The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale for the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. The Jay Morrish/Tom Weiskopf design will play as a Par 71, 7,261 yard layout this week. It will be a busy weekend in Phoenix, as just 30 miles down the road from the course is State Farm Stadium, which will play host to Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Last year’s edition was won by Scottie Scheffler, who defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to pick up his first PGA Tour victory.
Player to Fade:
The 388th ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings, Tyler Duncan has made just 2 cuts in 10 PGA Tour starts this season, with a best finish of T-41 coming at The American Express. The WM Phoenix Open has not been much kinder to Duncan either, as he has missed the cut here in all 5 of his previous starts. In an absolutely stacked field, Duncan is an easy fade and is a lock to miss the cut.
Dark Horse:
Garrick Higgo has had an up and down campaign this season, with 1 top 10, 3 top 20’s, and 5 missed cuts in 10 starts. Higgo has had past success at TPC Scottsdale, finishing T-21 here last year. Higgo’s season highlight so far is that he has yet to miss a putt inside of 3 feet, which will be key if he’s coming down the stretch on Sunday with a chance to win. He may have struggled recently, but we predict that he will bring home a second straight top 25 finish in this event.
Top 10:
The runner-up in last year’s WM Phoenix Open, Patrick Cantlay has had a quiet start to the year, with 1 top 10 and 3 top 30 finishes across 3 starts. Losing last year’s event in a playoff, this will be Cantlay’s second start at TPC Scottsdale. However, Cantlay has had a ton of success at TPC Summerlin, another desert type course that plays similarly to TPC Scottsdale. Cantlay has had 1 win, 3 runner-ups, and 5 top 10’s in 5 starts at TPC Summerlin and should be able to parlay his success there into more success at TPC Scottsdale. A threat for the win anytime he tees it up, Cantlay will definitely be in the mix and pick up another top 10 finish this week.
Winner:
One of the hottest players on tour right now, Tom Kim has had a strong start to his season, with 1 win, 3 top 10’s, and 5 top 25’s in 6 starts. Making his first start at the WM Phoenix Open, Kim won earlier this season at the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin, which we predict will lead to more success this week given the similarities between that course and TPC Scottsdale. Overall, Kim’s game is pretty strong, ranking inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Approach the Green, and Total, and will be tough to beat if he is on his game. We predict that it will be a Super Sunday for Tom Kim as he picks up his second win of the season!