Fantasy Golf Predictions

Fantasy Golf Predictions – 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Published

12 years ago

January 28, 2014

Fantasy-Golf-Predictions-2014-Waste-Management-Phoenix-Open

Fantasy Golf Predictions for the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open Jan 30th – Feb 2nd, 2014

Tournament Preview

This week the TOUR heads south to Scottsdale where the fans love to get loud at the infamous TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course. Tiger’s caddy, Joe Lacava, won’t be partaking in this week’s “caddy races” at the stadium’s par-3 16^th (which incidently have recently been banned by the PGA TOUR) as Tiger takes some time to regroup in Dubai this week. Last week the world’s No. 1 had a disappointing showing on a course where he’s been overwhelmingly dominant for most of his career.

Last year’s WM Phoenix Open champ, Phil Mickelson, was forced to withdraw from last week’s Farmers Insurance open due to a back injury. “Lefty” plans to arrive in Scottsdale on Wednesday but makes no guarantees with regards to whether or not he’ll play.

As mentioned earlier, the always entertaining and highlight reel worthy caddy races on the par 3 16th were banned a few months ago by the PGA TOUR. TOUR executive Andy Pazder referenced injury concerns as being the primary reason the decision was made.

“We have advised the folks at Colonial and out in Phoenix to discontinue the caddie races. It was a situation where we developed a little concern about caddies’ safety. Running 150 yards puts caddies at risk for injury.” – Andy Pazder

Way to kill the party guys!

Caddys race on No. 16 in Round 3 of Waste Management

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The Course

TPC Scottsdale (Stadium) measures in at 7,216 yards and plays as a par 71. This beautiful and highly entertaining layout was built in 1986 for Open’s move to the suburbs, and quickly became the most rowdy stop on the PGA TOUR. The main attraction is the par-3 16th, which is an enclosed arena with seating for nearly 20,000 boisterous fans. Tiger Woods notched a hole-in-one here in 1997, and Andrew Magee made PGA TOUR history with his own ace at No. 17, giving him the TOUR’s first ever par-4 hole-in-one.

Weather Forecast at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, AZ (from weather.com)

Round 1: Thursday (Jan 30) 76 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 2: Friday (Jan 31) 79 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 3: Saturday (Feb 1) 74 degrees, 20% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 4: Sunday (Feb 2) 72 degrees, 0% chance of rain, sunny.

2013 Results

Mickelson notched his 41^st PGA TOUR victory here in 2013 when he flirted with a historic score of 59 before falling short, lipping out his final putt for a final score 60. Phil still went on to win the event by 4 strokes. In total, Mickelson finished 72 holes at a whopping 28-under 256 matching the tournament scoring record and just a couple shy of Tommy Armour’s 254 at the 2003 Texas Open. Brandt Snedeker put together a nice showing as well and managed to stay in Phil’s rearview mirror before ultimately falling short with a closing round 65.

Shots of the Week from 2013 WM Phoenix Open

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Notes

If his back is strong enough, Mickelson will look to become event’s first four-time winner. Last year’s victory, along with with wins in 1996 and 2005, put him on a short list with other great players such as Arnold Palmer, Gene Littler and Mark Calcavecchia with 3 win each. Mickelson’s career earnings at TPC Scottsdale are $3,689,782, but something tells us that even if he does play this week, there is a strong chance that he won’t be performing up to his usual standards.

Already winners this calendar year, Harris English and Patrick Reed are also back in action to try and grab their second trophy of 2014. If either player wins here this week he will join Jimmy Walker at the top with 2 wins during the new wrap-around season.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Marc Leishman (Golficity Odds 14/1): We’re getting pretty used to seeing Marc’s name at the top of leaderboards as of late. The Aussie finished T2 at Torrey Pines where it was was his fifth straight finish better than the previous start. Leishman has finished in the top-11 in his last four tournaments and currently ranks 22nd in strokes-gained putting.
Webb Simpson (Golficity Odds 18/1): Webb finished T8 in his last two appearances at TPC Scottsdale (2011, 2012). Simpson ended his amazing streak of four straight top 10s with a disappointing T23 at Humana two weeks ago, but he continues to rank first in a ton of key statistics and we believe that he’ll pick the pace back up in Phoenix.
Keegan Bradley (Golficity Odds 22/1): There is no denying that Keegan has been playing some solid golf as of late. With a T16 at Torrey Pines, he extended his streak of top 20s on the PGA TOUR to seven in a row. He also has top 25s in both career starts at TPC Scottsdale.
Gary Woodland (Golficity Odds 25/1): Here’s a name we have been seeing a lot of Saturdays and Sundays! Not only can Woodland crush the ball a country mile, this kid is also clearly itching to win. As the 54-hole leader at Torrey Pines, Woodland fell off the pace in round 4, ultimately coming in at T10, it was however his seventh top 25 in 11 starts. Also note that he finished T5 here back in 2011.
Harris English (Golficity Odds 28/1): Harris English is currently the 3^rd place leader in FedExCup points and sits at seventh in adjusted scoring. He’s come close a bunch of times to picking up his second win since the fall, carding three top 10s and finishing under par in 26 of 28 rounds this season. English finished T15 at the 2012 edition of this event.

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Billy Horschel (Golficity Odds 33/1): Horschel closed out with a T23 at the Farmers, which was his fourth consecutive top 25 worldwide. He finished T11 at this event last year and ranked 3^rd in the all-around. We’ve seen sleepers come out of no where a few times so far this year and Horschel has as good of a chance as anyone to be this week’s long shot winner.
Chris Kirk (Golficity Odds 40/1): Kirk is the No. 2 leader in FedExCup points but has been resting since his solo second place finish (behind Jimmy Walker) at Waialae. He co-leads the TOUR in par-5 scoring and is ranked fifth in adjusted scoring. The well-rested Kirk finished T24 here last year and is in position to potentially make some noise this week.

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