Buckle yourself up for the penultimate event of the PGA Tour’s west coast swing. The WM Phoenix Open, notorious for its boisterous crowd, will tee off on February 8 in Arizona. The field is stacked with top pros, despite Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele pulling out of the event.

Last year, the field included 18 of the top 20 players. But the WM Phoenix Open has lost its ‘elevated’ status since then. Rather, it has been shoehorned between two $20 million purse Signature events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California and the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, five of the top ten will tee up at the $8.8 million purse tournament at TPC Scottsdale. Who are the hot favorites to snatch the title? 

Scottie Scheffler

What are the odds that Scottie Scheffler will complete a three-peat at Scottsdale? Not every time you hedge your bet on a golfer to win three at the same event. Yet Scheffler remains a favorite for two reasons. The 27-year-old has improved his short game, which should be a matter of concern if you are playing against him. Because Scheffler already had one of the best ball-striking averages last season, the short game was his only bane. He was the leader in Strokes Gained: Approach to Green and SG: Off the Tee.

This season too, the 2023 Player of the Year looked threatening. Scottie Scheffler has already knocked off two top-ten finishes this season from his three outings. Even if you ignore his last two victories at TPC Scottsdale, the University of Texas alum has a T7 finish in 2021 to show for himself.

Justin Thomas

One of the biggest questions at the start of the West Coast swing was if Justin Thomas would rebound. One month in, it seems we have been asking the wrong question all along. It should’ve been a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. All it took was one round at the American Express for the 15-time PGA Tour winner to find his mojo back. 

Netting two top-ten finishes from as many outings this season, Thomas will look to capitalize on his stellar form in Arizona. The two-time Major Champion has been solid around the greens, once again coming back on top for Proximity and Scrambling, where he fell way behind the field average last year. Thomas has not been able to sniff victory at the WM Phoenix Open yet but has four top-ten finishes from his last five outings.

Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth like Justin Thomas, went without any silverware last season. And like his Ryder Cup teammate, the 13-time PGA Tour winner looks to bounce back strongly. Spieth netted a third-place finish at the season-opening Sentry. In his second outing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Texas-born star tied for the 39th spot. Notably, Jordan Spieth has four top-ten finishes in his seven outings at the TPC Scottsdale. His career-low round, a 61, also came in the third round of the WM Phoenix Open in 2021. 

Max Homa

Max Homa remains a favorite in every event he participates in. After a T14 and a T13 in the Sentry and the Farmers Insurance Open, respectively, the Arizona local settled for T66 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But the 33-year-old looks like a hot favorite to shine at the biggest bash of the PGA Tour calendar, having made a T6 and T14 finish previously in 2020 and 2022, respectively. 

Sam Burns

Burns came close to bagging his sixth career victory at the American Express, shooting 61 in the second round. Burns also had to settle for a third-place finish at the weather-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Notably, the University of Louisiana graduate has remained under par in all eleven rounds he has played this year. Last year, the 27-year-old bagged a T6 finish at the WM Phoenix Open. 

This year’s PGA Tour has produced unlikely winners. What started with Chris Kirk reached its peak with Nick Dunlap’s American Express victory as an amateur. And, if you could believe it, Wyndham Clark shot a record-breaking 60 in the third round to pocket the $3.6 million paycheck at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (a big shoutout to Mother Nature for that).

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