2 months agoThere's a lot of love being heaped on Kurt Kitayama as a long-shot outright winner for this week's WM Phoenix Open. The 31-year-old star has certainly proven he can compete with the best, as he's racked up seven top-10 finishes and a victory at the elevated Arnold Palmer Invitational in his first two seasons as a PGA Tour pro. But Kitayama has flashed limited upside since his T4 finish at the PGA Championship in May of 2023, having only posted one top-20 finish in his twelve starts since. He's generally known as an excellent long-iron player and enters the week having gained strokes on approach in five-straight starts, but he'll need to find some magic with his putter to have any chance at contending this week. Kitayama has lost strokes on the green in ten-straight starts, however, he did gain over three strokes putting at this course last year en route to a T23 finish. Fantasy managers will face a tough choice weighing recent form, course history, and pedigree when evaluating Kitayama this week.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoAustin Eckroat is in solid recent form heading into the WM Phoenix Open. The 25-year-old Oklahoma State University alum has gained total strokes and made the cut in five-straight starts, including a T23 at the World Wide Technology Championship, a T8 at the RSM Classic, and a T25 at The American Express. He's also riding hot on the greens, having gained 2.6 and 5.6 strokes putting in his last two starts. Eckroat should find himself in good position off-the-tee as he ranks 15th in good drive percentage over the last 36 rounds, and his success this week will likely be determined by his notoriously streaky approach play. With a mere $7,000 price tag on DraftKings, fantasy managers should strongly consider getting some exposure to Eckroat and hope his momentum carries over to Scottsdale.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoLuke List could be in line for an excellent week at the WM Phoenix Open. The 39-year-old PGA Tour veteran has the 17th best adjusted course fit, and he enters the week ranking fourth in strokes gained off-the-tee, sixth in greens-in-regulation percentage, 18th in opportunities gained and 28th in birdie-or-better percentage gained over the last 36 rounds. Priced at just $7,100 on DraftKings, List does rank 127th in overall putting, but it is well-documented that TPC Scottsdale has produced several winners in recent years who are not known for their prowess on the greens. List also checks the recent form box as he has yet to miss a cut in the 2024 season, while also picking up a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship to go along with five other top-25 finishes in just ten starts. He doesn't have elite course history here but has gained strokes ball-striking for the last seven years at this event. Fantasy managers rolling the dice on a hot putting week for List could see massive rewards come Sunday.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoIt was this time last year that Rickie Fowler officially put himself back on the map for many golf fans. The 34-year-old was throwing darts all over TPC Scottsdale en route to a T10 finish, gaining 6.3 strokes on approach and 4.1 strokes putting. So far in 2024, however, things have looked bleak. The California native has been lost with the flat stick, and his irons have not been firing on all cylinders as they were in early-to-mid 2023. A price drop to $8,200 on DraftKings still doesn't provide enough value to warrant a play on Fowler during this dreadful stretch. Most will need to see more from the Puma rep before they hop back on the Rickie Train.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoByeong Hun An has turned some heads early in 2024, as he quickly placed in the top five in both the Sentry and Sony Open tournaments to start the year. His showing at Pebble Beach was not nearly as glamorous, but the 32-year-old certainly won't scoff at a T31 finish. Now An heads to TPC Scottsdale, where he'll make his Phoenix Open debut. The South Korean will have to dial in his approach game a bit more to go along with stellar form in his putting and driving of late if he wants to hoist a trophy on Super Bowl Sunday. An seems a bit too pricey at $8,800 to warrant a roster spot on a course in which he lacks any real experience, but it's tough to deny his upside when he gets hot. Play him at your own risk.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoMatt Fitzpatrick heads to the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week coming off of a T58 at Pebble Beach and a missed cut at the Sony Open. Surprisingly, it's been the irons that have let Fitzy down of late. Outside of a spark in the pan during his runner-up finish at the BMW Championship last August, the Englishman hasn't gained more than 1.9 strokes on approach since last July. With the putter and driving coming and going without warning, it's tough to trust the 29-year-old, even with his decent course history of a T29 and T10 the past two years. At $9,400 this week on DraftKings, fantasy managers can look elsewhere for a safety/upside combo play in that range.Source: PGA Tour
2 months agoBeau Hossler has quickly become one of the more consistent players on the PGA Tour. After being known as a short-game star, Hossler has improved his ball striking since the summer. Following a brutal missed cut at Wyndham, Hossler has five top-15 finishes in nine starts and hasn't missed a cut. Hossler has great success on the greens at TPC Scottsdale but struggled on approach, so his improved game could lead to another good week for Hossler.Source: PGATOUR.com
2 months agoAfter a solid summer and great fall, Tom Kim has been battling this winter. Between three starts in Hawaii and California, Kim has missed a cut and finished outside the top 30 twice. Kim appears to be struggling the most with putting but outside of driving accuracy, Kim has been below his normal average across the board. He has the skills to snap out of this slump any week, but until he does it's tough to deploy him with confidence.Source: PGATOUR.com
2 months agoFrom week to week, it's hard to know which version of Cameron Young will appear. Some weeks Young's elite ball-striking skills offer him a ton of chances at birdies and he contends for a victory. However, most weeks see Young struggle to convert those birdies or scramble for par when his tee-to-green game is off. During his Rookie of the Year season, Young was among the better players on the PGA Tour with his putter, but the past two seasons have seen him lose strokes on the green.Source: PGATOUR.com
2 months agoIt doesn't take advanced stats to see that Justin Thomas has found his form. Thomas barely missed the playoffs last season and started 2024 looking more like a potential contender for his second title than another missed postseason. Thomas' approach play is back to normal and the putter issues that tend to plague him aren't an issue at TPC Scottsdale. With top-six finishes in his last five events and six straight top-20 Phoenix finishes, Thomas is easily one of the favorites to win this week.Source: PGATOUR.com
2 months agoAkshay Bhatia has had three rather good starts out of four so far in 2024. Aside from that opening round dud at The American Express, the American golfer has done very well. This Scottsdale course suits the young 22-year old quite a bit. Three Top 15 results are an immense boost here in the early going. Also, Bhatia is rising up the ranks. It is early but that 0.958 strokes gained through 16 rounds is impressive from a putting standpoint. He is hitting greens at a 75.93% rate and that is needed at Scottsdale. Hit the greens, set up for easier putts, and draining those putts is a recipe for success. Source: PGATour.com
2 months agoCorey Conners is 3-for-3 in making cuts in 2024. That has probably been his only highlight. He has not exactly contended or flamed out completely either. The Canadian golfer has never finished better than 17th at the WM Phoenix Open. Conners has more of a comfortable nature at The Valero Open. Now, he has never putted that well at Scottsdale but part of that may be his set up. He cannot make putts (128th in strokes gained in 2023 at -0.136). That number jumped past -1 a few times at Scottsdale. Again, hot starts have not been Conners' forte in Arizona. That has to change this week for him to improve. Source: PGATour.com
2 months agoThis course suits Min Woo Lee pretty well from the appearance. The Australian golfer does well and even though this is his career debut at Scottsdale. However, he has been in the Top 40 in seven of his last eight worldwide starts. That +1.5 average strokes gained on the field could loom pretty large too. Again, his potential for a hole-in-one at 16 raises his numbers a bit. Driving the ball and his iron play figures to be a big plus here as well. The expectation is to see Min Woo Lee contending come Sunday and he will play up to the crowd which helps.Source: PGATour.com
2 months agoPebble Beach proved to be difficult for some golfers, including Sungjae Im last week. The South Korean golfer shot a mere two-under par, which was good for a tie for 66th place. His first two tournaments were better, as he was in the top 25. The greens at Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open are quite wide, and the grass is good for those who can hit shots, especially on the par-four holes. Im's greens in regulation were a bit below-average at 66.45% last year, but that can be turned around in Scottsdale. Starting out strong will be key for Im in Phoenix.Source: PGATour.com
2 months agoScottie Scheffler could not putt to get out of his own way last year. The Texas native ranked 161st in putting, but then there is TPC Scottsdale. On the Arizona course, Scheffler has gained three-plus strokes there three times. Considering how far below-average he was in his previous 15 events, his putter comes out to play at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. At the very least, Scheffler should be able to contend. No one would be surprised to see him on the first page of the leaderboard again on Sunday.Source: PGATour.com