A fourth first-time winner won on the PGA TOUR this season when Tom Hoge captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last weekend. Hoge, at 60-1 odds to win on FanDuel Sportsbook, caught Jordan Spieth with a birdie on the 16th hole Sunday.
Then he took the lead with another birdie on No. 17 on his way to earning his first PGA Tour title in his 203rd career start. The competition gets tougher this week at TPC Scottsdale for the Phoenix Open.
Brooks Koepka returns as defending champion, and he’s one of 17 players ranked in the top 30 in the world playing in the Peoples Open. The fans return in full force this week and should reach 10 times last year’s 5,000 turnout due to COVID-19 PGA Tour protocols.
The loud and raucous fans will no doubt be pulling for former Arizona State Sun Devil Jon Rahm. The 27-year-old Spaniard and 2021 U.S. Open Champion has had solid success in the Phoenix Open finishing between 5th and 16th place in six appearances.
Rahm ranks No. 1 in the field in Course History over the last five years.
Top players to watch and odds to win the Phoenix Open
While Jon Rahm is the favorite to win, he’s got stronger competition at the top this week with many proven performers over the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
The Par 71 layout at 7,261 yards offers plenty of risk-reward opportunities. The best ball strikes excel, and big hitters benefit.
The desert climate and firm conditions at TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course make it the longest average driving distance of any course on Tour each year at 305 yards – nearly 15 yards longer than PGA Tour players average.
Here are the golfers ranked in the top 10 in the world competing in the Phoenix Open. Odds to win from FanDuel Sportsbook are for news and entertainment purposes, as sports betting is not yet legal in California.
- Jon Rahm (+750)
- Viktor Hovland (+1400)
- Patrick Cantlay (+1400)
- Justin Thomas (+1200)
- Xander Schauffele (+2000)
- Hideki Matsuyma (+1600)
Hideki Matsuyama is a two-time winner of the Phoenix Open, along with Brooks Koepka.
The rest of the top golfers from the top 30 in the world include:
- Louis Oosthuizen (+4100)
- Jordan Spieth (+1600)
- Sam Burns (+3400)
- Scottie Scheffler (+2700)
- Abraham Ancer (+5000)
- Tony Finau (+3300)
- Daniel Berger (+2700)
- Brooks Koepka (+2700)
- Billy Horschel (+5500)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (+4100)
- Webb Simpson (+3400)
The fully-enclosed Par 3 at hole No. 16 is nicknamed “The Coliseum”. Nearly 20,000 loud and enthusiastic fans pack the grandstand seats surrounding the iconic hole.
The three Par 5’s rank as the easiest scoring holes at the Stadium Course. As you follow the golfers and action, the Par 4’s at holes No. 11, 14 and 5 are the toughest scoring holes along with the Par 3s at No. 7 and 12.
Golfers with the most top 10 finishes in Phoenix Open
These 15 players have posted multiple top-10 finishes in the Phoenix Open over the last five years.
- Jon Rahm
- Justin Thomas
- Xander Schauffele
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Jordan Spieth
- Daniel Berger
- Webb Simpson
- Bubba Watson
- Gary Woodland
- Rickie Fowler
- Matt Kuchar
- Branden Grace
- Martin Laird
- Chez Reavie
- James Hahn
You can follow tournament updates and highlights from The Greenest and Greatest Show on Grass on the Phoenix Open Twitter account @WMPhoenixOpen.
Recent Phoenix Open winners and runner-ups
- 2021 – Brooks Koepka (-19), Xander Schauffele and K.H. Lee
- 2020 – Webb Simpson (-17), Tony Finau (Playoff)
- 2019 – Rickie Fowler (-17), Branden Grace
- 2018 – Gary Woodland (-18), Chez Reavie (Playoff)
- 2017 – Hideki Matsuyama (-17), Webb Simpson (Playoff)
- 2016 – Hideki Matsuyama (-14), Rickie Fowler (Playoff)
Next week the PGA TOUR returns to California and Pacific Palisades for The Genesis Invitational. The tournament begins Thursday, Feb. 17 from historic Riviera County Club.