Following a deprived 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open, the passionate crowds and well-renowned festivities will return to TPC Scottsdale for the 2022 edition of the most famous extravaganza on the PGA Tour.
The Waste Management Open in Phoenix is known for presenting a robust line-up – but eighteen of the top-30 players will arrive in Arizona this year, resulting in the most outstanding field of the year.
This determining factor makes it complicated for analysts and fans to make reliable predictions on who they expect to win the competition.
With that said, join us previewing some of the events stand-out players and their chances at success.
Brooks Koepka
The world’s No.1 ranked professional golfer is naturally topping our list, but not for the reasoning you may expect.
The 2021 champion of this course isn’t the player you take solace in fading, especially when he obtained last season’s trophy starting five shots back.
On the other hand, the field wasn’t as potent in talent, and crowd-attendance was suffocated due to COVID-19 protocols.
That’s without factoring in his latest metrics that aren’t providing the positive outlook you may think.
Koepka has lost strokes to the field in 5 of his last 7 starts.
He gave up strokes on approach four times and has failed off-the-tee in three consecutive starts within this span.
Of course, he’s been “close”, but his recent results don’t reflect a worthy challenger for a first-place finish in the 2022 Phoenix Open.
While bookmakers aren’t shying away from positioning him as a favourable bet, I’d suggest you find out what promotions are available on arizona sportsbooks and take a chance with the other notable names on the field.
The odds presented on Koepka aren’t tempting whatsoever.
Although it may deliver a nerve-racking experience when placing money against him, the most excellent betting value can be found in many alternatives.
Tom Hoge
It’ll be a tall order for Tom Hoge to win outright at consecutive tournaments, but the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am trophy winner is an outside punt for a T5 or T10 finish heading in Arizona.
Less than 24-hours after collecting his trophy from Pebble Beach, Hoge was found at the TPC Scottsdale driving range, working on his game.
We aren’t jumping the gun because this success was his first PGA Tour event victory. However, the 32-year-old from North Dakota is a noteworthy underdog after finishing T5 in three of his previous five tournaments.
“I’ve been playing well, and I want to get back out and capitalize on it,” Hoge said. \
“Kind of ride off this run that I’ve been playing well, and just get a little bit of practice in, try to get back into a little more of a routine here this week.
“Just trying to battle, and it’s that cliché, one shot at a time.
“But that’s really what it comes down to, is how well you can focus and execute each shot, and get a few good breaks out there,”.
Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas is boasting a phenomenal bout of form, gaining strokes to the field in twenty-two straight events.
This impressive form (dating back to 2021) is close to becoming a complete twelve months without losing strokes in a single event.
If you’re thinking about backing Thomas in Arizona, you have excellent reasons to do so.
His elite form is also supported in Arizona, where he owns four consecutive T20 finishes.
Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland is unstoppable right now – winning three of his previous five starts globally.
Patrick Cantlay is the only fielded player within his last twenty rounds, showing more practical form.
In addition, Hovland and Cantlay are the only golfers in the Phoenix Open field that have managed to gain two-plus strokes per round in that stretch.
Overall, Hovland is on fire, and he’s showing no reason to doubt his chances.
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson knows how to deliver the goods at TPC Scottsdale; we’re just waiting for him to win it.
From his previous fifteen starts at this tournament, he owns six T10 finishes and has made the cut on eight occasions.
Stemming from a positive result in Saudi Arabia, finishing just one shot behind Harold Varner III after a birdie-eagle, Watson is primed for a good run and returns to a course that he’s previously succeeded on.