What many people consider the most exciting tournament of the season – outside of the Masters – goes down this weekend as the PGA heads to TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open. The golf itself isn’t overly unique here, but the atmosphere definitely is, with five-day attendance at this event of nearly half-a-million spectators.
The WM Phoenix Open gets rowdy, especially the iconic 16th hole, which resembles the student section of a college football stadium. The purse has doubled to $20 million from last year as one of the new “elevated” events, and that has drawn 18 of the top 20 golfers in the world.
WM Phoenix Open Info
There are a lot of factors that go into the WM Phoenix Open being such an energetic tournament; one of them is this event being played on the same weekend as the Super Bowl since 1973. That has added importance this year, with even more fans in the state for the Eagles vs. the Chiefs two hours away in Glendale.
Arizona State, one of the nation’s most notorious party schools, is also just a $2 bus ride away from TPC Scottsdale. That’s a huge reason this tournament has the college football tailgate atmosphere and could be a factor in notorious partier John Daly never winning this event.
About TPC Scottsdale
TPC Scottsdale itself isn’t anything special; it’s the crowd and the energy that makes this such a crazy place to play. The par three hole 16 is one of the most iconic on the Tour, with crowds looking down on the tee box, which has earned the setting the nickname “the Coliseum.”
Hole 16 is just 162 yards, and even though the tradition of the caddie race from the tee to the green has been banned, the crowd still highly anticipates an ace here. Tiger Woods’ hole-in-one here in 1997 looked like a scene from Happy Gilmore.
Overall the course plays on the smaller side, but its desert setting puts an emphasis on ball striking and almost emulates a links format. Aside from striking, maybe the key metric here is psyche, as some golfers like Tiger love the atmosphere, but others fold like Justin Leonard did in a playoff here in 1996 with hometown favorite Phil Mickelson.
WM Phoenix Open Field
Mickelson enjoyed a huge home course advantage as the prodigal son returning home to TPC Scottsdale, which is why he won this event three times and has the tournament record of -28 set in 2013. With Mickelson off to the LIV, fellow Arizona State graduate Jon Rahm seems poised to take the throne as the +800 co-favorite for this event.
The increased purse for the 2023 WM Phoenix Open has drawn world #1 Rory McIlroy’s attention, as he has decided to play this tournament for just the second time in his career (13th in 2021).
Cam Smith being in the LIV and thus ineligible for this tournament means that Will Zalatoris is the only eligible golfer in the top 20 of the OWGR not playing this weekend. That puts some decent value on the likes of #15 Sam Burns (+4000), #17 Jordan Spieth (+4000), and #18 Sungjae Im (+2500).
