The field for the PGA Tour’s first full-field designated event of the year is nearly set.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy headlines the list of 133 players committed to play in next week’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, where $3.6 million of a $20 million purse will go to the winner on Super Bowl Sunday. McIlroy, who last Sunday won the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic, will be making his first PGA Tour start since winning last fall’s CJ Cup, and he will be joined by eight of the top 10 players in the world rankings, including No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and No. 3 Jon Rahm, who has already won twice this year on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy was T-13 in his WMPO debut in 2021, but he did not play last year.
The only eligible top-50 players who won’t be teeing it up are Will Zalatoris (8), Sepp Straka (27), Adam Scott (33) and Mito Pereira (44). Players are permitted to skip one designated event per season and keep their full Player Impact Program eligibility. Pereira, who has long been rumored to be joining LIV Golf, is teeing it up for the second straight tournament on the Asian Tour next week.
The WMPO field is so loaded that Taylor Montgomery, No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking, needed a sponsor exemption. Other sponsor invites were Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, Ricky Barnes and Charley Hoffman, who last year went on a social-media rant following what he deemed as a controversial ruling; he apologized the next day.
With Montgomery needing an exemption, it’s also no surprise that the Monday qualifier, already a perennial big draw, is filled with notable names. The field at McCormick Ranch Golf Club currently features 21 players ranked in the top 500 of the OWGR, including No. 97 Ben Griffin, who also is No. 30 in FedExCup points. Ben Taylor, No. 112 in OWGR and No. 25 in FEC, is also attempting to qualify.
Here is the list of top Monday qualifying entrants:
- 97 – Griffin
- 112 – Taylor
- 125 – Will Gordon
- 126 – Carl Yuan
- 175 – Nick Hardy
- 185 – Kevin Yu
- 201 – Ben An
- 203 – Austin Eckroat
- 232 – Harry Hall
- 298 – Harrison Endycott
- 313 – Vincent Norrman
- 324 – Trevor Werbylo
- 325 – Sam Stevens
- 351 – Eric Cole
- 392 – Aaron Baddeley
- 412 – Kevin Roy
- 426 – Sean O’Hair
- 440 – Trevor Cone
- 448 – Carson Young
- 463 – Tano Goya
- 476 – Cole Hammer
Hardy is first alternate, though with 133 players committed to what is supposed to be a 132-player field and still three open-qualifying spots up for grabs, he would need five players to withdraw before his name is called.
Kyle Stanley, Zac Blair and reigning KFT player of the year Justin Suh are next on the alternate list. Any top-10 finishers from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am who aren’t already in the WMPO field will slot in behind Suh.
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