The West Coast swing continued on the PGA Tour last week, and despite some controversy related to a drop, Patrick Reed claimed the win at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines with a comfortable five-stroke win over five players who finished tied for second. Reed opened last week with a scorching 64 on the North Course and finished with a 68 on the South Course, where he and the rest of the top players in the world will tee it up again this summer for the U.S. Open.
@PReedGolf wins the @FarmersInsOpen.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 31, 2021
It’s his ninth career PGA TOUR title. pic.twitter.com/I1sYh4huhq
The PGA TOUR stays out West this week, but heads back inland away from the cool marine layer and back into the desert. As has become a tradition before the NFL championship is decided, we’ll get a nice pregame show from the top golfers in the world at the Waste Management Phoenix Open from TPC Scottsdale. TPC Scottsdale has quickly become one of the best known and most unique courses on the PGA TOUR, and it sets up as one of the most spectator-friendly and well-attended tournaments each year. The Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design has hosted the Phoenix Open every year since 1987.
While there will be some fans allowed this week in Arizona, there will definitely be less of a roar at the signature par-3 hole No. 16 with reduced capacity. Still, the event takes place on a great course and has a well-stocked field of stars, so it should be another great week of golf from a great group of picturesque courses to start 2021. The format of this event is a return to the standard single-course event with a full field and a cut after the first two rounds to top 65 and ties.
Happy Monday morning from the 18th Green at #thepeoplesopen! pic.twitter.com/a2J0bRWYEa
— WM Phoenix Open (@WMPhoenixOpen) February 1, 2021
Last year, it was Webb Simpson ($10,100; +1500) who got the win at TPC Scottsdale in a playoff with Tony Finau, who led after 54 holes but fell just one shot short of getting his second PGA TOUR win. A year later, Finau is still all over the top of leaderboards but still in search of that elusive second victory and is not scheduled to compete this week. Finau was part of that five-way tie for runner-up at Torrey Pines along with Henrik Norlander ($7,500; +12500), Ryan Palmer ($9,200; +4500), Xander Schauffele ($11,000; +850) and Viktor Hovland (not playing this week).
The field this week includes Rory McIlroy ($10,600; +1150), making his debut at this event, and Jon Rahm ($11,200; +625), who has a good history here after a collegiate career at nearby Arizona State. Justin Thomas ($10,800; +775) is also back in action this week and has a great course history here. Thomas hasn’t played since finishing third at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and he shot a memorable final round 65 last year at this event while wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey in tribute.
Rahm opened as the betting favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a slight advantage over Thomas and Schauffele. With so many stars in play, we should get a great Sunday finish. In four of the past five seasons, this event has been decided in a playoff, with both Simpson and Rickie Fowler ($8,600; +5500) coming back after losing in a playoff to win the event in the next few years. Hideki Matsuyama ($9,800; +2300) also bounced back from a runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka ($8,800; +5500) in 2015 to win back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
DraftKings is offering a number of ways you can get in on the golf action, starting with the PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] event. Flex your golf knowledge and create a six-man lineup for the opportunity to turn $15 into $200K for a first-place finish while a total of $750K will be awarded in prizes. You can also bet on the tournament at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Scroll down for a full stream of picks and previews!
— Analysis by Zach Thompson
2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open Playlist
2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open Details
- Host Course: TPC Scottsdale
- Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
- Par: 71
- Yardage: 7,266
- Greens: Bermuda
- Broadcast: Golf Channel, NBC
DraftKings Sportsbook Notable Odds To Win
- Jon Rahm (+625)
- Justin Thomas (+775)
- Xander Schauffele (+850)
- Rory McIlroy (+1150)
- Webb Simpson (+1500)
- Daniel Berger (+1700)
- Hideki Matsuyama (+2300)
- Harris English (+2800)
- Sungjae Im (+3400)
- Billy Horschel (+4500)
- Louis Oosthuizen (+4500)
- Ryan Palmer (+4500)
- Scottie Scheffler (+5000)
- Will Zalatoris (+5000)
- Rickie Fowler (+5500)
- Brooks Koepka (+5500)
- Bubba Watson (+5500)
- Matthew Wolff (+5500)
- Si Woo Kim (+6000)
- Russell Henley (+7500)
- Gary Woodland (+7500)
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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