This is the fifth oldest tournament on the PGA Tour, and in conjunction with Super Bowl LVII, makes Phoenixthe epicenter for the sports world this weekend. TPC Scottsdale gets 200,000 fans on Saturday, 17,000 plus of them at hole 16, the 146 yard par 3 Stadium Hole, part of the Stadium Course. The hole gets more raucous than an Iron Bowl Saturday in late November. George Savaricus of Golf Channel described it as playing anywhere from a gap wedge at 120 yards to a 7 or 8 iron at 165-170 yards when the pin is playing back left. Everybody who knows about golf recognizes this golfing spectacle. It’ll be rockin’ all weekend, Friday-Sunday. Several of the players have said that the most pressure is on Friday when you are trying to make the cut. Sunday pressure is intense as well and 17 and 18 offer no bargain either. More on those two holes and another in a moment.

There have been 11 aces on 16. There were two last year. Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz were the protagonists last season. Tiger Woods aced the hole in 1997. Last year, there were beer cans and beer bottles flying, which is over the top. I like the excitement and electricity of this hole, but it can get out of control at times. Also, it’s a little overhyped. No.17 is a 332 yard par 4 that features water on the left that will swallow up a slight pull, and bunkers in the center and on the right. It’s a classic risk/reward hole. Sahith Theegala had the lead last year on Sunday going into 17 and slightly pulled his drive into the water allowing Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay to tie for the lead after 72 holes and go into a playoff, which the great Scheffler won on the third playoff hole, his first of 4 victories in 6 events including the 86th Masters title.

No. 11 is the toughest hole on the course. It’s a par 4 playing 472 yards featuring a lake that runs down the entire left side of the hole. Players who hit it right can end up in a column of trees. There are two bunkers on the left that can bail a player out from going into the water on his second shot.

No. 18 is a terrific closing hole. It’s a par 4, 442 yards. The drive is over a lake that also runs down the entire left side of the hole. There are bunkers on the left that are extremely challenging and the bail out on the right has three bunkers and thick rough. The driver is critical on this hole. Three bunkers surround the green which slopes from right to left. Should be electric on Sunday with the Super Bowl on deck.

The Waste Management is one of the 17 “designated” events that all the top players in the game want to compete in. The purse is $20 million with first place paying $3.6 million. I listed the 16 other elevated events on last Thursday’s Pebble Beach column if you’d like to check that out. Next week at the Genesis Open in Pacific Palisades, CA. is another designated $20 million event. Second place isn’t too bad either at the WM. It pays $2,180,000 million. Third place is $1.38 million. So, the event has 18 of the top 20 players in the official golf world rankings. No.1 Rory is in Phoenix. No.2 Scheffler. No.3 Jon Rahm, a former Arizona State player, are also in the field. No.5 Patrick Cantlay. No.6 Xander Schaffele. No.7 Collin Morikawa. No.9 Justin Thomas, and No.10 Matt Fitzpatrick are competing. The only two players of the top 20 not at the WM are No.4 Cam Smith, who is a LIV player and unable to compete on the PGA Tour, and No.8 Will Zalatoris, who is sitting this one out. My question to him is, Why?

In their last 7 worldwide starts, Rory has won 3 times and Rahm has won 4 times. On the PGA Tour, Rory won the CJ Cup in South Carolina in October of 2022, and Rahm won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January and the American Express in California, also in January.

Forty two year old Justin Rose shot 66 on Sunday/Monday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am to win at that majestic venue with a Monday finish due to inclement weather on Sunday. That was Rose’s 11th PGA Tour victory and first since the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Rose played a flawless final round 66 after a bogey on Number 1 on Pebble Beach. His second shot from 195 yards out of the sand on the Par 5, 6th, which he put 6 feet from the cup and sank the eagle putt, was the shot of the tournament. His putting was masterful as well. Rose was the first European to ever win at the AT&T Pebble Beach in its 82nd edition. Rose is also the third player to ever win on 6 continents along with Gary Player and Peter Graham. He’s won in North America, South America, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Antartica is a bit chilly for golf. So, terrific performance by one of the great guys in the game.

With the Super Bowl hosting media day on Monday Night, Justin Thomas approached Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, a former Crimson Tide and Oklahoma quarterback, who has become a stellar player in the National Football League with his team on the brink of a Lombardi Trophy. They’ll have to defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to do it, which is a tall order. But the Eagles are stacked with talent.

Justin asked the great Jalen quickly if he’s a Crimson Tider or a Boomer Sooner. Jalen smiled and just walked away with no comment while Justin was saying, “Come on, Roll Tide.” Pretty funny.

Odds for Waste Management

Rory, 8/1

Rahm, 8.5/1

Xander Schauffele, 14/1

Scheffler, 15/1

Tony Finau, 18/1

Collin Morikawa, 18/1

Patrick Cantlay, 21/1

Justin Thomas, 21/1

Max Homa, 21/1

Sungjae Im, 27/1

Viktor Holland, 27/1

Hideki Matsuyama, 28/1

Tom Kim, 28/1

Cameron Young, 29/1

Jordan Spieth, 31/1

Matt Fitzpatrick, 37/1

Sam Burns, 42/1

Sahith Theegala, 45/1

Tyrrell Hatton, 50/1

Shane Lowry, 50/1

Tommy Fleetwood, 55/1

Rickie Fowler, 60/1

Billy Horschel, 60/1

Taylor Montgomery, 60/1

Keegan Bradley, 60/1

Good to see the Europeans on the PGA Tour. Several have defected to LIV.

Weather, great

Thursday, 73, sunny, Wind NE 12 MPH.

Friday, 76, Sunny, wind E 15 MPH

Saturday, 77, Partly sunny, Wind SSE 10 MPH

Sunday, 68, partly sunny, wind SSE 11 MPH.

Wind might be a little tricky on some holes, so that’ll be something to look for.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 PM CT, Golf Channel.

Saturday, 12-2 PM CT, GC, 2-5:30 PM CT, CBS

Sunday, 12-2 PM CT, GC, 2-5 PM CT, CBS.

Then it’s the 57th edition of the Super Bowl kicking off at approximately 5;30 PM CT on FOX. The Super Bowl is in Glendale, Arizona, 9 miles northwest of Phoenix. So Phoenix will be the the center of the sports world on Sunday.

Key tee times on Thursday

8:48 AM CT-Rory, Hideki, Morikawa

8:59 AM CT-Finau, Schauffele, Spieth

9:10 AM CT- Cantlay, Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns

1:33 PM CT-Max Homa, Rahm, Keegan Bradley

1:44 PM-Justin, Joel Dahmen, Theegala

1:55 PM CT-Tom Kim, Scheffler, Viktor Hovland

Winner

I’m going to go with the 26 year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey by way of the University of Texas. He’s just a consistently superb player. His form is pretty solid after a T-11th finish at the American Express in his last start. Give me the defending champion go back to back.

Scottie Scheffler

Sleeper

I’ll take the 25 year old from Orange, California, by way of Pepperdine University, to have a good shot at winning his first PGA Tour event. He came so close last year finishing tied for third with Brooks Koepka, now on the LIV Tour, and Schauffele. Going with,

Sahith Theegala

Saturday, Super Bowl 57, Preview/Prediciton