Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: WM Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open

TPC Scottsdale
Scottsdale, AZ

The PGA Tour heads to Scottsdale for another edition of the WM Phoenix Open. 

The PGA Tour is clearly cognizant of the NFL and its tendency to suck all the viewers away from any and all competition. They've tweaked their schedule numerous times over the past 20 years in an effort to maximize viewers during the fall, and whether or not it's worked, well, that's debatable. I bring this up because the one weekend between September and February, where there is no football in site, the PGA Tour decides to trot out a non-signature event. I'm sure this has been brought up before, but wouldn't it be in the best interest of the PGA Tour to schedule an event where the best players on the tour are playing during a weekend where football lovers are left looking for other options? Just a thought, I know the Farmers is a special event to many and Torrey Pines is a great venue, but I dare say that they let an opportunity slip past them this past week.

As for the golf, Justin Rose just continues to amaze. We've seen this before, an older golfer making one last surge, but this feels a little different. We're talking about a guy who is still winning on the PGA Tour and still contending at the majors. Rose has had a great career and judging by this past weekend, I dare say, he's still got a lot left in the tank.

Onto this week, we're back at the WM Phoenix Open and you know what that means. Well, it means two things, one, it's Super Bowl week and two, it's going to be rowdy. A lot of big names in the field this week and a lot of surprising odds. Perhaps not as surprising considering the man at the top is pushing those odds higher for everyone else, yep, Scottie Scheffler is back at it again this week, with odds even lower than what we've seen in recent memory. Scheffler already has one win under his belt already in 2026 and he's no stranger to winning here, so we could be looking at a 2-0 start to the season.

You probably guessed we're at the same venue again this year, it's been the same since 1987, so we've got a ton of course history in play and we're starting to get a better read on form as most of the players on the PGA Tour have at least one start by now.

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LAST YEAR

Thomas Detry shot a final round 65 on his way to a seven-stroke victory over Michael Kim and Daniel Berger.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 5:00 PM ET Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler (11-5) 

Well, that didn't take long. In only his second start of the season, Scheffler is already under 3-1. I feel like we're collectively getting used to these odds, odds which were insane for anyone outside of Tiger Woods as recently as a few years ago. Now though, 3-1 seems pretty standard for Scheffler in a non-signature event. You'll notice that some of the bigger names are well down the odds chart this week, seeing odds they haven't seen in years. As for Scheffler, he's a two-time winner here and we know the form is good, so it's all just a matter of accepting the fact that you'll be placing a win wager and getting just over 2-1 in return. Seems crazy, but as of now, I expect Scheffler to win this week.

Xander Schauffele (17-1)

Right off the bat, it's going to be hard to pull the trigger on a guy that missed the cut this past week, especially when he has to get on top of Scottie Scheffler. It's safe to say that Schauffele's form is not the greatest right now, but can he turn it around in a matter of days? We've seen it happen before, it's not unheard of to see a golfer miss a cut and then come back the next week and win, but considering Schauffele's odds aren't that great for someone that missed the cut, I think I'd pass here. One thing he does have working for him is a strong track record which includes four top-10s in six starts, including a runner-up in 2021.       

Cameron Young (22-1)

Young was in the same place (third-favorite) this past week and it didn't quite work out as he landed in the tie for 22nd at the Farmers. Prior to this season, Young was always a risky win bet because he hadn't won on the PGA Tour yet, but now that he's got win number one, he can be considered on a weekly basis. As for this week, his form looks okay, at least, good enough that a small uptick could put him in contention of Sunday. His track record here is pretty good, he's made the cut in all four starts and his past two starts have resulted in top-15 finishes.

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Si Woo Kim (25-1)          

Kim has been on fire to start the season, with three top-15s in three starts, including a runner-up at the Farmers. His track record here is a bit scattered, but his best results have come in recent years. Kim has played this event 10 times and he's missed the cut three times, but all three of those MCs came over five years ago. In his past five starts here, Kim has four finishes inside the top-26. The only negative on the record is that he doesn't have a high-end finish here, but considering his current form, perhaps that changes this week.     

Hideki Matsuyama (25-1)

I'm used to writing about Matsuyama that "it wasn't long ago where he was an auto-play at this event", but it's actually has been a while now that he won here. In fact, it's been nearly a decade since he won back-to-back titles here, but that doesn't mean that his play lately has been poor. Matsuyama has scored four top-25s in his past seven starts here and he's only finished outside the top-30 in one of those seven starts. Matsuyama's form looks pretty good entering the week, he's landed in the top-15 in both of his starts this season.   

Jordan Spieth (45-1)

Kind of a big jump in odds within this section, but I don't really care for the group of players in the range between Matsuyama and Spieth this week. We've only seen Spieth once this season and that was a few weeks ago at the Sony Open where he finished inside the top-25, so we can guess that his form is good enough to contend. His track record here is really the reason for this pick and Spieth has fared very well here over the past five years. Spieth has finished outside the top-6 just one time in his past five starts at this event and keep in mind that he was fighting his game often during the past five years.    

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LONG SHOTS

Sahith Theegala (50-1)

I've been bullish on Theegala since this past fall, and although he failed to get anything done in 2025, he seems to be coming around now. Theegala had a rough time of it in 2025, but he's only a couple years removed from an $8 million season, so it would seem that the high-end results are just around the corner. He's already posted two top-10s this season and his track record here is pretty good. At least, he's had some strong finishes here, even if consistency is lacking. Theegala finished 5th here in 2024 and T3 in 2022.

Daniel Berger (60-1)     

At this time this past year, Berger was still fighting his way back onto the PGA Tour after dealing with an injury in the years prior, but 12 months later, he's firmly established his position and now he can focus on getting back to where he was just a few years ago. Berger's track record here is very solid, with four top-10s in 10 starts, including a runner-up showing a year ago. Berger didn't play very well at Torrey Pines, but he did post a top-10 at the Sony Open a few weeks ago.

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Hideki Matsuyama – Matsuyama is certainly someone that could be used for a signature event, but in a case like this, he's also a good play. If not for the strong track record, I would advise against using Matsuyama at a non-signature event, but he's got a lot going for him this week. The issue of course is that he's going to be very popular this week and most OAD players will avoid using the big guns like Scheffler, Schauffele and to some extent Young.    

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Si Woo Kim – Kim would be listed as the highly-chosen pick, but I think he's been used by quite a lot of OAD teams already. Kim is probably the hottest golfer outside of Scheffler in the field and while he doesn't have the high-end finishes here, he has played pretty well at this event over the past five years. This could be a chance to grab a hot golfer and make up some ground on your competition.  

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Sahith Theegala – I'm not quite sure everyone has bought back into Theegala's return quite yet, so this could be a good spot to move up the standings in your league if Theegala can continue his run. The only possible drawback to this pick is that if Theegala gets back to his form from a couple years ago, then he's a player you'd want to have for signature events, but we're kind of getting ahead of ourselves with that thinking.         

Buyer Beware: Viktor Hovland– This could be a tricky spot for Hovland as it will be his first start on American soil this season and it's at a venue where he's had little success. Hovland has teed it up at this event three times and made the cut just once. That made cut resulted in a T42, so he's got some work to do in figuring out this course. Hovland is set up to have a good season, but I don't think it will start this week.       

My Pick: Hideki Matsuyama – For the second consecutive week I'm going to go ahead and just go with the popular play. Matsuyama hasn't had a high-end finish here in a while, but he has won this event multiple times, so if he's in contention on the weekend, he'll know how to close here. His form is also strong entering this event, with a pair of top-15s in his past two starts. Matsuyama definitely has value down the road at a signature event, but I think the best to use him is right here.               

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Hideki Matsuyama ($11,600)
Middle Range: Sahith Theegala ($9,900)
Lower Range: Tony Finau ($8,100)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Hideki Matsuyama – Going to double-up again this week as the Matsuyama pick just makes too much sense. Not only does Matsuyama have the high-end finishes here, but he's also been extremely consistent. He's only failed to make the weekend once in 12 starts and that was actually due to injury, so when healthy, he's never missed a cut at this event.

Previous Results