2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open
Tournament: The PGA Tour makes its way to one of its most popular venues this week, TPC Scottsdale. The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the next stop on the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing. The original Phoenix Open was first played in 1932 and has been a staple on TOUR ever since. The tournament moved to the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale in 1987, where its affectionately known as “The Greatest Show on Grass.” The most popular hole will be the Par 3 16th. Where you are assured to be boo’d if you miss the green and you just may bring the house down with an ace. This stop in Arizona is the most attended tournament on TOUR and you can usually expect crowds of over 500,000 on hand throughout the week..
Course: TPC Scottsdale has undergone some renovations this past year and those are changes players will be seeing for the first time in this tournament. I think the changes won’t impact our angles much but it certainly can give some less experienced players a better shot. The course is a Par 71 measuring just around 7200 yards. There will be a lot of birdie opportunities on the course and we will try to identify those players who can take advantage of the conditions here.
Field: Great field here this week as we will have Fowler, Spieth, Phil, Bubba, Tiger, Kuchar, Horschel all teeing it up. Plus the Super Bowl will be taking place just down the road. I expect big excitement in Phoenix:
What to Look For: When we look back at this tournament, a few things stand out. One is that it is held at a TPC course. Many have similar scoring conditions and we can take a look at players performance on similar TPC courses. Those include TPC at Summerlin and TPC Boston. Great Green in Regulation (GIR) players are surely at an advantage here. Hitting greens is crucial to scoring and last years leaderboard reflects both strong iron play and a strong off the tee game. 4 of the top 5 players here last year finished the season in the top 20 in ball striking.
Picks:
Hideki Matsuyama e/w – Matsuyama is a perfect fit here. He has played very good golf already this season, he can make birdies, and he is a world class ball striker. I think he should be the favorite here along with Bubba but at this price he’s a must play. Hideki finished T4 in his first time here last year.
Harris English e/w – English was the last player off my list last week at the Humana Challenge. This week presents an even better opportunity for the former Bulldog. English finished last year 22nd in birdie average and 19th in ball striking. He also ranked 3rd last week in GIR. If the putter gets hot, he’s in the mix for sure.
Hunter Mahan e/w – Mahan is a world class talent and this is not a world class price. Mahan has won this tournament in the past (2010) and finished T4 here last year. Mahan is an excellent ball striker and finished T6 in GIR at his last tournament (Hyundai TOC).
Billy Horschel e/w – I can’t believe the price on Billy this week. We know that GIR are important. Horschel finished 3rd in GIR at both the Hyundai TOC and the Humana. He hasn’t gotten his putter going but I could see that improving quickly. Horschel finished last season 3rd in ball striking.
Kevin Chappell e/w – A bit of a flier play but I really like Chappel’s game for this course. Last season he ranked 18th in birdie average, 11th in ball striking, and 6th in total driving. Chappell is a resident of Scottsdale so has likely seen the course changes and is ready for them. I do have a concern of a long layoff but he has two top 15 finishes in his last two starts.
2u Hideki Matsuyama e/w* @ 26/1
1.5u Harris English e/w* @ 41/1
1.25 Hunter Mahan e/w* @ 46/1
1.25u Billy Horschel e/w* @ 51/1
0.75u Kevin Chappell e/w* @ 100/1
13.5u Total @ Stake
*If your book does not offer e/w betting, place 1 bet of the stated unit on the golfer to win and 1 bet of the stated unit on the golfer to place top 5
Chris Munney
@progolfmoves
munneypicks 
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