After a thrilling week at Pebble Beach, the PGA Tour heads to TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open, one of the longer-running events on the schedule with a distinct personality. Consistently one of the highest-attended and rowdiest tournaments of the season, the WM Phoenix Open creates a unique setting for professional golf that is rarer than it should be. Much of that has to do with the venue, and TPC Scottsdale is one of the best realized versions of stadium-style professional golf. The Tom Weiskopf design features a great deal of risk/reward par 5s, an incredibly engaging drivable par-4 17th hole, and in general, a plentiful mix of birdie opportunities while still challenging the modern PGA Tour golfer. The winning score nearly always falls between 17 and 21 under par, and we can expect pristine weather conditions once again in Scottsdale.

RELATED: Max Homa offers, uh, unconventional WM Phoenix Open pro-am advice to former NFL quarterback

TPC Scottsdale: Stadium D Squared Productions false Public TPC Scottsdale: Stadium Scottsdale, AZ 3.9 17 Panelists

  • Best In State

The famed home of the WM Phoenix Open boasts probably the most well-known stadium hole in golf: the par-3 16th. Tiger Woods’ hole-in-one in 1997 put it on the map for casual fans, who now flock to Scottsdale during Super Bowl week. The layout has architectural merit, too, with its risk-and-reward-filled back nine. Tom Weiskopf, who designed the course with Jay Morrish, has overseen renovations of the course—making tweaks to please the tour player and resort guest alike. Explore our full review

The field will be headlined by Scottie Scheffler, already a two-time champion at this event, who will be joined by the likes of Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, Jordan Spieth and two-time WM Phoenix Open champion Hideki Matsuyama. Scheffler looked impressive in his return from a hand injury that kept him sidelined during the opening month of the season, and he remains the man to beat this week in the desert.

RELATED: Why our PGA pro is fading Rory at TGL vs. LAGC

$10,000 range Play: Scottie Scheffler, $12,000 2196167061

Ben Jared

There’s truly no need to overthink this one. Scottie Scheffler returned last week to competition and looked in mid-season form, leading the field in approach play. It was encouraging to see the two-time Masters champion shake the rust off, and he now returns to a golf course where he has already recorded two victories and a third-place finish last year.

Fade: Hideki Matsuyama, $10,200

While Hideki Matsuyama looked excellent to open the season, I unfortunately believe that he is trending in the wrong direction. Matsuyama lost over a stroke in both ball-striking categories last week at Pebble Beach for the first time in months, and the putter appears to be trending in the wrong direction as well.

RELATED: Former major champ’s simple slow-play fix? Ban AimPoint

$9,000 range Play: Tom Kim, $9,600 2197299015

Harry How

I was certainly encouraged by what I saw last week from Tom Kim at Pebble Beach, as the three-time PGA Tour winner gained strokes in all four major strokes-gained categories. Kim recorded a 17th-place finish at this event last year, and his strong combination of accurate driving and middle iron approach play will continue to pay dividends at TPC Scottsdale.

Fade: Byeong Hun An, $9,100

Though Benny An certainly has some encouraging course history at TPC Scottsdale, I have not been impressed with his play to open the 2025 season. An has now lost over a stroke on approach in all three starts to open the season, and it’s hard to pay this price tag for a player in such poor iron form.

Kurt Kitayama is my official pick to win this week (non-Scottie division), and his elite combination of power off the tee and elite middle-iron play is a perfect fit for TPC Scottsdale. Unsurprisingly, Kitayama has already recorded an eighth and a 23rd in both of his appearances at the Weiskopf design, gaining strokes in all four major categories in both appearances.

Fade: Max Greyserman, $8,600 2191982060

Ben Jared

I will continue to fade Max Greyserman every week until he is priced correctly, and this event is no different. Greyserman withdrew last week from Pebble Beach with a hand injury, and he now travels to a golf course he has never played before that will certainly expose his poor approach play. There is no need to pay this price tag for a player that should be in the mid-seven thousand range.

$7,000 range Play: Sam Stevens, $7,600 2197138653

Ezra Shaw

Sam Stevens is one of my absolute favorite plays on the slate this week, and I fully believe he possesses the upside to win this event. Stevens is coming off a 17th-place finish at Pebble Beach where he gained four strokes off the tee, and he nearly won at Torrey Pines the prior week. Stevens’ strong combination of long and accurate driving should yield him a significant advantage at TPC Scottsdale.

Fade: Harry Hall, $7,700

Similar to Greyserman, I remain a long-term seller on Harry Hall, and he has accumulated much of his early season success via an unsustainable method of elite short game and putting. Hall is an incredibly weak driver of the ball, and his approach play is just as inconsistent. We saw him fall back to earth last week at Pebble Beach when the putter didn’t cooperate, and I would expect more of the same this week in Scottsdale.

Flier: Gary Woodland, $7,100 2196382049

Ben Jared

Gary Woodland is quietly rounding into form, and he has now opened the season with back-to-back top-25 finishes at the Sony Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he gained strokes in both ball-striking categories. The former U.S. Open champion now returns to a golf course where he has already recorded won at in 2018, along with four other top-20 finishes.

$6,000 range Play: K.H. Lee, $6,600 2195949805

Jennifer Perez

At $6,600, K.H. Lee is one of my favorite value plays on the entire slate. Lee has already won twice at the Tom Weiskopf-designed TPC Craig Ranch, and he also has a runner-up finish at TPC Scottsdale. Coming off a ninth-place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open, I expect Lee to continue to surprise in the desert.

Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com