Power Rankings: WM Phoenix Open

From the iconic to the epic. And that’s as it concerns just a pair of par 3s.

Pick your pleasure – No. 7 at Pebble Beach Golf Links or No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. If watching the professionals trying to tame the former isn’t satisfying enough, then The Coliseum will finish the job at this week’s WM Phoenix Open.

It’s "The People’s Open." It’s also "The Greenest Show on Grass." And its setting is the Valley of the Sun, but read about that rumor and more beneath the ranking of those projected to contend.

The PGA TOUR’s annual swing from the sea to the Sonoran Desert might look the same on the glowing rectangles you use to consume coverage. That’s because an extended pattern of cloud cover and rain will contribute to the experience at the WM Phoenix Open.

Unseasonably cool temperatures climbing only into the 50s will be a byproduct of persistent precipitation. Beyond the possibility of a southerly push midday on Thursday, wind won’t be a factor. Dry conditions will return at some point on the weekend, so local snowbirds again will be reminded why they’re in central Arizona in February. The bonus is that the Four Peaks east of town might have snowcaps by then, too. It doesn’t happen every year but it wouldn’t be the first time this winter.

After three consecutive competitions contested across multiple courses, all of the remaining tournaments of the FedExCup season will be staged on only one track. That begins this week. Because of its latitude at this time of year, TPC Scottsdale’s field is limited to 132. As a result, even without a delay, it’s possible if not likely that the first round will not be completed on Thursday. As for arriving at the 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties by sundown on Friday, that’s essentially a coin flip based on a few factors late, but every minute of daylight will be exhausted, and then some.

TPC Scottsdale is the same 7,261-yard par 71 that returning participants will see and feel. This already is the 10th edition since the late Tom Weiskopf renovated the course that he co-designed with Jay Moorish in the late 1980s. Relatively large greens will be receptive and the overseeded Bermuda greens will be predictable. The surfaces always are ready to run up to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter until Mother Nature says, “Hold my beer,” and not just inside The Coliseum.

Regardless of conditions, the course has rewarded long hitters throughout its history, but muscle matters a little more when drives aren’t rolling out and into two-inch rough. The model of consistency tee-to-green, Scottie Scheffler is the latest in a long line of two-time defending champions who is attempting to be the next to go back-to-back-to-back since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

As a reminder, The Genesis Invitational next week is the third Signature Event of the season, so the Aon Swing 5 will consist of top points earners not otherwise exempt from the first four non-Signature Events of 2024.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

MONDAY: Power Rankings
TUESDAY*: Sleepers
WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider
SUNDAY: Points and Payouts, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

*Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.