It’s Super Bowl week, one of the greatest weeks of the sports calendar year, which is always accompanied by the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This tournament brings in the atmosphere of a football game, boasting energy not seen throughout the rest of the year. With it comes an incredibly strong field, rivaling what teed off at the Farmers Insurance a few weeks ago. PGA DFS contests are also big this week, as the PGA Tour takes center stage next week after the NFL has ended. Let’s dig into the course and essential DFS golf stats and picks for DraftKings and FanDuel this week.
PGA DFS & Fantasy Golf Preview | Waste Management Phoenix Open
Course Facts & Figures
TPC Scottsdale, a little piece of heaven in the Phoenix desert, has been the host of the prestigious event for some time. The tournament was really put on the map by Tiger Woods after a hole in one on 16 propelled him to victory and set the tone for what that hole has now become: A stadium within a stadium. The 132-golfer field will play the first two rounds before the cut, with the top 65 and ties playing Saturday and Sunday. There are no weird formats and no MDFs for the rest of the year.
Par & Yardage
Par- 71 7,261 yards
Course Difficulty
- TPC Scottsdale 18/41 -.683 or 70.3
Hole Dispersion:
- 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
Grass Types & Hazards
- Grass Type: Bermuda
- Average Green: 7,069 square feet
- Water Hazards: 3
- Bunkers: Lots
- Rough Length: 2.5 inches
Designer
- Tom Weiskopf
Best Stats for DFS Golf Picks This Week
- Off the Tee: Being in the middle of the desert always brings thinner air and thus further drives, as the average drive here is over 304 yards. Accuracy suffers a bit, with around 64% of the fairways hit in regulation.
- Approach to the Green: This course has long drives and shorter holes. Even though fairways hit is not all that extensive, the greens in regulation number are, checking in at 74%.
- Around the Green: Greens that are difficult to putt on will bring down both scrambling and overall putting rank. For scrambling, only 58% of the time will a golfer get up and down.
- On the Green: The greens rank top 15 toughest on tour yearly.
Course History at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
An event that has been around for some time is bound to have golfers that play it every year. That rings true with Brian Gay, who has come here 18 of the last 20 years. His results are varied with a few top-10s, so this is more of a content point than him having good history at the event.
Along the same lines is Bubba Watson, who has competed here 15 straight years and has six top-10s in the event. He is working on four straight made cuts. Hideki Matsuyama, the two-time champion of the event and one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now, boasts the best course history in the field; he has won twice, come in the top five two other times and had to withdraw while leading the event a few years ago. He has not played as well here recently but has made the weekend in all three starts, coming in 15th, 16th and 42nd in his last three trips.
Other notes include Jon Rahm, who has never finished worse than 16th in his six trips to the event but has never finished better than a tie for fifth. Xander Schauffele is in a similar position, having made the cut all four trips to the desert while never finishing worse than 17t. He also has one top-five: Last year’s runner up. Brooks Koepka has also had quite the history here, winning twice but finishing outside the top 40 in his other two trips.
Others to note with solid history here at TPC Scottsdale include Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Nate Lashley, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
PGA DFS Golf Sweat Sheet
Just four holes will make up 50% of the scoring at the Waste Management Phoenix Open: The three par-fives and the drivable, par-4 17th hole. Scoring is a must on those holes to have a chance to win the title this week.
Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA DFS Player Preview
A stellar field assembles, as most of the stars come back from their appearance-fee-ladled start in Saudi Arabia. A few of them chose to either play at Pebble Beach or take the week off, including Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm. In total, 16 of the world’s top 25 golfers are here this week.
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Waste Management Phoenix Open Strokes Gained Review
Koepka used a Sunday charge to overtake the field, virtually coming out of nowhere on that back nine to win. His statistical profile resembles that of past winners at the event, gaining through the bag, with an emphasis on the approach and putter. No golfer that finished inside the top 10 lost strokes putting on the week, and Louis Oosthuizen was the only one to come in the top 10 while losing strokes on the approach.
Averages for the top 10 last year:
- Strokes Gained Off the Tee: 0.12
- Strokes Gained on Approach: 0.76
- Strokes Gained Around the Green: 0.42
- Strokes Gained Putting: 1.1
- DFS Points Scored: 113
- DFS Ownership: 4.2%
- Average DFS Salary: $7,600
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