Fantasy golf players are in for a solid week as Rickie Fowler prepares to defend his 2019 victory at the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, AZ ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LIV matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
He’ll take on a loaded field fronted by Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau. Recent champs Gary Woodland and Hideki Matsuyama are also in attendance, and Bryson DeChambeau makes his 2020 PGA Tour debut. In other words, fantasy golf players have plenty of options to consider for this week’s event.
Waste Management Phoenix Open: Fantasy Golf Top 30
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
30. Billy Horschel
Horschel is a regular at this event and he hasn’t finished worse than T-43 in his last five appearances. He hasn’t finished better than two T-24 showings in that time, but he’s a safe option to make the cut.
29. Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker made a run at the Farmers Insurance Open last week at one of his favorite courses. He hasn’t had the same success at TPC Scottsdale, but he made the cut in each of his last four appearances with a top result of T-10 in 2015. He was the runner-up to Phil Mickelson in 2013.
28. Martin Laird
Another course horse, Laird has five straight made cuts at TPC Scottsdale with three top-10 results in that time. He finished T-55 last week in California.
27. Kyle Stanley
Stanley missed the cut in each of his last three events dating back to the Sony Open in Hawaii. He also missed the weekend each of his last two years here, but he remains strong off the tee and avoids bad holes.
26. Adam Hadwin
Hadwin has played this tournament each of the last four years with a top result of T-12 in 2017. He returns to professional play for the first time since The RSM Classic following the birth of his first child.
25. Russell Knox
Knox missed the cut in back-to-back appearances in Scottsdale before a T-10 in 2019. He’s very good at avoiding positive scores and can do enough on the easier holes in order to contend.
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24. J.T. Poston
Poston took last week off following a T-37 at The American Express to wrap up a stretch of three straight events. His driver is in excellent form, and he’s setting himself up well for the approach.
23. Corey Conners
Conners has been off since a T-12 at the Sony Open. He hasn’t played in this event before, but his driving and ball striking are well suited to TPC Scottsdale. He’ll also be able to take advantage of the three short par 5s.
22. Ryan Palmer
Palmer is coming off an ugly closing round of 77 at Torrey Pines after firing a 62 Friday. It was his worst finish in his last five events, as he has become a steady cut-maker early this season.
21. Cameron Smith
Smith followed up his Sony Open victory with a T-64 showing last week. He ranks fifth on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting on the season, and it’s contributed to a good scrambling performance.
20. Brendan Steele
The runner-up at the Sony Open, Steele hasn’t fared as well on the mainland. He tied for 43rd at The American Express before missing the cut last week. He tied for third here in 2018 but missed the cut last year.
19. J.B. Holmes
Holmes is a two-time winner of this event in 2006 and 2008, but his last PGA Tour victory was at last year’s Genesis Open and he’ll defend that title in two weeks. He tied for 16th last week and the familiar venue will provide an added boost.
18. Jason Kokrak
Kokrak is one of the best ball strikers in the field over everyone’s last 24 rounds on courses with Bermuda greens, according to Fantasy National. He tied for 20th last year and 21st last week.
17. Chez Reavie
Reavie followed up a runner-up result in 2018 with a T-4 last year. He enters this week off of back-to-back missed cuts.
16. Branden Grace
Last year’s runner-up has missed the cut in three of four PGA Tour events this season, but he more recently won the South African Open. He tied for 17th in a strong field in Abu Dhabi and seems to be back in form ahead of his return.
15. Viktor Hovland
Hovland will be a name to watch every week up until the Masters in April, as the young Tour sophomore still needs a victory to gain entry to the year’s first major. He has been putting very well and is always a strong ball striker.
14. Sungjae Im
Im hasn’t missed a cut in 14 straight events dating back to the 2019 Open Championship. He still needs a PGA Tour victory, but he’s 35th in the Official World Golf Ranking and is always a safe pick to play all four rounds.
13. Bubba Watson
Watson finally resurfaced last week, as he finished T-6 in a strong field. He has two top-5 results in his last five appearances in Scottsdale.
12. Gary Woodland
Woodland had a very disappointing missed cut last week, but he’s just two years removed from a win at this event, and he followed it up with a T-7 last year.
11. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar has strung together three straight top-10 showings at this event. He’s a very strong early-season performer, and he’s coming off a win at the SMBC Singapore Open as he returns to mainland USA for the first time since The RSM Classic.
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10. Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler struggled in a strong field last week, as he missed the cut for the first time in nine events this season. This week’s field is a little bit weaker, and he’ll be looking to start strong with a third-ranked first-round scoring average.
9. Byeong Hun An
Only three members of this week’s field with a minimum of five rounds played at TPC Scottsdale average more strokes gained per round than An.
8. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau makes his 2020 PGA Tour debut ranked 17th in the world following a T-8 result at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He’ll be looking to continue his strong play in a different desert.
7. Tony Finau
After a solo fifth-place finish at the Hong Kong Open, Finau has returned to America with a T-14 at The American Express and a T-6 last week. He’s back to No. 13 in the world and is in good form ahead of an event where he has oddly missed the cut in each of the last four years. He should be a much better course fit.
6. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa was finally able to prove his worth in a strong field, as he finished T-21 last week alongside Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. He’s one of the best in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
5. Webb Simpson
Simpson was the runner-up at The RSM Classic before a third-place showing at the Sony Open. He has been up-and-down at this event, having finished second in 2017, missing the cut in 2018 and tying for 20th last year.
4. Rickie Fowler
The defending champ enters in poor form off of a missed cut last week. He had previously tied for fifth in Hawaii and tied for 10th at The American Express. He tied for 66th at the Farmers before his victory at the WMPO last year, so form isn’t everything for him.
3. Hideki Matsuyama
Another two-time winner in the field, Matsuyama claimed both of his titles in playoffs in 2016 and 2017. He withdrew in 2018 but bounced back to tie for 15th last year. He’s able to cut out the distractions of one of the Tour’s biggest crowds.
2. Justin Thomas
It’s odd to not have Thomas ranked No. 1, but the fourth-best golfer in the world is coming off an extremely rare missed cut at the Sony Open and will make his 2020 debut on the mainland. He has three wins since August and there are no flaws in his game. He finished in solo third last year.
1. Jon Rahm
Rahm may be the only golfer in the world in better form than Thomas right now. After collecting two wins on the European Tour, he placed second at the Hero World Challenge, 10th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Plus he made a late Sunday charge to finish as the runner-up last week. He hasn’t finished worse than T-16 in his last four appearances in Scottsdale.
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
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