It’s Super Bowl weekend so that means the PGA Tour makes its annual stop in Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the biggest “party” on the circuit every year. In fact, if you can only go see one tournament in person each year that isn’t a major, go sit at the 16th hole at this event. It’s quite rowdy!
This will be the 74th edition of the Phoenix Open, which started in 1932 at the TPC of Scottsdale, the site of the tournament since 1987. The first two years the tournament was played as the Arizona Open, then took its present name in 1935. The only older tournaments on the PGA Tour are the British Open (1860), U.S. Open (1895), Western Open (1899), Canadian Open (1904), PGA Championship (1916), Texas Open (1922) and the Nissan Open (1926), After seven years of having FBR as its sponsor, money problems prevented the company to continue its sponsorship and in 2009 Waste Management signed a six year sponsorship deal, thus allowing FBR to end its commitment a year early.
Tiger Woods isn’t in the field this week and most of the top Europeans are still overseas, but it’s a strong field. This week 15 of the Top-50 of the world rankings will play. Eight of them are from the Top-25: #6 Webb Simpson, #9 Dustin Johnson, #12 Matt Kuchar, #15 Brandt Snedeker, #16 Phil Mickelson, #21 Ian Poulter, #22 Bill Haas and #24 Bubba Watson. Next are the seven players between 26 and 50 in the rankings. Keegan Bradley, Bo Van Pelt, Martin Laird, Rickie Fowler, Jason Dufner, Mark Wilson and Aaron Baddeley.
Wilson, who already has won in 2012, is the defending champion, having beaten Jason Dufner in a Monday playoff last year. He is +2600 on WagerWeb.com PGA golf bets to repeat. After winning the Humana Challenge, there’s no reason to think he can’t contend in another shootout here.
The favorite is Simpson at +900. First start since a T38 at the Sony Open. Started the year with a T3 at Kapalua. Hasn’t gone consecutive starts without a top 10 since June. Had only one two-event stretch without a top 20 in all of 2011. Shared eighth place here last year.
The second-favorite is Scotland’s Martin Laird at +950. He opened 2012 with a solo second at Kapalua, then tied for 14th at the Humana where he hit 14 greens in regulation in every round. Shared third place at last year’s WMPO, playing his final 30 holes in bogey-free 12-under.
Brandt Snedeker, who won last week, and Matt Kuchar are next at +1100 on WagerWeb.com. And then there’s Phil Mickelson at +1500. He hasn’t played very well the past two weeks, missing the cut at Torrey Pines a week ago. But he has played this tournament, which is basically held in his backyard, a whopping 22 times and has won it twice.
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