At the Phoenix Open, Scottie Scheffler is looking to confirm his dominance in golf and become the first player since 2009-2011 (Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic) to secure a PGA Tour tournament victory for three consecutive times.
The top-ranked player in the world is among the frontrunners in one of the most highly anticipated tournaments on the men’s American circuit, scheduled to take place from tomorrow until February 11th in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course) is expected to be filled to capacity, as is customary.
Scheffler, a 27-year-old from Ridgewood, aspires to follow in the footsteps of a legend like Arnold Palmer, the only player capable of winning the Phoenix Open three years in a row (1961-1963). There is immense curiosity surrounding the spectacle that awaits the audience at the 16th hole (par 3), renamed “The Coliseum,” where Francesco Molinari achieved a “hole in one” in 2015, 18 years after Tiger Woods (incidentally, the Californian champion is preparing to make his comeback from February 15th to 18th at the Genesis Invitational in California).
In the competition, Scheffler will be joined by eight other players from the top twenty in the world. These include Wyndham Clark (sixth), who recently impressed at the AT&T Pebble Beach, an event shortened to 54 holes due to inclement weather, as well as Max Homa (eighth), Matt Fitzpatrick (ninth), and Brian Harman (tenth).
Jordan Spieth (sixteenth), Tom Kim (seventeenth), Justin Thomas (nineteenth), and Sam Burns (twentieth) are also among the favorites. However, notable players such as Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (second), Viktor Hovland (fourth), whose absence from the field caused a stir in the United States and drew criticism from the Arab Super League, and Xander Schauffele of California (fifth), the gold medalist at the Tokyo Games, will be absent.
The tournament will offer a prize pool of $8,800,000, an increase from $20,000,000 in 2023, with the winner taking home $1,584,000. Scheffler is happily married to Meredith Scheffler (formerly Scudder). They met during high school and tied the knot in 2020.