Tiger’s not in the field at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and Phil—with his bad back—probably shouldn’t be. That means oddsmakers are going to do a little more work this week.
Phil is favored at 12/1, even though he withdrew from last week’s Farmers Insurance Open with a bad back. He’s still tentative for Phoenix, but if I was asked, I’d tell him to sit it out. The last thing he needs is to develop bad swing habits while favoring a stiff back. I know this from experience. I spend the early part of the year two seasons ago playing with a bad back and my game never recovered. To prevent pain, I consciously/unconsciously changed certain swing habits. These bad habits became ingrained and even when I felt better, I continued to play poorly.
So if not Phil, who?
The answer is a pile of young and young-ish playes who have been making a name for themselves over the last five years. Oddsmakers have Webb Simpson as their second choice, at 16/1. Going back to October of 2013, Simpson has a win, a third and fiver top 25 finishes. The October win at the Shriners was his first victory since the 2012 US Open. That hasn’t exactly been a slump, but some have questioned whether his US Open win was a fluke. I say it wasn’t.
Keegan Bradley (22/1) has finished in the top 25 in each of the four events he’s played this season. One of those was a Top 10. If the key to getting wins is to always be in contention, then Bradley is doing it right. Like Simpson, Bradley has struggled a bit since his Major win. He seems to have righted his ship thus far this season, though.
Bubba Watson and Harris English are in at 25/1. To repeat a theme, Watson has not been the same since his Masters victory. Harris English on the other hand, has a win in each of the last two seasons, with another at the unofficial Franklin Templeton Shootout. He’s started and made the cut in seven events in the 2013-2014 season, with three top tens. I like his chances this weekend, and looking ahead, like his chances in the US Open.
A huge list of top players are in at 28/1: Brandt Snedeker, Gary Woodland, Graham Delaet, Hunter Mahan, Ryan Moore and Ryan Palmer. Any of these guys could win and no one would be surprised.
The complete odds for the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open are below, courtesy of Bovada:
| Player | Odds |
| Phil Mickelson | 12/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 16/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 22/1 |
| Bubba Watson | 25/1 |
| Harris English | 25/1 |
| Bill Haas | 28/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 28/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 28/1 |
| Graham Delaet | 28/1 |
| Hunter Mahan | 28/1 |
| Ryan Moore | 28/1 |
| Ryan Palmer | 28/1 |
| Billy Horschel | 33/1 |
| Chris Kirk | 33/1 |
| Charley Hoffman | 40/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 40/1 |
| Marc Leishman | 40/1 |
| Matt Every | 40/1 |
| Brian Stuard | 50/1 |
| Charles Howell III | 50/1 |
| Ian Poulter | 50/1 |
| Lee Westwood | 50/1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 50/1 |
| Nick Watney | 50/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 50/1 |
| Brendan Steele | 66/1 |
| Brendon De Jonge | 66/1 |
| K.J. Choi | 66/1 |
| Kevin Na | 66/1 |
| Pat Perez | 66/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 66/1 |
| Scott Piercy | 66/1 |
| Justin Leonard | 75/1 |
| Scott Stallings | 75/1 |
| Brian Gay | 80/1 |
| J.B. Holmes | 80/1 |
| Jason Kokrak | 80/1 |
| Jeff Overton | 80/1 |
| Kevin Stadler | 80/1 |
| Kevin Streelman | 80/1 |
| Luke Guthrie | 80/1 |
| Martin Laird | 80/1 |
| Matt Jones | 80/1 |
| Nicolas Colsaerts | 80/1 |
| Padraig Harrington | 80/1 |
| Robert Garrigus | 80/1 |
| Ben Crane | 100/1 |
| Bo Van Pelt | 100/1 |
| Chris Stroud | 100/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 100/1 |
| Roberto Castro | 100/1 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 100/1 |
| Bryce Molder | 125/1 |
| Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano | 125/1 |
| John Merrick | 125/1 |
| John Peterson | 125/1 |
| Mark Wilson | 125/1 |
| Morgan Hoffman | 125/1 |
| Retief Goosen | 125/1 |
| Sang Moon Bae | 125/1 |
| Spencer Levin | 125/1 |
| Andres Romero | 150/1 |
| Angel Cabrera | 150/1 |
| Brian Harman | 150/1 |
| Camilo Villegas | 150/1 |
| Charlie Wi | 150/1 |
| D.A. Points | 150/1 |
| Daniel Summerhays | 150/1 |
| David Hearn | 150/1 |
| David Lynn | 150/1 |
| Jason Bohn | 150/1 |
| John Huh | 150/1 |
| John Rollins | 150/1 |
| Jonas Blixt | 150/1 |
| Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 150/1 |
| Kyle Stanley | 150/1 |
| Russell Henley | 150/1 |
| Vijay Singh | 150/1 |
| Aaron Baddeley | 200/1 |
| Brian Davis | 200/1 |
| Carl Pettersson | 200/1 |
| David Lingmerth | 200/1 |
| David Toms | 200/1 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 200/1 |
| George Mcneill | 200/1 |
| Greg Chalmers | 200/1 |
| J.J. Henry | 200/1 |
| James Driscoll | 200/1 |
| James Hahn | 200/1 |
| Jonathan Byrd | 200/1 |
| Josh Teater | 200/1 |
| Justin Hicks | 200/1 |
| Ken Duke | 200/1 |
| Martin Flores | 200/1 |
| Michael Thompson | 200/1 |
| Scott Langley | 200/1 |
| Cameron Tringale | 250/1 |
| Charlie Beljan | 250/1 |
| John Mallinger | 250/1 |
| Lucas Glover | 250/1 |
| Ricky Barnes | 250/1 |
| Robert Allenby | 250/1 |
| Tommy Gainey | 250/1 |
| William Mcgirt | 250/1 |
| Ben Curtis | 300/1 |
| D.H. Lee | 300/1 |
| Erik Compton | 300/1 |
| Jeff Maggert | 300/1 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | 300/1 |
| Nicholas Thompson | 300/1 |
| Ted Potter Jr. | 300/1 |
| Woody Austin | 300/1 |
| Joe Ogilvie | 400/1 |
| Kevin Tway | 400/1 |
| Kris Blanks | 400/1 |
| Richard Lee | 400/1 |
| Stephen Ames | 400/1 |
| Steven Bowditch | 400/1 |
| Tim Herron | 400/1 |
| Fred Funk | 500/1 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 500/1 |
| Mike Weir | 500/1 |
| Paul Goydos | 500/1 |
| Scott Verplank | 500/1 |
| Derek Ernst | 750/1 |
| Dudley Hart | 750/1 |
| Joey Snyder III | 750/1 |
| Paul Trittler | 1000/1 |
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