The Phoenix Open is one of the oldest PGA events on Tour with a history of 90 years. The course is a natural amphitheater set in the desert of Arizona for the biggest most raucous crowds on the PGA Tour. The mise-en-scene created at the TPC Scottsdale has become iconic in the sport and 2016 saw a record crowd of over 600,000 attend the tournament.
Except for the 2013 event, when Phil Mickelson broke all scoring records usually the winning score is between fifteen and twenty under par. It’s worth noting that the super slick Bermuda Grass greens are amongst the smoothest on the PGA Tour. This has been known to be beneficial to the weaker putters over the years as it levels the field slightly over the four days.
Thursday, February 10th, 2022 at TPC Scottsdale
Hideki Matsuyama delivering on those years of Promise
There’s no doubt about it, Hideki Matsuyama is starting to close events like many thought he should have done earlier in his career. For some players, the penny drops further into their career, take Padraig Harrington for example, the Irishman was an ultra-consistent fixture on the European Tour for a decade before his initial major championship win, the 2007 Open Championship.
This well and truly opened the floodgates as he retained his Open Championship in 2008 and the PGA Championship the same year for good measure. With the way Hideki Matsuyama ended 2021 and started 2022 with PGA Tour wins, I’m wondering if last year’s Masters’ Tournament, his first major win in April has opened his floodgates and moved the young Japanese star to the next level in his mind, on the brink of his thirtieth birthday this month.
What we do know about Matsuyama, is that in the early years of his PGA Tour he was a dynamo here in Phoenix, winning twice in 2016 and 2017 after top-four finishes the previous two years. He’s not been a factor at the TPC Scottsdale since the 2017 win but that looks set to change soon so it feels logical it’s this year when he’s at his best. Take the +1800 with GTbets (visit our GTbets Review) about Hideki Matsuyama winning his third Phoenix Open this week in the desert of Arizona.
PGA Golf Pick
Golf Pick: Hideki Matsuyama to win (+1800) at GTbets
Golf Pick: Hideki Matsuyama to end top 5 (+400) at GTbets
When Hideki Matsuyama won his first Phoenix Open title in 2016, he beat Rickie Fowler in a sudden-death play-off at the fourth hole. The 2019 renewal of the Phoenix Open saw Fowler make amends with a tournament victory but there’s been a horrific slump in form since for the thirty-three-year-old Californian. The slump has seen his world ranking plummet outside of the top 100, meaning his participation in major championships, is in constant jeopardy.
There were encouraging signs at the end of 2021 when Fowler came 3rd in the Nevada desert at the CJ Cup which was a month before he became a father for the first time. With fatherhood comes a maturity for some sportsmen and we saw how Fowler’s good friend and new father, Jordan Spieth played last week at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Strangely, their children were only born a few days apart and Spieth’s result could inspire Fowler this week, at a venue where he’s created many positive memories over the years.
I’m prepared to overlook Fowler’s two missed cuts this year in the belief that they weren’t as bad as it seems plus the last event, The Farmers Insurance Open he started brightly with a 66. Any lingering doubts about Rickie Fowler this week are compensated by a marvelous price of +9000 with GTbets at a venue where previous champions have been known to return to the winners’ enclosure.
Golf Pick: Rickie Fowler to win (+9000) at GTbets
Golf Pick: Rickie Fowler to end top 5 (+1600) at GTbets
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.