Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview 2020

2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview

See the Phoenix Open Winners going back to 1932

• Dates: January 27 – February 2, 2020
• Where: Scottsdale, Arizona
• Course: TPC Scottsdale (71/7,261)
• Field size: 132
• 2019 champion: Rickie Fowler
• Purse: $7,300,000 ($1,314,000/winner
• FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
• Format: 72-hole stroke play

Waste Management Phoenix Open Notes

• FedExCup leader Justin Thomas seeks third win of the season; holds the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings for the 30^th week of his career
• Rickie Fowler attempts to become the third player since 1970 to successfully defend Waste Management Phoenix Open title
• Following his solo-second at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, Arizona State grad and World No. 3 Jon Rahm returns for a fifth start at the event and has never finished worse than T16
• 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion and 2019 U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland returns and re-unites with Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette
• There have been three playoffs at the Waste Management Phoenix Open since the start of the 2015-16 season, tied for the most of any tournament in that span
• Waste Management Phoenix Open surpassed $100 million in all-time charitable giving in 2015, making it the third PGA TOUR event to achieve the historic milestone (AT&T Byron Nelson, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
• The tournament has done something no other sporting event, municipality or company in the world has ever done – Zero Waste – for seven straight years.

Reviewing The 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Pos	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Rickie Fowler	64	65	64	74	267 (-17)
2	Branden Grace	67	64	69	69	269 (-15)
3	Justin Thomas	64	66	68	72	270 (-14)
T4	Chez Reavie	71	69	64	68	272 (-12)
T4	Bubba Watson	66	67	68	71	272 (-12)
T4	Matt Kuchar	67	65	65	75	272 (-12)

• Rickie Fowler’s fifth win on the PGA TOUR and first since 2017 The Honda Classic
• Fowler’s final-round 74 was the highest finish by a winner of a non-major since the 2014 Valero Texas Open (Steven Bowditch/76)
• Fowler became the first player on record (since 1983) to win with both a double bogey and a triple bogey in the final round (double/par-4 fifth, triple/par-4 11^th)
• One of five top-three finishes for Justin Thomas on the season who went on to finish third in the FedExCup standings

Gary Woodland re-unites with Amy Bockerstette

• During the pro-am at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open, Gary Woodland surprised then-20-year-old Amy Bockerstette, a Special Olympian with Down Syndrome, to play the par-3 16^th hole with him in the pro-am
• Following her hybrid to a greenside bunker, Bockerstette hit a shot to 12 feet and made the putt for par
• The entire event, in a piece produced by the PGA TOUR, went viral with more than 44 million views on TOUR platforms and resulted in extensive, year-long media coverage
• Bockerstette returns this week to be re-united with Woodland on Wednesday, January 29

Field notes

• 21 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, including No. 1 Justin Thomas
• 91 winners combining for 258 total victories, making it the fourth field since 2010 (excluding THE PLAYERS Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs) with more than 90 winners (2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open)
• Nine major championship winners combining for 13 major victories, led by Jordan Spieth (3)
• Six past champions of the Waste Management Phoenix Open: J.B. Holmes (2006), Kyle Stanley (2012), Kevin Stadler (2014), Hideki Matsuyama (2016, 2017), Gary Woodland (2018), Rickie Fowler (2019)
• Seven winners in the 2019-20 FedExCup season on the PGA TOUR (eight wins): Sebastian Munoz, Kevin Na, Lanto Griffin, Justin Thomas (2), Tyler Duncan, Cameron Smith, Andrew Landry

The Waste Management Phoenix Open and the FedExCup

• 16^th event of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season
• 10 of the 13 winners of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in the FedExCup era have gone on to qualify for the TOUR Championship: Aaron Baddeley (2007), Kenny Perry (2009), Hunter Mahan (2010), Mark Wilson (2011), Phil Mickelson (2013), Brooks Koepka (2015), Hideki Matsuyama (2016, 2017), Gary Woodland (2018) and Rickie Fowler (2019)
• Four of the 11 different FedExCup champions are in the field: Brandt Snedeker (2012), Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Justin Thomas (2017)

Current FedExCup standings

The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program and be well-positioned entering the FedExCup Playoffs

Position	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Points Behind	Starts	Projected Bonus
1	Justin Thomas	1,162	2	3	—	5	$2 million
2	Brendon Todd	1,041	2	3	121	11	$1.5 million
3	Sebastián Muñoz	904	1	3	258	11	$1.2 million
4	Lanto Griffin	887	1	2	275	11	$1.1 million
5	Rory McIlroy	875	1	3	287	3	$1 million
6	Cameron Smith	744	1	2	418	7	$850,000
7	Marc Leishman	734	1	2	428	6	$700,000
8	Cameron Champ	722	1	1	440	8	$600,000
9	Sungjae Im	719	—	3	443	9	$550,000
10	Joaquin Niemann	704	1	2	458	9	$500,000

Player Notes

Rickie Fowler

• With a win, would become third player since 1970 and seventh overall to successfully defend Waste Management Phoenix Open title; six to accomplish the feat (World Golf Hall of Fame member = *): Ben Hogan* (1946, 1947), Jimmy DeMaret* (1949, 1950), Lloyd Mangrum* (1952, 1953), Arnold Palmer* (1961, 1962, 1963), Johnny Miller* (1974, 1975) and Hideki Matsuyama (2016, 2017)
• Two top-10s in three starts on the season (T5/Sentry Tournament of Champions, T10/The American Express)
• Member of the United States Team at the 2019 Presidents Cup, his third appearance in the event

Justin Thomas

• Enters at No. 1 in the FedExCup and No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Holds the top spot in the FedExCup standings for the 30^th week in his career, becoming the fourth player to reach that milestone (Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker, Dustin Johnson, Thomas)
• Making his sixth start in the event (T17/2015, MC/2016, MC/2017, T17/2018, 3^rd/2019)
• Held a share of the lead after the first round of the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open (64) en route to a solo-third
• In five starts on the season, has collected two wins, his 11^th and 12^th on the PGA TOUR: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions
• Winningest PGA TOUR player under the age of 30 (12)

Gary Woodland

• 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion
• Making 11^th start in the event and 10^th consecutive; other top-10 finishes at TPC Scottsdale: T5/2011, T7/2019
• Most recent of four PGA TOUR titles came at the 2019 U.S. Open
• Three top-10s during the 2019-20 season: T3/THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, 5^th/ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, T7/Sentry Tournament of Champions

Jon Rahm

• Highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Finished 10^th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and solo-second at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open in his two starts this season
• Four-time All-American at Arizona State and only player to win multiple Ben Hogan Awards (2015 and 2016), given to the NCAA’s top collegiate male golfer
• Finished no worse than T16 in four prior starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (T5/2015/Amateur, T16/2017, T11/2018, T10/2019)

Xander Schauffele

• Making his third start in the Waste Management Phoenix Open (T17/2018, T10/2019)
• 0-2 in playoffs during the 2019-20 season with both runner-up results coming in title defenses (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Sentry Tournament of Champions)
• Seeks his fifth PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions
• Member of the victorious United States Team at the 2019 Presidents Cup

Hideki Matsuyama

• Two-time champion
• Making his seventh start in the Waste Management Phoenix Open
• Has played even-par or better in each of his 21 career rounds at TPC Scottsdale (only round not under par: 71/R2/2015)

Sungjae Im

• 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year
• Is the only player in the top 10 of the FedExCup standings without a victory this season (No. 9)
• Owns 10 top-10s in 46 career starts on TOUR