The PGA Tour takes a break from California for a week and heads to the desert in Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tournament that is often said to have the most rowdy galleries on tour.
There is a good but not great field this week. For example, Phil Mickelson headlines 19 players who competed in last week’s Farmers Insurance Open. But Tiger Woods isn’t playing and neither are most of the top Europeans, who are in Qatar. Lefty, who finished second last week at Torrey Pines, has opened as the 7/1 favorite on Bodog. Mickelson has a home in the area and is a huge fan favorite here. He is a two-time champion of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, winning in 1996 and 2005 when he shot a career-low 60 in the second round. Mickelson has played in this tournament 21 times and has nine top-10s. His scoring average for each round is just over 69, and he’s a combined 153 under. He has, however, missed the cut in two of the past four years.
Dustin Johnson is next at 11/1 as he enters off a third-place finish last week for its second Top 10 in two starts this year. TPC Scottsdale should suit Johnson’s long-hitting game very well although he missed the cut in his lone start here two years ago.
If you took a vote for the PGA Tour Player of the Year so far, it has to be Bill Haas (28/1 to win this week). Haas took the lead into the final day last week but tied for ninth — which was his third top-10 finish of the year and fifth overall dating to last year. While he has one top 10 at this event, he hasn’t played the weekend in his other three tries.
How about Rickie Fowler (20/1) getting his first win this week? Fowler, who faded on the weekend last week, finished second last year by a stroke to defending champ Hunter Mahan, who also is in the field this week.
Perhaps the best value is Nick Watney at 18/1. He set a course record for at the Farmers Insurance Open last week by firing a 28 on his first nine holes in the final round. Watney has a good track record at TPC Scottsdale with a T24 and a T12 in his last two starts.
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