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TourPicks ranks his top-10 PGA Tour players to watch for at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Insights on the top-10 golfers for the week and reasons why they are primed and ready to win.
The biggest party of the year in professional golf is once again set to commence on Super Bowl as 132 players will compete to win the 2025 WM Phoenix Open. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has committed to play his second consecutive event, and we have a total purse of $9.2 million on the line as players take on the 7,261-yard Tom Weiskoph design at the infamous TPC Scottsdale.
I have carefully evaluated the field-to-project proper course fits and looked heavily into how players' incoming form has been in the categories that matter the most here. Let's dig into my top-10 power rankings for the 2025 WM Phoenix Open.
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No. 10 - Nick Taylor
- He is the defending Champion, and he clearly has an eye for TPC Scottsdale, also finishing second in 2023.
- Has already won in 2025, edging out Nico Echavarria in a playoff to win the Sony Open a month ago.
- Can be trusted to avoid water hazards as a highly accurate Driver of the ball. He also ranks second in GIR this season.
For a guy with 5 career PGA Tour wins, Nick Taylor has quite the career highlight reel:
—Beats Phil at Pebble Beach
—Makes 72-foot eagle to become first Canadian to win Canadian Open in 59 years
—Makes 5 birdies in 6 holes to win WM Phoenix Open
—Chip-in eagle at 18 to get in… pic.twitter.com/hmsQ5qmuvn— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) January 13, 2025
No. 9 - Sepp Straka
- Exceptional current form. Straka is in the final pairing at Pebble Beach after winning the American Express in his prior tournament.
- Approach play has been vastly improved in 2025. Ranks top-6 in the field over his last four tournaments played.
- Highly aggressive player who makes as many birdies as anyone in proper scoring conditions.
No. 8 - Sahith Theegala
- Comfortable destination for Theegala, who burst onto the scene here in 2022, battling with Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka down the stretch.
- A Solo fifth place finish here in 2024, gaining +8.2 strokes ball-striking for the week.
- A slow start to 2025 for Theegala, who is eagerly hunting for a good performance after ending 2023 with a third-place result at the Tour Championship.
No. 7 - Corey Conners
- One of the most consistently reliable iron players on the PGA Tour over the last five years.
- Missed the cut at the Sony Open, but he had three consecutive T7-or-better finishes before that.
- Conners doesn't miss many fairways historically, and he ranks Top-5 in the field from 150-200 yards in proximity to the hole.
No. 6 - Tom Kim
- TPC Scottsdale is a great course fit for Tom Kim, who thrives on shorter courses that demand driving accuracy.
- Played very well at Pebble Beach and is a top-5 Approach player over the last 50 rounds played.
- Kim hits as many fairways as anyone and ranks No. 1 on the PGA Tour in distance from the edge of the fairway when he occasionally does miss. Highly reliable.
Gorgeous knock-down into No. 7 from Tom Kim 😍 pic.twitter.com/nQqXWp29wW
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) February 1, 2025
No. 5 - Sungjae Im
- Im has been very good OTT and with the putter recently, but some inconsistency with his irons has held him out of my Top-4 in the rankings.
- T6 in 2023 was his best result at TPC Scottsdale. He also has two Top-4 finishes this season already.
- He raises his baseline performance metrics on both short golf courses and TPC courses on the PGA Tour.
No. 4 - Sam Burns
- Birdie-maker. Ranks No. 1 in my stat model in Birdies per round this year.
- T3 and T6 in his last two appearances at this event. He plays desert golf very well in his career.
- Burns is dominant putting on overseeded Bermudagrass. He's top-5 in the field in both short-term and long-term on this kind of greens.
No. 3 - Hideki Matsuyama
Hideki Matsuyama is peaking. He's in the best two-year form of his long career, recently notching another victory in 2025 a few weeks ago at The Sentry. That said, Matsuyama has never had a problem in Phoenix. He won this event in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017.
Since 2014, Matsuyama those two wins and six other Top-15s at TPC Scottsdale. His iron play has always been the strength of his game, but he's continued to take it to another level, ranking No. 1 in strokes gained Approach in the field over the last 36 rounds played.
He's performed extremely well over the last five seasons on TPC golf courses, which typically share characteristics that emphasize aggressive play and birdie-making. It was a toss-up between Matsuyama and Thomas for the 2/3 spot in the rankings, and it would surprise nobody to see Matsuyama lift the crystal trophy in the desert for the third time in his career this week.
A familiar feeling from a tradition unlike any other. Congratulations on winning @themasters, Hideki Matsuyama! A well-deserved victory for a 2-time @WasteManagement Phoenix Open Champion! #RESPECT#thepeoplesopen #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/rTqtLgt6W9
— WM Phoenix Open (@WMPhoenixOpen) April 12, 2021
No. 2 - Justin Thomas
If you have read any of my Power Rankings articles this year, then you know exactly how high I have been on Justin Thomas lately. We almost got there in the desert at the Amex a few weeks ago, where he finished in second place, flushing his irons and finally figuring out the putter setup, which has been working all year.
Thomas relishes these high-energy environments in the sport as evidenced by his ridiculous course history around TPC Scottsdale. He's played this event in five consecutive seasons, all of which ended in a T13 or better result, and has nearly won this tournament on multiple occasions.
Thomas ranks second in the field in strokes gained at TPC Scottsdale and first in strokes gained total at desert golf courses. This is just one of those spots on the schedule that I feel strongly about Thomas eventually winning at. His current form aligns with course history which makes me feel like this just might be his year to do it!
No. 1 - Scottie Scheffler
I made several somewhat scary but bold proclamations that Scottie Scheffler would struggle a bit at Pebble Beach. I had concerns over his routine and lack of tournament reps after coming back from an injured hand. He flirted all week around the top-10, putting many of those concerns to rest.
It's hard to find a golf course that doesn't fit the eye of Scheffler, but we can definitely say that what Tom Weiskopf designed here in Scottsdale is right up his alley. Scheffler finished in third place last year but previously won this event in both 2023 and 2022!
He's that dude, and we all know it. He's likely shaken any rust that gave the rest of the field a solid chance at Pebble Beach, and I see no reason to put Scottie Scheffler anywhere except No. 1 in the WM Phoenix Open Rankings. We can all strive to be a little more like Scottie in 2025!
"Just be a little more like Scottie Scheffler basically."
A good goal to have. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/g9tVrNHZWI
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) February 2, 2025
Enjoy the party in the desert, and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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