The Waste Management Open

Now that the California Swing is over golf is hitting the ground running. The California swing is very weak between the fields and courses and pro-am events are tough to watch. The other problem with the California Swing is that many of the players don’t really like playing out in California. The weather is always questionable at these events and for the AT&T at Pebble Beach, it’s always violently windy, and this year play was suspended due to high winds. With that being said through 40+ mph gusts Justin Rose managed to edge Brendon Todd by 3. This marks Rose’s 11th career win on the PGA Tour as he continues to pad his already Hall Of Fame resume. As impressive as Rose’s win last week was, all eyes are focused on this week’s first elevated event, The Waste Management Phoenix Open. 

The magnifying glass is now on the WM this entire week. This is the PGA Tour’s first elevated event with a 20 million dollar purse, part of their new initiative forced upon by LIV. The whole idea behind these elevated events was to attract some of the biggest and brightest names in golf. Now the top players in the world have committed to all the elevated events throughout the year which now allows the top players to play against one another 17 times a season which drastically increases the number of times in years past. Furthermore, on top of those 17 elevated events, these top players are also required to play in three nonelevated events which brings the minimum number of events players have to play in throughout the season to 20 events. Now 20 events is a slight increase than years past and naturally, some players have qualms with that. Personally, if 20 events is too much for these top players to hop on over to LIV they can have you, respectfully. However, the number one reason why all these players are playing in the elevated events is the money. The purses for all elevated events have reached 20 million, with the winner earning 3.6 million. One win at an elevated event is what some tour pros make in an entire season. That one paycheck is why these players will flock to the events, not for the fields or the courses, but for the fat check you get on Sunday. 

The WM is and will forever be an insane event on tour whether it's elevated or not. The whole event is one gigantic party and that’s all because of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, the host of the event. The 16th hole is the craziest hole in golf. More specifically the 16th hole is known as “The loudest hole in golf” and is home to over 20,000 people daily during the event. The funny part of the hole is that it's really not that great of a hole. At its longest, it's 163 yards guarded with a few bunkers and that's about it. This is the only hole in golf that isn’t about golf, it's about the party. People from far and wide and from all walks of life congregate at the 16th hole for an all day long party. Between the noise, the costumes, and fans throwing beers on the hole as players walk by, it has turned into something golf has never seen before. In total, around 200,000 people attend the event daily and fans line up for hours to take on the few mile run it takes to get the 16th hole to secure a coveted seat. While the fans love the 16th, most of the players love it just as much, especially Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs who showed golf fans what shirts and skins on the golf course is all about. This year’s 16th and the event as a whole should be bigger and better than ever before. 

While the 16th is the showcase, the field this year will be unlike any other. This week the field includes Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Rory McIIroy, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler. This field is close to a major like event, hosting many of the top 25 in the world. The most notable would be Rory McIlroy who has rarely played in the event. Due to the fact that the tour forces players to play in these events Rory will be in the event for just the second time in his career the first coming in 2021 where he finished T-13 for the week. Personally, I think Rory could do some damage this week, he thrives off Ryder Cup vibes and energy and the WM has some pretty insane energy surrounding the event. Rory lives the noise, the fans, the energy and I think his golf will bring some serious noise. With that being said Rory, the world number one will have to face off against the hottest player on tour right now, Jon Rahm. Rahm has two wins and four top 10’s thus far and he is ready for another win. Look for Rory and Jon to be neck and neck this entire week. (Mike)

I am so excited for the first elevated event of the year. When the PGA Tour announced which tournaments would feature better fields and bigger purses I was onboard but skeptical. We will have to see how the weekend plays out, but this seems like a massive success so far. We will have twenty-three of the top twenty-four golfers in the world. The hype surrounding this week seems even greater than in years past. The Waste Management is always circled by many fans because of the party atmosphere, but we have been treated to some amazing finishes there over the years. It will be fascinating to see how the tournament unfolds with the strongest field this event has ever seen.

My pick for this week is Tony Finau. He still seems to fly under the radar these days. TPC Scottsdale is a place Tony has played well and honestly, should have a win here too.  This is a big time field, but I think Tony gets his revenge here and makes some clutch putts to hold off a Sunday charge from the field.

Another guy I like to win this week is Sungjae Im. He also has a good history at The Waste Management as he has never missed a cut in three previous appearances. He is a guy that can make birdies in a flurry and has been scoring well on par 5’s this season which gives me plenty of confidence that he will be in the conversation on Sunday afternoon.

In other golf news, The Swilcan Bridge caused significant uproar this week when The St. Andrews Link Trust added some stone to the bridge. I personally thought it was a bit ugly, but could not comprehend the uproar it caused. It is an area that was often muddy and occasionally roped off from the amount of foot traffic the area gets, but it never took away from my experience. I think anyone who has played The Old Course would agree that a little mud is worth the feeling that walking across the Swilcan Bridge brings. I am curious to see what happens next as the uproar caused them to remove the stones already, but I suspect there will be more work done on the bridge before the golf season really picks up in the spring. (Tyler)