The PGA Tour season ramped up a notch with Rory McIlroy's Pebble Beach Pro-Am win and this week the sound level will increase further at golf's most attended tournament, the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
First played at Scottsdale's Stadium Course in 1987, the Phoenix Open has become an iconic non-Major tournament thanks in part to its raucous par-three 16th, a fully enclosed stadium hole where each tee shot is met with either cheers or boos.
More than 500,000 fans are expected to line the galleries in Arizona this week and many of them will be hoping to catch a glimpse of Scottie Scheffler, who is the red-hot favorite as he bids to win this title for a third time in four years.
- SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER WIN ONLY
- SEPP STRAKA WIN AND EACH-WAY
- ANDREW NOVAK WIN AND EACH-WAY
Scheffler To Complete Phoenix Treble
Scheffler unsurprisingly dominates the betting in Phoenix and sometimes it just makes sense to go with the obvious option and take the short odds on offer about the world's best golfer.
The 28-year-old loves TPC Scottsdale - he finished seventh there in 2021, made his PGA Tour breakthrough at the venue in 2022 before retaining his title in 2023. A cold putter denied him a treble last year as he finished third behind Nick Taylor.
Scheffler made a belated return from hand surgery at Pebble Beach last week, finishing ninth behind a masterful McIlroy, and he would've been hugely encouraged by the way he struck his irons, showing no rust as he led an elite field in strokes-gained approach.
TPC Scottsdale is a course where churning out greens in regulation has proved the route to success and no one does that better than Scheffler, who has won nine worldwide titles since coming up short in Phoenix 12 months ago.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER WIN ONLY
In-form Straka Could Push The Favorite
Sepp Straka continues to impress, following a win at the American Express with seventh place at Pebble Beach, and the improving Austrian could emerge as the man to give Scheffler the most to think about.
Straka is on offer at attractive odds this week, primarily due to a moderate Scottsdale record, but his iron-play has been consistently excellent in recent months and he has recorded form figures of 9-15-30-1-7 from his last five tournaments.
The European Ryder Cup man will have his sights set on a place in Luke Donald's squad for Bethpage in September and he looks primed for another big week on the PGA Tour.
SEPP STRAKA WIN AND EACH-WAY
Novak Can Build On Encouraging Efforts
Andrew Novak came up just short at the Farmers Insurance Open a fortnight ago, finishing third behind Harris English, then he went to Pebble Beach and placed 13th in elite company.
Novak, who was also a runner-up in the Bermuda Championship in November, has risen to a career-high 75th in the world with those efforts and he should continue to knock on the door in Phoenix, where he was eighth on debut a year ago.
