It is a stacked field this week for the WM Phoenix Open with eight of the world’s top 10 golfers in the field. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will be making his first PGA Tour start of the season, but he has had plenty of action this year, finishing in the top five a total of five times on the DP World Tour, including a win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic last month. The red-hot Jon Rahm, who has won four of his last six starts, is the golf betting favorite at BetRivers at odds of +700. This is one of the PGA Tour events that has an increased prize purse of $20 million dollars, so it is not surprising to see many of the world’s top players in the field. Let’s look at WM Phoenix Open picks.
Venue: TPC Scottsdale is a par 71 that measures 7,261 yards.
Last Year: Scottie Scheffler defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. Scheffler started the weekend nine shots behind the leader, but he shot a 62 in the third round and then shot 67 on Sunday to make the playoff with Cantlay. Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, and Sahith Theegala finished tied for third.
TV Coverage: CBS & Golf Channel
Pebble Beach Pro-Am Odds
Rahm, Jon +700
McIlroy, Rory +800
Scheffler, Scottie +1100
Schauffele, Xander +1400
Morikawa, Collin +1600
Finau, Tony +1600
Cantlay, Patrick +2000
Homa, Max +2000
Thomas, Justin +2200
Sungjae Im +2500
Tom Kim +2800
Young, Cameron +2800
Matsuyama, Hideki +3300
Hovland, Viktor +3500
Fitzpatrick, Matthew +4000
Spieth, Jordan +4500
Theegala, Sahith +5000
Conners, Corey +5000
Burns, Sam +5000
Day, Jason +5500
Hatton, Tyrrell +6000
Noren, Alexander +6600
Bradley, Keegan +6600
Montgomery, Taylor +6600
Lowry, Shane +7000
Fowler, Rickie +7000
Mitchell, Keith +7000
Si Woo Kim +8000
Fleetwood, Tommy +8000
Harman, Brian +8000
Power, Seamus +8000
Henley, Russell +8000
Hoge, Tom +9000
Kirk, Chris +9000
Horschel, Billy +9000
All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more
Favorite
Rahm, Jon +700
Things have returned to normal a bit, as the favorite has not won the past two weeks. Normally in golf betting the favorite is overvalued and not worth betting, but Rahm was starting to change that this season with a couple of wins. I haven’t taken a golf betting favorite this year and in this field I am not backing Rahm at odds this low.
Value Picks
Morikawa, Collin +1600
We know that Morikawa is in fine form with a 3rd, 2nd and 6th in his last three starts. Shockingly, the last time that Morikawa won in the U.S. was in 2021. Not having a PGA Tour win in over a year is shocking for a player with his talent. Morikawa is very familiar with desert golf since he lives in Las Vegas. I think there is some value on Morikawa this week.
Finau, Tony +1600
Could it be that Finau is overdue to win this event? He always seems to play well on the West Coast and in Arizona, but he doesn’t win. He lost in a playoff to Webb Simpson in this event in 2020. Finau is in fine form right now and in the Top 10 in a number of categories. A win this week would not be a surprise.
Justin Thomas +2200
When was the last time you saw Thomas at odds of more than 20-1? I know he has underperformed so far this season, but he has played well at the WM in the past with a tie for 17th, 3rd, tie for 3rd, tie for 13th and a tie for 8th. I have to take Thomas at these odds.
Sungjae Im +2500
Another player who is overdue for a win is Im, who has not won on the PGA Tour in more than a year. Surprisingly, WM Open winners in recent years have been players who haven’t won in a while so Im could add his name to that list. Im has played well in the desert in the past, so he could have a big week. He looks poised to contend and we get odds of 25-1.
Fowler, Rickie +7000
There are not many places where you want to bet on Rickie Fowler, but TPC Scottsdale is one of them. He finished 2nd in 2010, 13th in 2011, 2nd in 2016, 4th in 2017, 11th in 2018 and he won this event in 2019. Fowler has shown signs of life this season with a couple of top 6 finishes. I’ll take a flyer on go with Fowler at big odds.
Check out the WM Phoenix Open odds at BetRivers.
