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It's the strongest field the tournament has featured since 2003,
with six of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf
Ranking entering the event. Field Level Media's golf experts
provide key notes, odds and best bets.
WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN
Course: TPC Scottsdale (Par 71, 7,261 yards)
Purse: $8.2M (Winner: $1.476M)
Defending Champion: Brooks Koepka
FedEx Cup Leader: Hideki Matsuyama
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3
p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf
Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA Tour Live: Four live feeds per day on ESPN+
Social Media: @WMPhoenixOpen (Twitter)
NOTES
--The scoring average at TPC Scottsdale last year was 69.455,
while the famous par-3 16th hole played to a scoring average of
2.98. The 72-hole scoring record of 256 is shared by Mark
Calcavecchia (2001) and Phil Mickelson (2013).
--Bubba Watson, who finished second in Saudi Arabia last week,
will make his 2021-22 season debut. His last PGA Tour event was
The Northern Trust to open last season's playoffs.
--Arizona State freshman Preston Summerhays is in the field as a
sponsors exemption along with Sahith Theegala, Austin Eckroat
and Patrick Rodgers.
--Charles Howell III will make his 600th career start on tour.
--Kevin Chappell is making his final start on his major medical
extension. He has made only 35 tour starts since back surgery in
November 2018.
BEST BETS
--World No. 1 and Scottsdale resident Jon Rahm (+600 at
DraftKings) attended nearby Arizona State. He has finished T9
and T13 the past two years. The Spaniard is being backed by 3
percent of the bets and 4 percent of the money at the sportsbook.
Rahm is +750 at BetMGM, where he leads the field with 14.9
percent of the money wagered backing him.
--Justin Thomas (+1000) leads the tour in birdie average (6.44)
and has 14 career wins on tour, tied with Adam Scott for the
most in the field. His odds opened at +1400 at BetMGM but
shortened to +1200 as he is second with 10.5 percent of the
money backing him.
--Matsuyama (+1200) is already seeking his third victory on tour
this season. He is a combined 88-under par at TPC Scottsdale
since the start of the 2013-14 season, best of any player.
--Viktor Hovland (+1600) has three wins and a T4 in his past
five worldwide starts, but missed the cut in his only previous
start at TPC Scottsdale in 2020. He has been backed by the most
bets (5%) and most money (7%) at DraftKings.
--Reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay will make his
debut in the event and is second at DraftKings with 6 percent of
the money backing him.
--Jordan Spieth (+1600), coming off a runner-up at Pebble Beach,
shared the 54-hole lead last year after firing a 61 on Saturday.
He has longer odds at +2000 at BetMGM, where he leads the field
with 7.2 percent of the bets backing him. Spieth is third with
8.2 percent of the money and is the sportsbook's biggest
liability this week.
--Xander Schauffele (+2000) tied for second last year and is
still seeking his first stroke play victory since 2018.
--Koepka is a two-time winner of the event (2015, '21) but his
odds have lengthened notably at both sportsbooks. He opened at
+3000 at DraftKings but was at +3500 on Wednesday, while
Koepka's odds moved from +3000 to +3300 at BetMGM.
--Field Level Media
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