There's Nothing Like The People's Open At TPC Scottsdale
photo credit: @barstoolbanks
Damn. What I wouldn't give to be at TPC Scottsdale this weekend. The Waste Management is renowned for being the People's Open. The tournament that attracts the most fans and the rowdiest crowds on the entire Tour. Anyone who's been will tell ya it's a blast. It was the last sporting event I went to before that whole COVID thing showed up and I was left daydreaming about it for months.
Last year we didn't quite get the full People's Open experience. Only 10% of the normal crowds were allowed to attend. No matter, they showed up and brought the noise, as they always do. It was a great tournament, highlighted mostly by Jordan Spieth showing the first signs of life on his comeback tour. His Saturday 61 was one of the most entertaining days on Tour in 2021. But it was actually Brooks Koepka who stole the show on Sunday with his own comeback from the knee injury that had plagued him for a couple years. His clutch pitch-in on 17 for eagle proved to be the difference in a 1-shot win over X and KH Lee.
My recap here:
And last year's leaderboard and recent winners…
2021 Leaderboard
Recent Winners
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The Course
The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale is a Par 71 measuring 7,261 yards. It was designed by Tom Wieskopf and Jay Morrish and built in 1987 and has hosted the Waste Management Phoenix Open ever since. It was built with the same idea as TPC Sawgrass in that it was built for spectators - there are large mounds surrounding nearly every green and you can virtually see the entire golf course from wherever you're standing. That's a huge part of how this tournament became the massive success that it is.
It's not a terribly long track and isn't terribly narrow either. If you go wayward off the tees you could find yourself in the desert waste area (or behind a boulder), but overall the rough is hardly punishing. It's your quintessential 2nd shot golf course that rewards ball-striking and positioning on approach. The large greens here run firm and fast and are protected by a lot of bumps and knobs and shelves. The Par 5 3rd green especially comes to mind when I think about how hitting the dancefloor here most definitely does not guarantee a 2-putt. There's also water lurking on 5 of the 18 holes, all of them on the back 9 which can make for a thrilling finish. The opportunities (like most courses on Tour) are on the par 5's. There's 3 of them and they are all extremely reachable for these guys. Gotta take advantage there and on the short par 4 17th.
Best Hole - 16th 17th Hole Par 4, 332 Yards
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Yeah yeah, I know. The 16th hole is iconic. It's a giggle of laughs. It's chock full of great moments and there's no experience like it anywhere in this entire sport. All of those things are great and I love that hole for it. But it's also about as straightforward of a golf hole as there is. I know, blasphemous.
People don't appreciate what a gem the 17th hole is enough. They should build a BIGGER stadium around this bad boy. It's a short par 4 that's driveable for most with a fascinating green layout and water lurking left. It's extremely risky to go right at it because of the way the fairway slopes towards that water front left and the steep hill on the backside of the middle fairway bunker. But ultimately it's a fascinating opportunity for players to weigh risk/reward and try to pick up 2 strokes on their card. A lot of the field tends to bail out short right early in the week and leave themselves a good angle for a pitch. Especially when they put a pin in that back left peninsula, which they often do on Friday. Then you start to see guys take a rip at the green a little more on the weekend. I love a hole that can shake things up down the stretch in a tournament and this hole has it in spades. Feels like every year the tournament is won or lost here. It certainly was last year. It even has the Tour's only hole-in-one on a Par 4 in history. Pretty wild story where it actually banked off the putter of one of the players in the group ahead on the green. Crazy stuff. All in all this is one of my favorite holes on the entire Tour and I wish it got more of its proper due.
The Weather
Incredibly gorgeous. I would expect nothing less.
TV Coverage
Obligatory Tiger Ace on 16 Highlights
The Trophy
I'll be honest, I'm a little confused as to what I'm looking at. It's… it's like a bird? Like a mallard? Actually my quick research tells me it's a crystal Thunderbird in honor of the Phoenix Thunderbirds' convention, tourism, and charitable organization. They're basically the hosts of this event. Since they've done a helluva job with all of that (and the fact that they may have had some hand in creating the beauty that is Old Town Scottsdale, IYKYK) I'm going to take it easy on them and give this trophy a neutral 5/10.
The Board
Jon Rahm is the favorite here just like he's going to be at just about every tournament on the planet these days. The local Sun Devil is +650 at the Barstool Sportsbook. This is a tremendous field. 15 of the world's top 20 are teeing it up for this one.
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I'm going with Xander Schauffele +2000. Runner-up last year and has played well all 4 years he's played here. His worst finish is T-17 in his debut at Scottsdale. He's shot a -4 67 or better in 10 of his 16 rounds at Scottsdale and he's obviously one of the premier players in the world. You're not gonna find him as long as +2000 very often. It's been a while since he's won (besides the Olympics) so I can't help but think he's due
Other Plays
Hideki Matsuyama To Win +1400 - 2-time winner here has also top 5'd another 2 times in 7 total tries here. His odds have shortened as the week has gone on so people are buying Hideki.
Tony Finau To Win +4000/Top 10 +350 - This tournament should've been his two years ago before Webb Simpson buried a couple clutch putts to force and then win a playoff. 40/1 is a great number here.
Doug Ghim Top 20 +550 With A Sprinkle To Win +20000 - Sneaky good ball-striking over the past year or so
Preston Summerhays Top 20 +2000 - Teenage amateur from a talented golf family is in this week on a sponsor's exemption. Was good enough to play in the US Open last year. Would be a great story if he can put it together this week.
Scottie Scheffler To Win +2200 - Honorary Tony Finau FOMO pick here. He's a weekly pick until he wins.
That's all I got. Forgive me for the late posting, tax season is a bitch. Enjoy the Waste Management Phoenix Open.