Welcome to the first, full-field Designated Event of the season — the Phoenix Open.
It was at the TPC Scottsdale last year where Scottie Scheffler began an incredible 56-day run that saw him start with a playoff win over Patrick Cantlay here. Scheffler then won the Arnold Palmer, the Match Play and in April, his torrid streak culminated with victory at The Masters.
This week is packed with talent, packed with spectators and the finishing holes at this TPC are designed to create drama. That drama will begin to unfold when things get underway on Thursday.
It’s not unusual to see north of 700,000 make their way through the gates this week (eat your heart out LIV). This is the Tour’s party week for Phoenix and they turn out. People take the week off from work to party-hardy and there’s plenty of party going on.
On Sunday, there’s a little event going on that evening at nearby State Farm Stadium in Glendale and that would be Super Bowl LVII matching the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
So basically, Phoenix is the epi-center of the sports universe this week and no doubt the PGA Tour is giddy to have this year’s Phoenix Open as a $20 million Designated Event.
And yes, the stars will be there — No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2 (defending champion) Scheffler, No. 3 Jon Rahm. Side note: Rahm draws huge support from the area as he played his college golf at nearby Arizona State. Patrick Cantlay (6th), Collin Morikawa (7th), Will Zalatoris (8th), Justin Thomas (9th) and 10th-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick are all set to show up at TPC Scottsdale.
So for those who complained about the lack of big names last week at Pebble Beach, this edition of the Phoenix Open more than makes up for it.
Only one player from the top 10 won’t be in town and that’s LIV-defector Cam Smith, who just happened to miss the cut last week at the Saudi International.
The field for this event and the other Designated Events is 136 players, significantly less than the other PGA Tour events. Scheffler will be trying to become the first player to successfully defend since Hideki Matsuyama won back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
Scheffler’s season has started quietly. He’s only played twice in 2023. He finished T7 at the Tournament of Champions and tied for 11th at the American Express.
Rahm is expected to be in the hunt come Sunday as he’s won four of his last six events. Rahm opened 2023 with back-to-back wins at the Tournament of Champions and the American Express but a final round 74 took him out of contention at The Farmers, where he eventually finished tied for seventh.
McIlroy will be making his first PGA Tour start of 2023 and he’s not been a familiar face in Phoenix. McIlroy made some personal history two weeks ago when he birdied the 72nd hole to win the Dubai Desert Classic for the third time. It marked the first time in his career that McIlroy opened any season with a win.
So it’s a great dilemma for the Phoenix Open — so many big names to choose from.
Scheffler, Rahm, McIlroy?
Philadelphia or Kansas City?
Tough to choose.
Phoenix Open On Television:
Thursday-Friday: Golf Channel 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (EST).
Saturday: Golf Channel 1-3 p.m. (EST), CBS: 3-6:30 p.m. (EST)
Sunday: Golf Channel 1-3 p.m. (EST), CBW: 3-6 p.m. (EST)
