looking to past form on this track often helps to narrow the field. Scheffler finished 7th before winning here two years on the spin. Koepka was 3rd the year after winning. Fowler had two runner ups here before winning in 2019. As ever when playing in the desert a nod to form at similar events such as the American Express or Shriners is wise.
Last week’s early look for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am can be found here.
Waste Management Phoenix Open Winners
- 2023 - Scheffler (-19)
- 2022 - Scheffler (-16)
- 2021 - Koepka (-19)
- 2020 - Simpson (-17)
- 2019 - Fowler (-17)
Waste Management Phoenix Open Stats
Here is a look at the key stats from the top five finishers in recent seasons.
| 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | OTT | App | ATG | T2G | Putt | DD | DA | GIR | SCR |
| Scheffler | 1 | 18 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 47 | 3 | 1 |
| Taylor | 2 | 25 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 60 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| Rahm | 3 | 20 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 39 | 42 | 6 |
| Thomas | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 42 | 24 | 34 | 7 | 9 |
| Day | 5 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 13 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 4 | 4 |
| 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open | ||||||||||
| Player | Pos | OTT | App | ATG | T2G | Putt | DD | DA | GIR | SCR |
| Scheffler | 1 | 4 | 55 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 11 | 53 |
| Cantlay | 2 | 13 | 27 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 23 | 10 | 42 | 6 |
| Koepka | 3 | 7 | 26 | 52 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 49 | 32 | 2 |
| Schauffele | 3 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 54 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
| Theegala | 3 | 34 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 21 |
| 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open | ||||||||||
| Player | Pos | OTT | App | ATG | T2G | Putt | DD | DA | GIR | SCR |
| Koepka | 1 | 11 | 2 | 32 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 50 |
| Lee | 2 | 18 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 49 | 15 | 4 | 32 |
| Schauffele | 2 | 2 | 39 | 47 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 37 |
| Ortiz | 4 | 36 | 42 | 11 | 29 | 2 | 18 | 34 | 26 | 61 |
| Spieth | 4 | 64 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 66 | 18 | 6 |
| Stricker | 4 | 42 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 50 | 27 | 6 | 6 |
| 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open | ||||||||||
| Player | Pos | OTT | App | ATG | T2G | Putt | DD | DA | GIR | SCR |
| Simpson | 1 | 19 | 1 | 43 | 2 | 12 | 44 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Finau | 2 | 35 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 52 | 9 | 1 |
| Lashley | 3 | 46 | 20 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 63 | 43 | 11 | 8 |
| Thomas | 3 | 17 | 17 | 27 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 55 | 36 | 3 |
| Watson | 3 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 8 | 20 | 5 | 38 | 36 | 19 |
Only one player has made the top five here in the last two years having finished outside the top 25 in strokes gained off the tee for the week. The winners in the table above have ranked 26th, 8th, 6th and 44th in driving distance so although not necessary it surely helps to hit the ball far at Scottsdale.
There is no doubting the key part of the game here though and that's approach play and greens in regulation. Scheffler ranked 1st and 3rd in those departments when winning last year whilst the year before although he ranked 55th on approach, he still finished 11th in GIR.
His substandard approach play was fixed with the putter ranking 2nd in the field that week. Koepka ranked 2nd and 1st in approach/GIR, whilst Simpson ranked 1st and 6th. It's a ball strikers golf course and the putting surfaces are as smooth and blemish free as they come.
