The People’s Open. The Darty — a day party for those unfamiliar with the lingo — in the Desert.
Whatever you call it, the WM Phoenix Open is the PGA Tour’s annual bash at TPC Scottsdale.
And a loaded field has traveled to Arizona this year, including back-to-back defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He’ll be joined by Justin Thomas, Max Homa, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth, last week’s 54-hole winner Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Min Woo Lee.
Two top-5 players in the world, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele, withdrew from the tournament on Monday.
Scheffler is the first Tour player this year hoping to make it a turkey, with Tom Kim set to pursue the same feat later this year at the Shriners Children’s Open.
Golf course
TPC Scottsdale | Par 71 | 7,261 yards
Charley Hoffman plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic)
Course history
Course history at TPC Scottsdale for the @WMPhoenixOpen going back to 2016.
-Includes average finish position and Strokes Gained per round in each category. Players are sorted by SG: Total.
-4th (out of 44) most predictive annual course on Tour.
Get all of my analysis, charts,… pic.twitter.com/3nQEEjTySh
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) February 5, 2024
Betting preview
Ludvig Aberg hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Max Homa (16/1): T-66
Patrick Cantlay (18/1): T-11
Justin Thomas (25/1): T-6
Ludvig Aberg (25/1): 2nd
We got Mother Natured last week. Thanks to one helluva storm on Sunday, Justin Thomas and Ludvig Aberg were unable to chase down Wyndham Clark for the title. The golf gods owe us one in the desert.
| Player | Odds | Player | Odds |
| Scottie Scheffler | (+500) | J.T. Poston | (+3000) |
| Justin Thomas | (+1000) | Tom Kim | (+3500) |
| Max Homa | (+1400) | Sahith Theegala | (+3500) |
| Sam Burns | (+2000) | Cameron Young | (+3500) |
| Jordan Spieth | (+2000) | Eric Cole | (+4500) |
| Min Woo Lee | (+2800) | Adam Hadwin | (+4500) |
| Ben An | (+2800) | Si Woo Kim | (+5000) |
| Wyndham Clark | (+3000) | Rickie Fowler | (+5000) |
| Sungjae Im | (+3000) | Corey Conners | (+5000) |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | (+3000) | Beau Hossler | (+5000) |
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
Justin Thomas hits his fairway shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
I’m willing to bet that JT will be the most popular pick amongst bettors this week, and for good reason.
His game is back. Before tying for 6th at the shortened Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he tied for 3rd at the American Express.
His course history at TPC Scottsdale is tremendous. His last six finishes: 4th (2023), T-8 (2022), T-13 (2021), T-3 (2020), 3rd (2019) and T-17 (2018).
It’s just a matter of time before Thomas wins this tournament.
Sam Burns tees off on 13 of the Pete Dye Stadium Course during Round 3 of The American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.
Burns has quietly put together a nice start to 2024.
He tied for 33rd at The Sentry, for 6th at the American Express and grabbed solo sixth at Pebble Beach.
At last year’s WM Phoenix Open, Burns finished T-6.
Min Woo Lee hits his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open on the Torrey Pines South Course on January 24, 2024 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The People’s Golfer winning The People’s Open? The storyline is too good.
Min Woo has tied for 43rd at the Farmers Insurance Open and for 21st at the American Express on Tour so far this year.
However, he won the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and finished third at the ISPS Handa Australian Open on the DP World Tour late last year.
J.T. Poston of the United States looks on prior to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Spyglass Hill Golf Course on January 31, 2024, in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Poston’s four finishes since the start of the year: T-5 (The Sentry), 6th (Sony Open), T-11 (American Express), and T-20 (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).
Before missing the cut at TPC Scottsdale last year, Poston made four straight weekends and finished better than 30th thrice.
Beau Hossler hits his shot from the rough on the fifth hole during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
After a T-47 finish at the American Express, Hossler tied for 6th at the Farmers Insurance Open and for 14th at Pebble.
Last year, Hossler grabbed T-14 at the WM Phoenix Open.
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish