After a cold, wet and windy week in San Diego, warmer temperatures and calmer conditions welcome the PGA Tour to the Arizona desert this week.
Here’s everything you need – and some stuff you didn’t think you needed – to know for the Waste Management Phoenix Open:
All eyes on
Justin Thomas. After seeing his worldwide top-12 streak end at seven with a missed cut in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, Thomas returns to the PGA Tour for the first time since the Sentry Tournament of Champions, where Thomas’ third-place finish was understandably overshadowed by Thomas uttering a homophobic slur during the third round.
The aftermath of Thomas’ mistake has included the loss of a sponsor (Ralph Lauren) but also offered an opportunity for Thomas to grow. Thomas continued to show remorse Tuesday at TPC Scottsdale, apologizing again to the “people that were affected and offended by what I said,” while also revealing that he plans to take some diversity and inclusion training with another sponsor (Titleist).
“It’s an ongoing process really,” Thomas said. “I don’t expect to be a totally and completely different person now than I was then. It’s just like my golf game. I’m continuing to try to progress and get better each and every day and each and every week. … I mean, clearly it’s been a distraction. But the biggest thing that I’ve learned from it is that I made a mistake and that I have a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow from it, just like I do in my golf game, just like I do in my everyday life. This is a part of my everyday life, and I have the opportunity to try to turn this into a positive and learn and grow from it as much as I possibly can.”
As for the tournament this week, Thomas enters with a real chance to win on paper. After missing two cuts and not finishing better than T-17 in his first four Phoenix starts, Thomas has placed third in two straight trips to TPC Scottsdale.
“I feel like if you really have control of your ball you can go around here with very minimal mistakes and make a lot of birdies, but at the same time it is a place that if you’re not playing well, it can expose you, and I think that’s why I’ve had a little bit of both,” Thomas said. “But I do love the golf course. I think and hope it really is a place that I’ll win multiple times in my career. I would like to get it out of the way soon so I can stop guessing and hoping.”
What else we’re talking about
‘The (Fewer) People’s Open’: More than 15 million people have attended the Phoenix Open since 1987, including a Tour-record 719,179 in 2019, but this year’s version will have limited spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 5,000 people per day will be allowed at TPC Scottsdale, down from the original goal of 8,000 but still the most at a Tour event since the beginning of the pandemic.
As for the loudest hole in golf, the par-3 16th hole will lack much of its normal buzz. In recent years, as many as 16,000 people have gathered in the hole’s stadium-like confines, but this week only 2,000 or so can be accommodated at any single point in time.
Welcome, Rory. For the first time in his career, Rory McIlroy will tee it up at TPC Scottsdale. This will be his third straight tournament, as McIlroy placed third two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi before sharing 16th last week at Farmers. While McIlroy will undoubtedly face more questions about why he hasn’t won since the 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions, he is still in the wake of a rules storm involving he and Patrick Reed at Torrey Pines. Yes, Reed has taken the brunt of the criticism for his controversial drop last Saturday, but McIlroy also had some explaining to do for a similar drop later in the third round.
“Like everyone out here, it’s the worst thing in golf to be labeled as someone that tries to get away with something or labeled a cheater and that’s just not how you want your reputation to be,” McIlroy said Sunday. “I’ve never tried to get away with anything out here. Our game is about integrity and it’s about doing the right thing. I always try to do the right thing and hopefully people see that. I feel like I have a reputation of that.”
A victory Sunday will help revive his reputation for winning and quell his more recent reputation of top-10-ing.
Gut feeling
Brooks Koepka really hates bad golf, so after missing three straight cuts – it’s the first time in his career he’s ever done that – one can bet Koepka will be determined to turn things around quickly. Easier said than done, I know, but Koepka enters the week at 40-1 odds, according to PointsBet Sportsbook. 40-1! He won’t be happy with that. Look for Koepka, who won here back in 2015, to start getting back on track this week, making the cut and finding his way into the top 20 by Super Bowl kickoff on Sunday.
Remember when…
Johnny Miller won the Phoenix Open by 14 shots? The year was 1975 and Miller arrived at Phoenix Country Club to begin his new season after an eight-win campaign the year before.
Miller fired rounds of 67-61-68-64 to blow away the field and finish at 24 under. At the time, his 260 total was second lowest in Tour history, behind only Mike Souchak’s 257 set in 1955.
“When I got to 14 under my goal became to shoot in the 250s if that was possible,” Miller said after his win. “I doubt I’ll ever get another chance to do that. But it’s a matter of creating motivation: I feel a responsibility to be as good as I can be whenever I play in public and with so big a lead you might let down and look foolish, so I focused on trying for a 259 or better.”
Miller, who earned the moniker “The Desert Fox,” went on to shoot 25 under and win by nine shots the following week in Tucson. He opened the 1975 season with three wins in his first four starts. From 1974-76, Miller won 15 times and finished in the top 10 in over half of his starts (30 times in 57 events).
“He’s the greatest golfer in the world, there’s no doubt about it,” said Jerry Heard, who finished runner-up to Miller in Phoenix in 1975. “I never thought I’d see anyone greater than Nicklaus, but I believe that if Nicklaus is at his best and Johnny is at his best, Johnny would win now.”
Did you know?
The party may be scaled back, but we can still expect a birdie-fest this week. That’s because since TPC Scottsdale was introduced as the venue in 1987, every winning score has been double digits under par. Also, 10 of the last 11 winners have finished at 15 under or better.
The best winning score in relation to par is 28 under, accomplished by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 and Phil Mickelson in 2013. The highest winning score during that span is 11 under, Rocco Mediate in 1999 and Lee Janzen in 1993.