This week, the PGA Tour will move to TPC Scottsdale,Arizona for the annual high-ball fan revelry, the WM Phoenix Open.
Fifteen of the world's top 20 players appeared in this week's squad, confronting the frenzied atmosphere of the Colosseum on the 16th hole. World No. 1 Joan Ram, defending champion Brooks Koepka, Tom Hogg, who won the PGA Tour for the first time last week, Jordan Spieth (second single last week), Patrick Cantley, Richie Fowler, Pan Zhengchun and others have all played.
The total prize money for this tournament is $8.2 million, and the winner will earn $1.314 million and 500 FedEx Cup points.
(WM Phoenix Open Preview)
Two-time champion
Achieve a three-win victory?
(Defending champion Koepka)
Brooks Koepka, a 31-year-old American player and "Grand Slam Killer," came to the PGA Tour's first win, TPC Scottsdale. Following his first win in 2015, he won again in 2021 and is now an eight-time PGA Tour champion in hand.
Koepka has the chance to become the first player to defend his title in this tournament since Hideki Matsuyama (2016-2017).
(Defending champion swing: Brooks Koepka)
A four-time Grand Slam champion (2017, 2018 U.S. Open; 2018, 2019 PGA Championship), Copka has proven at the WM Phoenix Open that she remains dominant on the regular PGA Tour.
"The quality of my shots on the last few holes was very high," Koepka said after last year's victory, "under high pressure, it feels wonderful to be able to play well the way you want." What will Koepka, who is happy and good at facing high pressure, play on the 16th hole this week?
Favorite player to win the championship
1. Joan Ram
(Ram's first title of the season)
World Number One Joan Ram is bound to be a favourite to win the tournament whenever he appears in the lineup, not to mention that this week's match venue is his home stadium. A former member of arizona State University's varsity team, The Sun Devil, Ram achieved T5 (debuted as an amateur in 2015), T16, T11, T10, T9 and T13 at TPC Scottsdale.
Ram's best result of the season was second alone in the Sentinel Championship. Two weeks ago, at the Farmers Insurance Open, he scored a T3.
(Review of Ram's excellent last season)
2. Justin Thomas
(JT State Recovery)
Justin Thomas, currently ranked seventh in the world, has been adjusting his form since finishing fourth at the 2021 Tour Championship. Since 2018, JT has participated in the WM Phoenix Open four times, all of which have successfully advanced, finishing third twice, with an average of 67.75.
"It was an underrated race," JT said in an interview, "and the avid spectators on the 16th hole are well known." A large number of top players come to the competition every year, and the experience is always great. ”
3. Hideki Matsuyama
(Hideki Matsuyama in the competition)
Two-time champion (2016, 2017) Hideki Matsuyama is the only double champion of the season (ZOZO Championship, Sony Open) and the current leader in the FedEx Cup standings.
Like defending champion Koepka, he has a chance to become the treble winner of the tournament and further extend his lead in the FedEx Cup standings.
Hole 16 of the Stadium:
The craziest par three hole in the world
TPC Scottsdale (Stadium), 7261 yards, par 71
(This week's stadium will recreate the crowded scene)
Affected by the covid-19 pandemic, TPC Scottsdale (Stadium) once lost the atmosphere of the "Colosseum" of the past, and the players will once again face the boos or cheers of the avid audience this year, and the world's craziest par three only welcomes the masters of the "big heart"!
The WM Phoenix Open has been hailed as "the biggest show on the grass", and hole 16 of the Stadium course is the center stage of the show, it is the only completely enclosed hole on the PGA Tour and the only carnival place to "turn a blind eye" to golf etiquette.
(Relive tiger's 1997 hole-in-one-shot scene)
It's been 25 years since Tiger Woods "detonated" Hole 16 in his first year of his career ,1997. A total of nine players and a robot have staged a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. Here, heaven or hell, the difference is only between one shot of the players.
Looking back on his past racing experience, Ram said: "I started on the 10th hole and played all the way to the 15th hole and I was thinking,' How can I not be booed on the 16th hole? I also hit +4 for that. Fortunately, I scored what was probably the best digging bar of my career (cutting the bird into the hole) and then I was able to enjoy the game. ”
Race 72-hole record: 256, Mark Cakawigia (2001), Phil Mickelson (2013)
Tournament record on 18 holes: 60, Grant Waiter (fourth round 1996), Mark Kakawigia (second round 2001), Phil Mickelson (second round 2005, first round 2013)
The departure time of the first round of some players
February 10-11, Beijing time
22:48 Brooks Koepka/Abraham Anser/Gary Woodland
22:59 Jordan Spiess/Victor Hovland/Zander Sheophile
03:13 Hideki Matsuyama/Patrick Cantley/Justin Thomas
03:24 Joan Ram/Webb Simpson/Richie Fowler
The Golf Channel will broadcast this week's game exclusively for you!