The PGA Tour continues on this week at TPC Scottsdale for the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Read on to see my prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as my top 10, dark horse, and player to avoid predictions.
Winner: Xander Schauffele- Schauffele has played about as well as one person can without winning, with 4 top 5 finishes, including 2 runner-up results, in his last 6 starts. Schauffele has played well at TPC Scottsdale as well, with no finish worse than 17th in 3 career starts. Schauffele is due for a win and I believe that win will come this week.
Top 10: Daniel Berger- Berger has quietly been playing well this season. In 6 starts, he has finished no worse than 34th and is coming off of back-to-back top 10 finishes. Berger has also had 4 top 11 finishes in 6 career starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which leads me to predict Berger as a lock for a top 10 finish this week.
Dark Horse: Russell Henley- Henley has quietly been playing some stellar golf this season, finishing inside the top 30 in 6 of his 8 starts. Henley has also had some recent success in this event, with 2 top 20 finishes in his last 4 starts. Henley will likely be one of several who benefits from the lack of crowds this week and should be able to pull together a top 25 finish by Sunday.
Player to Fade: Matthew Wolff- After runner up finishes at the U. S. Open and the Shriners Hospital for Children Open, Wolff has fallen off the face of the earth, with a 73rd, 50th, a MC, and a 40th since then. Wolff withdrew during last week’s tournament with a hand injury and I just see plenty of better options than Wolff.
Photo credits: https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/after-the-pga-tour-crowds-leave-golf-remains-fun-at-the-tpc-scottsdales-stadium-course and https://www.golfdigest.com/story/tour-championship-2020-xander-schauffele-new-habit-making-bed-east-lake/amp