Waste Management Phoenix Open betting tips
The details
Venue: TPC Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Date: January 31-February 3, 2019
Course stats: Par 71, 7,261 yards
Course summary: There are 17 other holes, of course, but the only one anyone talks about is the par 3 16th. The Coliseum, as it is known, will once again be packed with fans all week – booing and cheering ever louder as the drinks flow and the players pass through.
Purse: $7.1 million
Defending champion: Gary Woodland (-18, beat Chez Reavie at the first playoff hole)
Weather forecast: Overcast and cool on Thursday with some chances of rain on Saturday.
TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf (featured groups) 2.30pm, and 8pm
Friday: Sky Sports Golf (featured groups) 2.30pm, and 8pm
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf, 6pm.
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf, 6pm.
Waste Management Phoenix Open betting tips: Each-way tips
Brendan Steele hasn’t had too much to shout about this year, having finished well down the field at the Desert Classic and missing the cut last week.
But at 100/1 he’s difficult to ignore in the each-way stakes simply because he seems to enjoy TPC Scottsdale so much.
Third last year, his worst performance since 2012 is 26th. He’s got three other top 10s and two tops 20s to remember and probably has to be on a staking plan – even if it’s just for small amounts.
Carrying on the theme of players who haven’t done much recently but love it in Arizona is Martin Laird at 90/1.
The Scotsman missed the cut at the Desert Classic and was 43rd at the Farmers Insurance Open.
That said, although he finished with a 75, he also shot 66 and 69 on Friday and Saturday and began the previous week with a 65 before fading away.
So there is some decent stuff there and if there is a place where he can bring that all together in four consistent days then it’s TPC Scottsdale.
Ninth in 2018 and seventh the year before, he’s also been fifth and third.
Bubba Watson was 40th at Phoenix last year but is a transformed player since – going on to win three times on the PGA Tour in 2018 and make the Ryder Cup team.
He’s not had the greatest start to this year, just about propping up the field at the Tournament of Champions before missing the cut at the Sony Open.
If you can get over that, the 50/1 on a player who was a runner-up back to back at this tournament in 2014 and 2015 might find some favour.
That’s who Steve believes might creep into the each-way money but who is in the frame to take top honours? Turn the page to find out…
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
