The PGA Tour moves from the coast of California to the desert of Arizona for this week’s WM Phoenix Open on the iconic Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
The long-running tournament – the fourth of the five-event “West Coast Swing” – is also the season’s first “LIV-like elevated” event of 2023, offering a $20 million purse and big-name headliners.
While its banned LIV Golf superstars such as Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau, the field in Scottsdale, Arizona will include most of the top names on the PGA Tour.
The Skinny
WM Phoenix Open
Dates: Feb. 9-12, 2023
PGA Tour Debut: 1932
PGA TOUR Week: 15th (of 43)
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Course: TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)
Where: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Distance: 7261 yards, Par 71
Architect: Tom Weiskopf, Jay Morrish (1986)
Field 132 players
Format: 36-hole cut, 72-hole stroke
Purse: $20,000,000
Win Share: $3,600,000
FedEx Pts: 550
2022 Champion: Scottie Scheffler
How to Follow the WM Phoenix Open
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 3-7 p.m. (GOLF); Sat: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF); 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS); Sun: 1-3 (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET (ESPN+); Sat: 12-6:30 p.m. (ESPN+); Sun: 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
RADIO: Thu-Fri: 2-8 p.m.; Sat: 1-6:30 p.m.; Sun: 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM)
LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Phoenix Open History
The origins of the Phoenix Open can be traced back to 1932 at Phoenix Country Club. That inaugural tournament was won by the often forgotten Ralph Guldhal, a 16-time PGA Tour winner who dominated professional golf in the late 30s.
The event was discontinued after the 1935 edition. The rebirth of the Phoenix Open came in 1939 when Bob Goldwater Sr. convinced fellow Thunderbirds to help manage the event. The Thunderbirds, a prominent civic organization in the Phoenix area, were not that thrilled with relaunching the event so Goldwater was left to get it off the ground himself. Today, Goldwater is known as the “Father of the Phoenix Open.”
The event was played at the Phoenix Country Club, both in its earlier incarnations and after Goldwater resuscitated it. Beginning in 1955, the Arizona Country Club (also in Phoenix) alternated as event host with Phoenix Country Club – this arrangement lasted until Phoenix Country Club took The Arizona Country Club’s turn in 1975 and became the event’s permanent home again.
The tournament remained at Phoenix Country Club for the next dozen years, until 1987 when the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale became its permanent location.
The Phoenix Open has had a lot of great champions in its history, including Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson.
One of Miller’s two victories was by an insane 14 strokes in 1975. Mickelson, Palmer, Gene Littler and Mark Calcavecchia share the tournament record, with three wins a piece.
In a tournament best known for the enormous crowds it draws, the par-3 16th, aka “The Coliseum,” is its most famous. Surrounded by a large grandstand and hundreds of skyboxes, players on the hole are subject to the loudest cheering they will hear all season.
Since 2000, there have been four aces on the iconic hole: Mike Sposa in 2002, Jarrod Lyle in 2011, and Francesco Molinari in 2015. Sam Ryder made the fourth ace last season – the first since 2015 – which prompted one of the craziest fan celebrations in tour history. Tiger Woods also did it in his rookie year, 1997 (before it became known as the Coliseum).
History: Tournament Titles
2022-Present WM Phoenix Open
2010-21 Waste Management Phoenix Open
2004-09 FBR Open
1972-03 Phoenix Open
1957-71 Phoenix Open Invitational
1951-56 Phoenix Open
1950-50 Ben Hogan Open
1934-49 Phoenix Open
1932-33 Arizona Open
History: Recent Phoenix Winners
2022: Scottie Scheffler (-16)
2021: Brooks Koepka (-19)
2020: Webb Simpson (-17)
2019: Rickie Fowler (-17)
2018: Gary Woodland (-18)
2017: Hideki Matsuyama (-17)
2016: Hideki Matsuyama (-14)
2015: Brooks Koepka (-15)
History: Phoenix Open Records
Wins:
3 – Phil Mickelson (1996, 2005, 2013)
3 – Mark Calcavecchia (1989, 1992, 2001)
3 – Arnold Palmer (1961, 1962, 1963)
3 – Gene Littler (1955, 1959, 1969)
72-Hole Score: 256 (-28) – Calcavecchia (2001)
18-Hole Score: 60 – Grant Waite, Calcavecchia, Mickelson
The Field: WM Phoenix Open
The field this week in Scottsdale will not include some of the world’s most familiar golf stars, including Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Henrik Stenson, and Louis Oosthuizen, who have all been banned by the PGA for competing on the LIV Golf tour.
The field this week, though, will feature PGA Tour headliners such as Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Other top names include Viktor Hovland and two-time Phoenix winner Hideki Matsuyama.
In addition to Matsuyama (2016-17), the field in Arizona includes former winners in Webb Simpson (2020), Rickie Fowler (2019), Kyle Stanley (2012) and two-time champion J.B. Holmes (2006, 2008).
Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, and Adam Scott are some of the other marquee names.
Top-10 Betting Favorites
Book Rank-Player (Odds)
1. Jon Rahm (7-1)
2. Rory McIlroy (9-1)
3. Scottie Scheffler (12-1)
4. Collin Morikawa (16-1)
4. Xander Schauffele (16-1)
6. Justin Thomas (20-1)
6. Tony Finau (20-1)
8. Max Homa (22-1)
8. Patrick Cantlay (22-1)
10. Tom Kim (25-1)
10. Sungjae Im (25-1)
10. Cameron Young (25-1)
Full Field & Odds
WM Phoenix Open | Scottsdale, AZ | TPC Scottsdale (Stadium) | Feb 9-12, 2023
Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images, Joel Cook
