We head to the Stadium Course (par 71, 7,261 yards, poa trivialis/bentgrass/ryegrass overseed greens) of TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open. TPC Scottsdale has been the home of the WM Phoenix Open since 1987 and Thomas Detry (-24) is the defending champion after winning by seven shots last season. There will be 121 players competing this week and a top-65 and ties cut following the first two rounds.
Below, I have featured two of my favorite long shot outright bets to win the WM Phoenix Open on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Haotong Li (+8600)
Li has never competed at TPC Scottsdale before, but these odds are way too long for how well he is playing. Li has finished inside the top-12 in four of his past five starts worldwide, including a T8 at the American Express and a T11 at the Farmers Insurance Open over the last two weeks. Just like the WM Phoenix Open this week, both of these past high finishes were Li’s first time at those events. The 30-year-old gained strokes across the board in each of these past two starts and has shot under par in 10 straight rounds.
Li’s game is firing on all cylinders right now, so contending in his WM Phoenix debut this week is in the realm of possibility. While Li has yet to win on the PGA TOUR, he knows how to close out tournaments. The Chinese professional has four DP World Tour wins on his resume, including a win at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters exactly a year ago to this week.
Tony Finau (+13500)
Its been a rocky last year of golf for Finau, but he showed some serious signs of life at the Farmers Insurance Open last week. Finau finished T11th at Torrey Pines and finished the event ninth in SG APP. In the final round, Finau carded a 6-under 66 at the South Course of Torrey Pines and finished in a tie for the second-most strokes gained during that closing round. Finau’s 66 is his lowest score since August, so hopefully this was a sign that the veteran is finally ready to get back to playing the high level golf we all know he is capable of.
Finau was a top-20 ranked player in the world less than two years ago and is only three years removed from his last win on the PGA TOUR. Finau has six PGA TOUR victories to his name, so he is no stranger to hoisting the big check. At this egregious +13500 price, Finau is worth taking a chance on at TPC Scottsdale. The 35-year-old nearly won the 2020 WM Phoenix Open, losing to Webb Simpson in a playoff that week. During the second round of this finish, Finau went nuts with a 9-under 62, which is tied for his career-low on the PGA TOUR. Finau finished T14th at TPC Scottsdale just two years later, so he clearly is fond of this famous venue.
