One of the most popular PGA Tour events is about to tee off this coming February 4 at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, the venue for the 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open. The winner of this tournament will receive $1.17 million and 500 FedEx Cup points.
Let’s now take a look at some of the faves, sleepers, and long shot of this event below.
For more golf reading, you check out our in-depth look of a few more sleepers of the 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open here.
There’s a lot of reasons to like Phil Mickelson’s chances of winning this year’s Phoenix Open. One is that he’s bagged three Phoenix Open championships thus far in his illustrious career. Mickelson, who most recently won in Scottsdale in 2013 by four strokes, is gunning for a tournament record four Phoenix Open titles.
Lefty is also very familiar with Scottsdale, as he’s participated in the event 26 times already. Mickelson, however, won’t have a lack of fierce competitors in the event that also includes a red-hot Rickie Fowler (+1,200), who has finished inside the top five in three of his previous four tournaments.
While Fowler missed the cut in last year’s Farmers Insurance Open, he nonetheless bounced back with a strong performance in Abu Dhabi, where he topped the field in the 2016 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship last January.
High-Value Sleepers –Kevin Na, Bubba Watson
Don’t sleep on Kevin Na (+2,500) and Bubba Watson. Na hasn’t won any major title yet, but with the way he’s playing early on the PGA season, he might get one sooner than what most people expect. For now, Na is looking to take home a Phoenix Open title after finishing second or third over his past six tournaments. Na appears to be comfortable playing in Scottsdale, as he’s got four top-five finishes at TPC in his career. In his most recent outing, Na placed third in the CareerBuilder Challenge in California.
Watson, on the other hand, must be itching to get over the hump at TPC following two-straight second-place finishes there. Moreover, Watson hasn’t missed the cut in Scottsdale since 2011 will enter this year’s edition of the Phoenix Open with a streak of four top 15 finishes in the event.
Long Shot – Matt Every
One look at Every’s tournament log this season is enough to scare you away from putting any amount on him. The 10-year pro hasn’t cracked the top 25 in any of his past four tournaments, a stretch that includes his 28th place finish in last January’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Having said all of that, Every has played some of his best golf when he’s in Scottsdale. Consider this: Every has finished tied for 37th last year in the Phoenix Open, T-9 in 2013, and T-8 in 2010. Not bad for a guy who’ll likely be given some very long odds to win it this year.
