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11D AGO

Power Rankings: WM Phoenix Open

3 Min Read

Power Rankings

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    Written by Rob Bolton @RobBoltonGolf

    If there’s an opposite to the familiar phrase, “Nothing to see here,” it’s the experience of the WM Phoenix Open. And it’s arrived.

    It’s nestled in between the second and third Signature Events of the 2025 PGA TOUR season, and it’s merely the most-attended golf tournament in the world. From "The Coliseum" to the perfect weather, from the nightlife to its pregame slot for Super Bowl LIX, there is something for everyone.

    How TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course sets up, expectations and more are below the rankings of those projected to contend.



    You won’t know it when you tune into live coverage of the course presenting its best self throughout the tournament, but Mother Nature delivered a series of punches that has made even the most extreme of annual cycles in the Valley of the Sun reason to blush.

    After enduring 113 consecutive daytime highs of at least 100 degrees from late May through mid-September last year, a string of 21 straight record highs extended from late September through mid-October. Spanning both heat waves and extending into last Tuesday (Jan. 28), Phoenix was without measurable rain for 159 days in a row, one off the record set 53 years ago. Meanwhile, this week, a primarily cloudless sky will allow temperatures to eclipse 70 degrees, and winds will be light. Dead solid perfect at last.

    If last year’s WM Phoenix Open was the omen, perhaps locals should have expected hotter heat than usual. Nick Taylor and Charley Hoffman concluded regulation last year at 21-under 263. It established the record low in the 10 years since Tom Weiskopf renovated his co-creation with Jay Moorish. As he’s prone to do, Taylor prevailed in a playoff. ‘Twas just another episode of "Nick ignite."

    The Chamber of Commerce conditions promise the fairest and most consistent test that the field of 132 demands. But there’s a new wrinkle to it that probably leaves last year’s scoring average of 69.895 out of reach on the par 71.

    The familiar two-inch rough has been allowed to grow to 3 1/2 inches this year. Bermudagrass greens that will run the full 12 feet on the Stimpmeter average about 7,000 square feet, so they’re still inviting enough on approach to encourage risk off the tee. There are no other changes, so TPC Scottsdale still tips at 7,261 yards. Because the entire course is overseeded, native colors are reserved for the desert landscape.

    Muscle memory has mattered at TPC Scottsdale before and after the renovation. All of the last nine winners logged at least one start on it before rising to victory.

    While there are plenty of perks to chase in every tournament, one unique to the WM Phoenix Open is that it’s the finish line as it concerns the Aon Swing 5 for entry into The Genesis Invitational.

    ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

    PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

    MONDAY: Power Rankings
    TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider
    SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Qualifiers

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

    Rob Bolton is a Golfbet columnist for the PGA TOUR. The Chicagoland native has been playing fantasy golf since 1994, so he was just waiting for the Internet to catch up with him. Follow Rob Bolton on Twitter.