Matthew Coritz

All the talk this past week leading up to the Waste Management Phoenix Open was about answering one question. Who is the number one golfer in the world? Is it Jon Rahm whose name seems inevitable to pop up on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday? Or is it the man with all the tools, making his calendar year debut, Rory McIlroy? Doing his best Roy Jones Jr. impression, Scottie Scheffler came into this week to prove that y’all must have forgot. Rahm put up a good fight but McIlroy not so much, with his debut going more like the Nike polos with the off-center logo they put him in this week, not great. Let’s not forget, Scottie is the one coming off of winning the Jack Nicklaus award for Player of the Year with four wins highlighted by the Masters, and retained that number one ranking for the majority of 2022. It’s surprising he did not come in with more hype considering he was the defending champion. He simply took care of business, winning handily to join an exclusive list of back-to-back winners at the Phoenix Open that includes Hideki Matsuyama, Ben Hogan, and Arnold Palmer. Major champions only on that list it seems. 

Scheffler was in control all weekend, despite a great Sunday showing from cinderella Nick Taylor. The stage was set for a Sunday heavyweight battle between the aforementioned Rahm and Scheffler, but it was Taylor who stepped up to the plate and gave Scheffler a run. While not a household name, Taylor is still a proven winner on Tour who played nothing like his number 223 world ranking coming into the week. After a birdie on number 10, Taylor reached -5 on the day and had pulled even with Scheffler with 8 holes to play. They were even on the scorecard at the time, but knowing they had not yet entered the raucous stretch from the 16th to 18th holes, Scheffler seemed to have the advantage with his pedigree in the biggest moments.

Speaking of the 16th, man did it live up to the hype. The fully enclosed, arena-like atmosphere was a blast all week and it had it all – from the few shots that arguably decided the tournament to a streaker belly-flopping and swimming out to the floating WM logo. Don’t sleep on 17 either. There is nothing better than a hazardous, risk-reward short par 4 with so much on the line. When the final group came through 16, Scheffler was up by one on Taylor with Rahm lagging a few strokes behind. When all three players in the group missed the green long left, it turned into an up-and-down competition with 20,000 plus drunken fans roaring and jumping out of their seats. With Scheffler up against the grandstand and Taylor only just off the back of the green, it seemed like Taylor held the advantage. His advantage seemed to increase when Scheffler punched his chip fifteen feet by the hole, while Taylor’s came to rest inside of ten. That is when the clutch gene kicked in and Scheffler sweetly rolled in his par putt with a fist pump as beers flew behind him. Taylor blocked his right, completing the big two-shot swing. Scheffler went on to execute brilliantly on 18, driving it up the right side to avoid the water left, pitching it up, and canning the ten-footer for birdie to take a three-shot advantage to the last. He closed it out on 18 with a par. With the win, Scheffler also officially regained his perch atop the OWGR. The final stretch provided great action for the many thousands at the aptly named Stadium course at TPC Scottsdale. This tournament is essential to the growth of the game for the masses, providing both the highest quality golf and the highest quality party. As Colt Knost said on the broadcast, “We’ve got a loaded leaderboard and a loaded gallery.” I don’t think I could sum it up any better. 

The first (real) elevated event rocked. The Sentry Tournament of Champions was technically the first, but it was a limited field, so this week was the first peek at the next generation of the PGA Tour experience. First of all, there was a ton of money being thrown around, just take a look at the check Scheffler got. Additionally, Nick Taylor is a two-time winner on Tour yet this second-place finish was his best payday yet, cashing in a whopping 2.18 million dollars. From a quality of tournament perspective, I thought it was an absolute success. We got to see the best golfers on the planet, playing in front of the biggest crowds golf has to offer. If this is any indicator of how they’ll go in the future, keep me signed up. One thing I do have to say is that I will be disappointed if they limit the field of the elevated events next season which is the rumor right now. It’s great to see the stars duke it out, but it’s just as fun to see the Nick Taylors right alongside them. On another front, it was great to see some names finding their way back to the top of the leaderboard, highlighted by Rickie Fowler and Jason Day. What an ace from Rickie on 7! An absolutely butter 6 iron that never left the pin and rolled in like a putt. The swing tweaks have looked great and if he can roll the ball well hopefully Rickie can find his way back into the winner’s circle this season. Speaking of names we are used to seeing– TIGER IS BACK! Riviera is one of my favorite courses on Tour, and the Genesis Invitational next week is going to be a can’t-miss event because the Big Cat is in the field!