The PGA Tour continues this week as it visits TPC Scottsdale for the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as my predictions for who will finish in the top 10, my dark horse, and my player to fade.
Winner: Patrick Cantlay- Cantlay picked up this season where he left off last season, playing Grade A golf. Cantlay has 3 straight top 10’s to start the season and 5 straight top 10’s going back to last season. A threat to win every time he tees it up, Cantlay has played well in other desert-style events, with 1 win, 2 runner-ups, and 4 top 10’s in 4 career starts at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and 3 top 10’s in 3 career starts at The American Express. Even though he’s making his debut in this event this week, I expect Cantlay to continue his winning ways and bring home his first win of 2022.
Top 10: Xander Schauffele- Schauffele has had a quiet start to his season so far, with 2 top 20 finishes and 0 missed cuts in 4 starts. Schauffele has played well at TPC Scottsdale before, with 2 top 10’s and 4 top 20’s in 4 career starts, capped off by a T-2 finish here last year. This week just feels like a Xander Schauffele week to me for some reason and I predict that he will be a threat to win throughout the week en route to his first top 10 finish of the season.
Dark Horse: James Hahn- Ranked 249th in the world, Hahn’s season has been up and down thus far, with 2 top 30 finishes to go along with 5 missed cuts. TPC Scottsdale is one of Hahn’s better courses, as he has finished in the top 25 here 5 times in 9 career starts, to go along with just 2 missed cuts. Hahn’s weakness of late has been putting, as he is ranked 200th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. A win is unlikely, but I predict that Hahn can continue that top 25 streak if he can get the putter rolling.
Player to Fade: Craig Hocknull- Making his 5th career PGA tour start, Hocknull is the Director of Instruction at both Saber Golf and Glenwild Golf Club. Hocknull missed the cut in each of his previous four starts on tour and will struggle in a field that is as loaded as this one is. Hocknull is a lock to miss the cut.