Steve Palmer's Phoenix Open preview, best bets, free golf tips, course guide

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 2.30pm Thursday

Best bets

Matthew Wolff
2pts each-way 66-1 general
Click to back this selection with Coral

Branden Grace
2pts each-way 45-1 Betfair
Click here to bet on this tip with Paddy Power

Sungjae Im
2pts each-way 33-1 Betfair, Power, Sky Bet
Click here to bet on this tip with Paddy Power

Grayson Murray
0.5pt each-way 225-1 bet365
Click to back this tip with bet365

Jon Rahm is looking to bounce back from his Farmers Insurance Open disappointment by becoming a winning favourite in the Phoenix Open this week. The Spaniard led the Farmers going into Sunday, but was four over par through five holes of his final round.

Rahm galloped to the line, but could not recover from his horror start, finishing runner-up to Marc Leishman. A tournament on a wide-open layout in his adopted home state is the perfect tonic for Rahm, but there is not much juice in the short prices against his name.

Justin Thomas, a winner in the Sentry Tournament of Champions before he missed the cut in the Sony Open, also has an obvious chance. But there is better value to be had deeper down the betting for the annual Phoenix party.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Matthew Wolff 66-1

The Wolff-pack could be howling on Sunday because their hero Matt Wolff seems to have an excellent chance of getting into the thick of things in the Phoenix Open.

Wolff is a rising star of the PGA Tour, who got off the mark in the 3M Open last summer in only his third start as a professional, and a second success could be coming at the ever-noisy TPC Scottsdale this week.

Wolff has clearly been blessed with bundles of bottle, as he proved on numerous occasions as an amateur star as well as when making eagle at the final hole of the 3M Open for his breakthrough, so the atmosphere of the Phoenix Open is unlikely to intimidate him.

After becoming a PGA Tour champion, he was understandably inconsistent, facing course debuts every week. In the last three months, though, Wolff has settled nicely on the circuit, finishing 13th in the high-class Zozo Championship, 11th in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and 21st in the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday.

His Farmers effort was particularly impressive when you consider he opened with a 76, fighting back superbly, and this week he tackles a course where he actually has some previous competitive experience.
Wolff played in the Phoenix Open last year as a 19-year-old amateur, finishing 50th in his first ranking event, averaging 320 yards off the tee and relishing the freedom the track affords him. Twelve months later, he is world number 95 and a serious dangerman, ready for a birdiefest in sunny, calm conditions.

Next best bet

Branden Grace 45-1

Last year's runner-up can contend again – Branden Grace is ready to rumble at Scottsdale having rediscovered his A-game in fantastic style over the last couple of months. Third place in the Alfred Dunhill Championship before Christmas hinted that Grace was on the way back, then a three-shot South African Open victory provided confirmation.

Grace closed with a 62 to win his national Open for the first time – his putter turned into a magic wand – and it has arrested a slide down the world rankings. He booked an Open berth in the process, can look forward to WGC action, and everything is positive again for the popular 31-year-old Pretorian. He is a two-time Qatar Masters champion who clearly enjoys desert missions.

Other selections

Sungjae Im 33-1

Grayson Murray 225-1

It is surely only a matter of time before the 2019 Rookie of the Year makes his PGA Tour breakthrough. Sungjae Im is a two-time Korn Ferry Tour champion and he nearly got off the mark in the higher grade when losing a playoff for the Sanderson Farms Championship at the end of September. He finished seventh on his Phoenix Open debut last year.

Im took great heart from being such a key member of the Internationals side in the Presidents Cup. He has already seen his teammates – Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman – win on the PGA Tour this year. And Abraham Ancer nearly won The American Express. The Internationals did themselves proud in Melbourne by pushing the States so close and confidence levels are high. Im, joint top scorer in the Presidents Cup, could be the latest member of the Internationals to triumph.

Complete a four-pronged attack with Grayson Murray, who could finally be ready to do justice to his God-given talents. Murray won three consecutive Junior World Championships before injury and illness hampered his progress as a professional. He won on the Web.com Tour in 2016, then the Barbasol Championship on the PGA Tour in 2017, but the powerhouse failed to kick on.

Murray earned his PGA Tour card back by playing well in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last year and tenth place in The American Express was an encouraging desert spin earlier this month. He has made the cut in each of his three starts at Scottsdale, a course he knows well from briefly being a teammate of Jon Rahm at Arizona State University.

Players to note

Hideki Matsuyama
The Japanese ace is the most appealing option near the head of the market. The dual Phoenix champion finished fourth and second at Scottsdale prior to his victories. He should churn out dozens of greens in regulation again, but is winless anywhere since August, 2017.

Gary Woodland
The 2018 Phoenix victor has become a Major champion since and must be shortlisted, but a surprise missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open last week suggests he is not firing on all cylinders.

Adam Hadwin
The Canadian returns after taking time off to become a father. He is based in Scottsdale, so may be able to overcome his long layoff since the Presidents Cup and contend in his adopted home city.

Martin Laird
The Scot is another Scottsdale resident who could put course knowledge to good use this week. He can boast four top-tens in this event.

TPC Scottsdale course guide

Course TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona
Prize money $7.3m ($1.278m to the winner)
Length 7,261 yards
Par 71
Field 132
Course records- 72 holes 256 Mark Calcavecchia (2001), Phil Mickelson (2013) 18 holes 60 Grant Waite (1996), Mark Calcavecchia (2001), Phil Mickelson (2005 and 2013)

Course winners taking part JB Holmes (twice), Aaron Baddeley, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Stadler, Hideki Matsuyama (twice), Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler

When to bet By 2.30pm Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 2.30pm Thursday

Time difference Arizona is seven hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Farmers Insurance Open 1 M Leishman (50-1), 2 J Rahm (8-1), T3 B Snedeker (45-1), R McIlroy (6-1), 5 T Hoge (150-1), T6 B Watson (100-1), P Reed (28-1), T Finau (30-1)

Course overview There are only three par-fives at TPC Scottsdale (the third, 13th and 15th), but the venue has traditionally played into the hands of long-driving, attacking players because of generous fairways and lack of serious troublespots. Raw slugger JB Holmes announced himself on to the world stage with a barnstorming 21-under-par total in 2006, Aaron Baddeley repeated that feat 12 months later, then Phil Mickelson upstaged them both in 2013 with an awesome 28-under-par effort. The track, used for this tournament since 1987, has been a fairly defenceless desert layout, although a $11m upgrade which took place after the 2014 renewal has added slightly to the challenge. All 18 holes were slightly revised by Tom Weiskopf, the par-five 13th (tightened fairway and coffin bunker added near green) and par-four 14th (lengthened to 490 yards and uphill) seeing the most dramatic changes. Weiskopf planted 250 new trees. The galleries are a test for the competitors, with a huge number of people always packing into the stadium course. No fewer than 170,802 noisy punters turned up for the Saturday of the 2008 renewal and a bearpit atmosphere is created, particularly on the famous par-three 16th hole, where players are usually booed if they miss the green. Tiger Woods enjoyed a hole-in-one at the 16th in 1997. Andrew Magee went even better than Woods in 2001 and aced the par-four 17th

Story of last year Rickie Fowler had a turbulent final round, including a calamitous triple-bogey at the 11th hole, but finished strongly enough to claim a two-shot victory over Branden Grace

Weather forecast Sunny and calm throughout, so scoring should again be extremely low

Type of player suited to the challenge The TPC Scottsdale remains a fairly straightforward test which suits aggressive golf. The likes of Holmes, Mickelson, Koepka, Matsuyama and Woodland have graphically demonstrated in recent years how to overpower the venue. Plenty of bottle is required to handle the vast hordes of boozed-up onlookers at the 16th hole to close out this event

Key attribute Power

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