The PGA Tour season is officially heating up with a full-field event this week at the 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open. The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale will once again host this fantastic event, which will be packed with fans – particularly on the iconic 16th hole (BEERS!!!!!!). The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale isn’t overly long, stretching just 7,261 yards and playing as a par 71. But it is a ball-striker’s course, requiring players to be accurate off the tee and hit an abundance of greens. The greens are pretty large and won’t be running lightning quick, so it certainly won’t be a putting contest in Phoenix.
Max Homa Top 20 (+120):
On top of finishing inside the Top 20 in two of his last three Phoenix Open starts (T14-T42-T6), Homa is in by far the best form of his career. His last eight PGA Tour starts include two victories, six Top 20s, and nothing worse than T23 (twice). And while this is certainly a big-boy field, Homa continues to prove he is one of them... look no further than his recent come-from-behind win at Torrey Pines.
Hideki Matsuyama Top 20 (+150)
If you’re looking for a true course horse this week, Hideki Matsuyama is your guy. His resume is sterling even beyond his back-to-back victories in 2016 and 2017. Take away a second-round withdrawal in 2018 and we’re looking at five Top 10s among seven Top-20 finishes in eight career tries here — that includes a T8 last year.
Collin Morikawa over Tony Finau (+104)
Finau's made seven starts here, and while that does include a runner-up playoff loss in 2020, we’re otherwise looking at a T22 in his 2015 debut and… checks notes… five other missed cuts. Yes, Morikawa threw away a win at the Sentry, but a runner-up finish followed up with a solo third at Torrey Pines means his recent form is just as good if not better than Finau’s.
Viktor Hovland (+3300)
It’s been a relatively quiet start to 2023 for Hovland compared to some of his peers, but that is why we’re getting him above 30/1 rather than closer to 20/1. Hovland played in the Sentry Tournament of Champions right out of the gates, but then took a couple of weeks off before finishing T13 in a weak field at Pebble Beach last week. Nothing to be excited about, but also nothing too concerning, either. So even though Hovland’s name hasn’t popped yet this year and he missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale in 2022, he’s shown he can contend in top-notch fields with top-10 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, THE PLAYERS and The Open Championship last year.