2020 Waste Management Open
Tournament Preview
2020 Waste(d) Management Phoenix Open – January 30 – February 2
TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, Par 71, 7261 Yards (Bermuda)
This week takes us to a fan favorite event in the desert at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course featuring one of the strongest fields of the year. The par 3 16th hole fits more than 16,000 rowdy fans in stadium seating ready to erupt if you hit one close….
(or hole it out like Tiger in 97) and even more eager to boo your face off if you don’t (see Steve Elkington in 2009). All in all it is one of the largest attended events of the season even without Tiger in the field (250k+).
Rickie Fowler is the returning champion with recent winners Gary Woodland (2018) and Hideki Matsuyama (back to back 2016-2017) also playing this week. Notables in the top 10 OWGR include JT, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele.
Missing from the field are DJ, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed who opted for six (seven?!) figure appearance fees in Saudi Arabia. P. Reed is probably avoiding a few “You’re a cheater!” chants at the WMPO as well because this thing turns into the Wasted Open by noon.
The Waste Management – Course Breakdown
Par 3’s: 183, 215, 192, 163
Par 4’s: 403, 442, 470, 432, 475, 453, 428, 472, 490, 332, 442
Par 5’s: 558, 558, 553
If they can stay out of the deep rough and avoid cacti surrounding the fairways (or rocks like Tiger in 1999, yup another Tiger reference)…
…players should be left with a mid to short iron into most greens (think 150-175 yds stats). Also of note is hole #17 which is a reachable par 4 at 332 yards with water long and water left (could be a factor down the stretch). Past winners have been a little all over the place when it comes to putting on the Bermuda greens (Woodland +0.8 Strokes gained per round and Rickie around +2.5). Lastly, players who played the Farmers Open the prior week have a good history at the WMPO.
The Odds (Winner)
Jon Rahm +650
Justin Thomas +850
Webb Simpson +1200
Rickie Fowler +1600
Hideki Matsuyama/Xander Shauffle +1800
Bryson DeChambeau/Gary Woodland/Matt Kuchar/Tony Finau +2800
Notables
Jordan Spieth/Viktor Hovland/Scottie Scheffler +5000
Matthew Wolf +6600
Beau Hossler +12500