PGA First Look: Waste Management Open
The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.
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Waste Management Open Preview
I love the Masters more than anything, but I have never been so excited for a single golf tournament. I will be attending this year’s Waste Management Open and will be sitting right in the middle of the craziness on the par three 16th hole. If you are unfamiliar with this event, think of it as the Happy Gilmore version of a PGA Tour event. There were more than 600,000 at this event last year and that number is only expected to grow. The par three 16th is the iconic hole here, as they built an entire stadium around it. There have been some amazing moments on this hole throughout the years, including Tigers Woods hitting a hole in one and James Hahn doing the Gangnam Style. If you happen to be attending the event and see me in the crowd, come say hello.
As far as the course itself, TPC Scotsdale isn’t particularly challenging. The winner each year is typically in the 15-under range and with pristine conditions expected, we should see a similar result this week. Even though there will be plenty of birdies, there will be a number of bogeys as well. The course typically ranks around the average in terms of difficulty compared to the other courses on tour. It is a Par 71 that measures 7,266 yards. It features three par fives and a drive-able par four. There are very few trees and water hazards here, but this is a desert course, so you can find trouble if you are too far off the fairway. The greens are Bermuda grass and the fairways are expected to be dry. Over the years, players tend to hit the ball farther here than at most tournaments, so even the shorter hitters will have longer drives this week. As far as the type of golfer that I am looking to target, it is all about giving yourself birdie opportunities at this event. I want good ball strikers and tee to green players that make a lot of birdies.
I do want to touch on the pricing this week. There are some obvious mis-priced golfers this week and it has sent DFS golf Twitter into a frenzy. Rather than complaining, we have to play the cards that we are dealt. For cash games, it’s a pretty simple process for me – take the best values and move on. For tournaments, the mis-pricing is going to cause a lot of golfers to go under-owned. My plan in tournaments is to spread out my exposure so that I am overweight on most of the players that I am targeting.
Cut Rule:Top 70 and ties move on after the first two rounds.
Recent Winners of this Event:Hideki Matsuyama (2016), Brooks Koepka (2015), Kevin Stadler (2014), Phil Mickelson (2013), Kyle Stanley (2012)
Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)
1) Strokes Gained Tee to Green
2) Birdie or Better %
3) Strokes Gained Off the Tee
4) Bogey Avoidance
5) Ball Striking (Total Driving + Greens in Regulation)
Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2012-2016)
| Golfer | Salary | OWGR | Odds | + / – | Cuts | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Spieth | $12,000 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1/1 | 500 | 7 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $11,700 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3/3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 500 | 500 |
| Justin Thomas | $11,500 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1/2 | 81 | 17 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jon Rahm | $9,700 | 46 | 19 | 0 | 1/1 | 500 | 5 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Rickie Fowler | $9,500 | 14 | 31 | -4 | 3/5 | 2 | 46 | 85 | 75 | 26 |
| Brooks Koepka | $9,100 | 19 | 27 | 0 | 2/2 | 41 | 1 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Gary Woodland | $9,000 | 41 | 37 | -4 | 4/5 | 33 | 77 | 37 | 16 | 26 |
| Patrick Reed | $8,900 | 9 | 32 | -2 | 2/2 | 500 | 40 | 19 | 500 | 500 |
| J.B. Holmes | $8,800 | 32 | 39 | -4 | 4/5 | 6 | 66 | 58 | 75 | 45 |
| Harris English | $8,700 | 79 | 43 | -5 | 5/5 | 3 | 40 | 9 | 57 | 15 |
| Ryan Moore | $8,600 | 28 | 28 | 3 | 5/5 | 11 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 78 |
| Padraig Harrington | $8,500 | 128 | 232 | -72 | 1/4 | 102 | 120 | 78 | 9 | 500 |
| Phil Mickelson | $8,400 | 20 | 25 | 8 | 4/5 | 11 | 94 | 42 | 1 | 26 |
| Bubba Watson | $8,300 | 12 | 27 | 7 | 5/5 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 5 |
| Brendan Steele | $8,200 | 55 | 38 | 3 | 5/5 | 17 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Zach Johnson | $8,100 | 38 | 48 | -1 | 2/2 | 14 | 10 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Pat Perez | $8,000 | 71 | 50 | -1 | 3/5 | 81 | 26 | 11 | 120 | 19 |
| Webb Simpson | $7,900 | 89 | 67 | -6 | 3/3 | 14 | 500 | 10 | 500 | 8 |
| Scott Piercy | $7,900 | 36 | 67 | -6 | 4/5 | 45 | 103 | 15 | 3 | 50 |
| Adam Hadwin | $7,800 | 112 | 77 | -12 | 1/2 | 17 | 120 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Shane Lowry | $7,800 | 53 | 70 | -7 | 1/1 | 6 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Russell Henley | $7,700 | 135 | 89 | -15 | 2/4 | 81 | 59 | 85 | 67 | 500 |
| Brian Harman | $7,700 | 102 | 79 | -12 | 3/4 | 58 | 66 | 107 | 32 | 500 |
| Emiliano Grillo | $7,600 | 27 | 64 | 2 | 1/1 | 45 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Tony Finau | $7,600 | 72 | 41 | 10 | 1/2 | 89 | 22 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Russell Knox | $7,500 | 18 | 44 | 10 | 1/1 | 500 | 15 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Billy Horschel | $7,500 | 81 | 74 | -5 | 3/4 | 24 | 30 | 85 | 11 | 500 |
| Kevin Na | $7,500 | 52 | 88 | -10 | 5/5 | 24 | 26 | 19 | 36 | 5 |
| Ollie Schniederjans | $7,500 | 168 | 112 | -23 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Cheng-Tsung Pan | $7,500 | 110 | 103 | -19 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Matt Kuchar | $7,400 | 21 | 53 | 12 | 2/2 | 500 | 30 | 500 | 500 | 33 |
| Keegan Bradley | $7,400 | 101 | 57 | 11 | 4/5 | 24 | 17 | 112 | 24 | 15 |
| Bud Cauley | $7,400 | 198 | 130 | -24 | 2/2 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 24 | 50 |
| Luke List | $7,400 | 185 | 111 | -17 | 0/2 | 70 | 500 | 500 | 126 | 500 |
| William McGirt | $7,400 | 48 | 107 | -16 | 4/4 | 24 | 30 | 19 | 32 | 500 |
| Robert Garrigus | $7,300 | 219 | 158 | -28 | 2/4 | 500 | 77 | 53 | 11 | 105 |
| Charley Hoffman | $7,300 | 74 | 133 | -21 | 4/5 | 51 | 53 | 61 | 84 | 76 |
| James Hahn | $7,300 | 69 | 149 | -24 | 3/4 | 17 | 59 | 99 | 16 | 500 |
| Jon Curran | $7,300 | 138 | 249 | -52 | 1/1 | 11 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Martin Laird | $7,200 | 143 | 70 | 12 | 4/5 | 41 | 5 | 19 | 92 | 61 |
| Chris Kirk | $7,200 | 80 | 78 | 7 | 3/3 | 37 | 500 | 76 | 24 | WD |
| John Peterson | $7,200 | 783 | 286 | -61 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 61 | 500 | 500 |
| Rod Pampling | $7,200 | 127 | 243 | -46 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 15 |
| Mark Wilson | $7,200 | 599 | 360 | -71 | 3/5 | 65 | 40 | 124 | 92 | 19 |
| Ryan Palmer | $7,100 | 84 | 72 | 15 | 5/5 | 24 | 2 | 48 | 5 | 55 |
| Jason Kokrak | $7,100 | 104 | 143 | -14 | 2/5 | 89 | 40 | 15 | 92 | 92 |
| Grayson Murray | $7,100 | 145 | 117 | -6 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jamie Lovemark | $7,100 | 93 | 100 | 2 | 0/2 | 102 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 80 |
| Graham DeLaet | $7,100 | 212 | 121 | -7 | 3/5 | 102 | 7 | 2 | 122 | 55 |
| Cody Gribble | $7,100 | 193 | 133 | -12 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Andrew Johnston | $7,100 | 98 | 214 | -34 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Retief Goosen | $7,100 | 234 | 333 | -62 | 2/3 | 51 | 74 | 85 | 500 | 500 |
| Byeong-Hun An | $7,100 | 47 | 82 | 10 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Greg Chalmers | $7,100 | 284 | 338 | -63 | 3/3 | 500 | 500 | 15 | 36 | 19 |
| Daniel Berger | $7,000 | 34 | 69 | 29 | 2/2 | 58 | 10 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Kevin Chappell | $7,000 | 35 | 92 | 17 | 2/5 | 81 | 30 | 85 | 24 | 100 |
| Marc Leishman | $7,000 | 60 | 62 | 34 | 1/3 | 500 | 500 | 99 | 92 | 19 |
| J.J. Spaun | $7,000 | 155 | 154 | -7 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Brandon Hagy | $7,000 | 384 | 492 | -66 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Matt Jones | 160 | 210 | -22 | 4/4 | 60 | 59 | 12 | 500 | 40 | |
| Ben Crane | $7,000 | 411 | 239 | -30 | 4/5 | 24 | 115 | 42 | 11 | 2 |
| Daniel Summerhays | $7,000 | 82 | 221 | -27 | 1/4 | 67 | 77 | 78 | 92 | 500 |
| Matt Every | $7,000 | 519 | -67 | 3/4 | 24 | 125 | 37 | 9 | 500 | |
| Craig Hocknull | $7,000 | 1190 | -74 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | |
| Roberto Castro | $6,900 | 77 | 99 | 24 | 2/2 | 500 | 500 | 19 | 16 | 500 |
| Sean O’Hair | $6,900 | 83 | 96 | 26 | 1/3 | 81 | 500 | 500 | 107 | 45 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | $6,900 | 29 | 72 | 36 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Kevin Streelman | $6,900 | 125 | 131 | 9 | 3/5 | 70 | 30 | 53 | 107 | 73 |
| Jason Bohn | $6,900 | 244 | 326 | -40 | 3/5 | 37 | 66 | 34 | 84 | 123 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | $6,900 | 201 | 194 | -8 | 3/4 | 51 | 46 | 29 | 126 | 500 |
| Brian Gay | $6,900 | 561 | 315 | -39 | 3/4 | 64 | 500 | 61 | 24 | 105 |
| Ken Duke | $6,900 | 331 | 486 | -55 | 3/5 | 113 | 94 | 29 | 43 | 50 |
| J.J. Henry | $6,900 | 538 | 548 | -60 | 1/4 | 89 | 500 | 122 | 67 | 92 |
| Chad Collins | $6,900 | 414 | 664 | -62 | 0/2 | 122 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 80 |
| Chez Reavie | $6,800 | 116 | 100 | 32 | 1/3 | 70 | 77 | 500 | 500 | 45 |
| Alex Cejka | $6,800 | 179 | 362 | -37 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Chad Campbell | $6,800 | 192 | 166 | 8 | 3/4 | 17 | 40 | 500 | 72 | 80 |
| Kyle Stanley | $6,800 | 226 | 99 | 34 | 3/5 | 45 | 77 | 130 | 74 | 1 |
| Robert Streb | $6,800 | 105 | 97 | 35 | 2/2 | 37 | 10 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Vaughn Taylor | $6,800 | 147 | 220 | -6 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Bryce Molder | $6,800 | 197 | 153 | 14 | 5/5 | 6 | 70 | 29 | 24 | 15 |
| Morgan Hoffmann | $6,800 | 367 | 350 | -34 | 2/3 | 89 | 53 | 15 | 500 | 500 |
| Patton Kizzire | $6,800 | 106 | 169 | 7 | 1/1 | 60 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Michael Kim | $6,800 | 250 | 195 | 0 | 1/1 | 45 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Will Wilcox | $6,700 | 271 | 280 | -11 | 1/1 | 6 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Spencer Levin | $6,700 | 259 | 457 | -32 | 2/4 | 81 | 77 | 29 | 500 | 3 |
| Shawn Stefani | $6,700 | 314 | 195 | 10 | 1/3 | 119 | 30 | 500 | 75 | 500 |
| Colt Knost | $6,700 | 171 | 362 | -27 | 2/2 | 24 | 500 | 500 | 43 | 500 |
| Cameron Tringale | $6,700 | 224 | 280 | -11 | 2/5 | 89 | 120 | 12 | 43 | 80 |
| Fabian Gomez | $6,700 | 90 | 218 | 5 | 0/1 | 102 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Wesley Bryan | $6,700 | 141 | 285 | -15 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jonas Blixt | $6,700 | 221 | 190 | 14 | 1/5 | 102 | 103 | 34 | 75 | 80 |
| Camilo Villegas | $6,700 | 310 | 231 | 2 | 2/4 | 70 | 125 | 37 | 500 | 73 |
| Charlie Beljan | $6,700 | 1083 | 605 | -41 | 1/4 | 113 | 66 | 78 | 120 | 500 |
| Patrick Rodgers | $6,600 | 123 | 66 | 72 | 1/1 | 17 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | $6,600 | 107 | 165 | 29 | 0/4 | 102 | 77 | 127 | 122 | 500 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | $6,600 | 113 | 189 | 25 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Smylie Kaufman | $6,600 | 117 | 249 | 7 | 0/1 | 102 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Brett Stegmaier | $6,600 | 286 | 398 | -20 | 1/1 | 41 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Danny Lee | $6,600 | 78 | 122 | 42 | 1/4 | 4 | 108 | 99 | 500 | 114 |
| Steve Stricker | $6,600 | 108 | 129 | 41 | 0/1 | 70 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jim Herman | $6,600 | 85 | 105 | 49 | 0/1 | 102 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Zac Blair | $6,600 | 276 | 252 | 5 | 1/1 | 33 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Steven Bowditch | $6,600 | 318 | 805 | -33 | 1/3 | 125 | 108 | 69 | 500 | 500 |
| Lucas Glover | $6,500 | 177 | 117 | 55 | 2/3 | 500 | 53 | 107 | 54 | 500 |
| Harold Varner | $6,500 | 120 | 195 | 31 | 0/1 | 117 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| John Huh | $6,500 | 225 | 156 | 42 | 2/5 | 6 | 108 | 85 | 92 | 12 |
| Nick Taylor | $6,500 | 399 | 331 | -1 | 2/2 | 65 | 59 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Blayne Barber | $6,500 | 217 | 262 | 14 | 1/1 | 45 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Ricky Barnes | $6,500 | 230 | 367 | -9 | 3/5 | 81 | 73 | 37 | 130 | 40 |
| Sung Kang | $6,500 | 210 | 355 | -5 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Brian Stuard | $6,500 | 161 | 243 | 19 | 2/2 | 500 | 10 | 53 | 500 | 500 |
| Luke Donald | $6,500 | 96 | 158 | 41 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Tyrone Van Aswegen | $6,500 | 227 | 269 | 11 | 1/1 | 17 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Si Woo Kim | $6,400 | 58 | 182 | 46 | 1/1 | 67 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Boo Weekley | $6,400 | 304 | 267 | 23 | 3/3 | 5 | 30 | 500 | 63 | 500 |
| David Hearn | $6,400 | 178 | 279 | 20 | 3/5 | 119 | 103 | 58 | 16 | 65 |
| Kyle Reifers | $6,400 | 154 | 282 | 17 | 0/0 | WD | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Scott Brown | $6,400 | 223 | 267 | 23 | 0/2 | 89 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 114 |
| Ben Martin | $6,400 | 181 | 210 | 38 | 1/2 | 70 | 40 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Aaron Baddeley | $6,400 | 132 | 192 | 43 | 4/5 | 89 | 17 | 48 | 65 | 65 |
| K.J. Choi | $6,400 | 188 | 287 | 13 | 4/4 | 17 | 22 | 42 | 36 | 500 |
| Andrew Loupe | $6,400 | 255 | 469 | -3 | 0/1 | 500 | 108 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Steve Marino | $6,400 | 386 | 476 | -4 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Seung-Yul Noh | $6,400 | 377 | 290 | 12 | 3/3 | 69 | 46 | 500 | 500 | 33 |
| Mark Hubbard | $6,400 | 493 | 524 | -8 | 1/1 | 60 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Troy Merritt | $6,400 | 190 | 410 | -1 | 1/2 | 113 | 53 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Carl Pettersson | $6,400 | 635 | 526 | -9 | 2/4 | WD | 115 | 112 | 43 | 33 |
| Hunter Mahan | $6,400 | 471 | 282 | 17 | 3/4 | 89 | 30 | 4 | 16 | 500 |
Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.
Legend
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| + / – | The difference between a golfer’s salary and odds rank. This can help you spot underpriced golfers. |
| OWGR | Official World Golf Ranking |
| Cuts | Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons. |
| 2012 – 2016 Columns | Course history at this event in the last five seasons. |