Tour News
Fantasy Cheat Sheet: Waste Management Phoenix Open
Just when you think have something figured out, you look at the weekend leaderboard and see Phil Mickelson has medically withdrawn and Tiger Woods has missed a secondary cut after a round of 79.
Say what? It’s crazy to think that given their sustained success on Torrey Pines, the Farmers Insurance Open title would go to Scott Stallings. In fact, none of the bigger names really made a run to grab the win. Brandt Snedeker, Rickie Fowler and steady Jimmy Walker all missed the cut.
Now attention turns to Phoenix and TPC Scottsdale, where the four-day attendance for the Waste Management Phoenix Open will pass 500,000. Dubbed “The Greatest Show on Grass,” the famous par-3 16th stadium has provided many memories. From Tiger’s hole-in-one in 1997 to Justin Leonard flipping a bird to the crowd, it should be an eventful week in the desert for a tournament that’s been held since 1932.
Here’s your fantasy golf helper for this week provided some star golfer doesn’t get torn up in a freak cactus accident. Who knows anymore. It’s Risk, Reward, Ruin.
RISK
Besides Mickelson, there are three other multiple WMPO champions in the field: J.B. Holmes (’06, ’08), Vijay Singh (’95, ’03) and Mark Calcavecchia (’89, ’92, ’01). Odds say none of those players will win, but who knows. Singh missed the cut last week, but Holmes in return from injury hiatus put together a T23 finish and Calcavecchia, even at age 53, looked strong last week in finishing T55. None of those players make this Risk list, however. The ones who do can score since TPC Scottsdale has played the easiest among par-71 courses.
Bubba Watson
If a left-hander not named Mickelson wins this week, it will be Watson. He led the Farmers field in driving distance last week, finishing T23 at 3-under. Notice I didn’t say driving accuracy. Watson will bomb it out on this course, which may or may not mean chipping off rocks and cacti. We know he’s creative and there won’t be much in terms of treeline to deter playing his way out of precarious lies. Last year, Watson finished solo 15th at 15-under and was T5 (11-under) the year before. He’s a good bet to reach at least 10-under. Where that puts him remains to be seen.
Pat Perez
When I began looking at golfers who had fared well at the WMPO over the years, Perez’s name jumped out at me. And I thought about it for a little, wondering if anyone would even be enticed to pick him. And then he went out at Torrey Pines and put together a strong tournament, finishing in a tie for second. So far this year Perez has made six of seven cuts and looks to be a golfer who could have a breakout year. Since that missed cut, 12 of his past 20 rounds have been in the 60s, and TPC Scottsdale gives up birdies. In 2011, Perez finished T22 (11-under) and in ’12 was T19 (7-under).
Ryan Moore
The desert appeals to UNLV alum Moore, who resides in Las Vegas. He finished solo fourth last year at 22-under, but his two previous years weren’t so great. However, he is trending upward, already with a win this year in a playoff over Gary Woodland at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. He finished 10th at the Hyundai TOC and will be rested entering this week’s tournament, where he could either get really low or do nothing at all.
Charley Hoffman
Is anyone else really happy that Hoffman has kept his short hair after cutting it last fall? I have to get that in writing. I could never take him seriously as a 37-year-old man with that blonde mullet tossing in the wind. And as silly as it may sound, those things can change the perception of a golfer. Because image-wise, Hoffman is a really solid golfer who is beginning to come into his own. He only missed four cuts last year, finishing 48th in the FedEx Cup standings. Having not missed a cut this year and holding three top-10 finished, including two the past two weeks, Hoffman should contend this week. He narrowly missed out on being a champion here before, losing in a 2009 playoff to Kenny Perry. This was one of his MC’s last year and the year before was four rounds in the 70s, hence the hesitation.
Graham DeLaet
If you want a golfer trending upward, look no further than the Canadian. After missing a cut way back in October, DeLaet has four straight top-10 finishes, including a T2 result last week after shooting 7-under on the week at the Farmers. But in the two previous instances he’s played the WMPO he hasn’t done well, which includes a missed cut last year following a week where he finished ninth at the Farmers. Can he break that trend this week?
REWARD
This is one of those weird weeks where I feel anyone can capture this title. It could come down to who can handle the excitement from throngs of fans lining fairways and literally screaming at them in a tee box. No other tournament has that atmosphere. So who can handle that best? Seasoned golfers with a winning pedigree. You may disagree with these selections, or perhaps even deem them safe, but I hold to the belief that once you win on the PGA Tour or play in a two-some with Tiger on the weekend, you’re better suited to win under pressure or scrutiny than others who have yet to experience it.
Phil Mickelson
With three of his 41 career wins coming at TPC Scottsdale, including last year’s wire-to-wire win, Mickelson’s game is well-suited for a repeat victory. The record setting 28-under par, four-stroke win over Brandt Snedeker was boosted by an opening-day 60 when Lefty chased 59. In ’12, he finished T26 (6-under), but the only issue for the Arizona State alum is the back that caused him to withdraw from the Farmers. As of writing this, Phil has withdrawn from the pro-am but is intent on defending his title. There is reserved caution with this reward pick.
Brandt Snedeker
Putting up rounds of 64-66-65-65, Snedeker came in second to Mickelson last year, but his play was a sign of things to come, as he won in next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. While Snedeker hasn’t been on the same kind of tear as he started with last season, it only takes one week to get hot. TPC Scottsdale won’t present nearly the issues that Torrey Pines did as Snedeker missed the cut. With a T8 (14-under) in ’11, it’s a safe course to run a race horse like the 2012 FedEx Cup champion and six-time Tour winner.
Hunter Mahan
What I love about five-time Tour winner Mahan is his consistency. Even if he’s not scoring well, which happened last week in a T47 finish, he’s going to be in the fairway and he’s going to hit greens. If you consistently give yourself a shot at birdie, eventually the putts will drop and you’ll wind up with wins. That’s been the case for Zach Johnson’s success and it can be the same for Mahan, who’s victory last season came at the upcoming WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships, played in the Arizona desert. He’s played well at the WMPO plenty of times before, which includes victory in 2010 when he reached 16-under par. Last year, he was 14-under and finished T16. In ’11, he got to 10-under and finished T29. He’s a good bet to be in the mix for a top-20 and could come out well ahead of that projection.
Bill Haas
Like Mahan, Haas isn’t going to do much to derail his tournament. The five-time Tour winner and 2011 FedEx Cup champion sneaks in and grabs a win when you least expect it. He’s six-for-six in cuts made this year with two top 10s, and he has played well here. Last year, Haas finished T6 after reaching 18-under. The years before have been equally strong and he’s playing extremely well. He’s a good bet to be a Reward pick in two weeks at the Northern Trust Open, but don’t be surprised if he walks into Phoenix and posts some low numbers first.
Webb Simpson
With four PGA Tour victories including one this season, the Wake Forest grad is consistently putting his name atop leaderboards. He has four top-10 finishes in five starts this year. In the one time he didn’t, he still shot 18-under at the Humana Challenge. After a week off, Simpson comes in rested and ready to attack a tournament that he’s finished T8 in the past two times he’s played. His game has never been more refined than it is now and he is currently first on Tour in greens in regulation, strokes gained putting, birdie average and scoring average. He should go low once again this week.
RUIN
Projecting missed cuts or poor play at a tournament is never 100 percent as anyone can strike gold. But trends say certain players low on the Official World Golf Rankings just won’t perform well. And as they typically won’t, I don’t like to point them out as you generally know when someone is out of their element. But maybe you don’t know who Paul Trittler is. He’s not searchable on the OWGR. Well, the Scottsdale teaching pro has played some on the Champions Tour recently and played on the PGA Tour back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. He qualified by winning the Southwest Section of the PGA section title, but should notably be avoided. Here’s five more subtle selections for Ruin.
Robert Garrigus
Garrigus sits inside the top 100 of the OWGR, and while he has two 11th-place finishes at the WMPO in the past seven years including last year, he also has three missed cuts. He’s missed two cuts this year and didn’t break 70 last week at the Farmers. By no means is he a bad golfer, but he hasn’t played as well this season as he did leading up to last year’s tournament (he finished T6 at last year’s Farmers), which scares me heading into this week.
Tommy Gainey
This season has not gone well for Two Gloves with five missed cuts in seven events, including the past two weeks. Bottom line is he’s not playing well and he’s facing a tournament where he missed the cut last year and withdrew the year before following an opening round of 77. His rookie year he finished T8, but his game is sliding south quick from that result three years ago.
Trevor Immelman
There’s an allure to seeing Immelman’s name sitting at 10th on last week’s Farmer’s leaderboard. The 2008 Masters champion has had his health struggles since that time and trying to have a re-birth, but to this point has not yet strung together weekly play that deserves a fantasy selection. He’s missed three cuts in six events this year and missed the WMPO cut last year.
D.A. Points
Points has been just sliding in under the cutline the last five tournaments he’s played, but he’s done nothing significant to warrant thought. He opened with a 67 last year, which looks promising, but shot 74 on the second day and MC’d. It’s too streaky a proposition rostering him because in 2011 he did string together four rounds in the 60s, but he also opened ’12 with a 69 and then floundered the remaining three days. Trends suggest he’ll do the latter.
Angel Cabrera
Is it the Masters yet? No, so avoid Cabrera. This will be his first start of the calendar year and he missed the cut in his first two starts in October. He had two good opening rounds here last year, but fell apart on the weekend. He missed the cut the year before and prior to this sandwiched rounds of 70-plus around rounds in the 60s. When it turns April and Jim Nantz is whispering sultry phrases into my ears, I’ll consider Cabera, but until then I’m staying away.
As always, you can find me on Twitter @bricmiller if you want to talk about the tournament, discuss the Omega Dubai Desert Challenge or if you have any fantasy lineup inquiries. Good luck!
This week’s picks:
Yahoo!
A: B. Watson (S), P. Reed
B: W. Simpson (S), G. DeLaet (S), B. Haas, H. Mahan
C: C. Hoffman (S), H. English
(Last week: 96 points; Winter segment: 676 points; Rank: 9,685)
PGATour.com
W. Simpson, G. DeLaet, R. Moore, H. Mahan
(Last week: 28 points; Season: 1,374; Rank: 5,791)
Golf Channel
Group 1: W. Simpson
Group 2: G. DeLaet
Group 3: J. Overton
Group 4: J.B. Holmes
(Last week: $163,115; Season: $1,466,561; Mulligan: $63,115; Rank: 16,435)
Omega Dubai Desert Challenge
Group 1: R. McIlroy
Group 2: B. Koepka
Group 3: S. Noh
Group 4: E. Molinari
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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