WM Phoenix Open Expert Picks and Prop Bets: Top 20 Picks and More

WM Phoenix Open Expert Picks and Prop Bets: Top 20 Picks and More

We drew a blank last week at Pebble Beach, despite Nick Taylor having a two-shot advantage over Taylor Pendrith going into the final round. Pendrith was a strong fancy of mine at Torrey Pines, so to see him show up on a course that doesn't suit his skillset nearly as much, definitely stings. He shot the joint-best round of the day (64) to beat Nick Taylor by four shots for Top Canadian. Elsewhere, Justin Suh withdrew early in round 1 and Erik Van Rooyen failed to show up. We move swiftly on to the Phoenix Open, which is easily one of the stand-out events in the golfing calendar. The atmosphere is always electric and the field is stacked with the best players in the world. It's guaranteed entertainment in the desert at TPC Scottsdale. Below, I've targeted a player in the top South African category along with a couple of top 20 selections.

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Waste Management Time and Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date - Thursday, February 9th - Sunday, February 12th, 2023
• Opening Tee Time - Yet to be announced
• Where - TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona
• Where to Watch - Golf Channel, CBS, ESPN+

Click here for PGA odds

WM Phoenix Open Picks

Taylor Montgomery Top 20 (+225) Bet $100 to collect $325 Get the best odds at BetRivers, click here to bet

Since graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour, Taylor Montgomery has yet to miss a cut from his 10 starts. Quite often we see players struggle with the step up but Taylor has excelled, finishing inside the top 20 on eight occasions. The level of consistency is impressive and can't go unnoticed. It's fair to say a lot of his success has come down to his magic with the flat stick. He has gained strokes on the green in eight of his ten appearances this season. The two times he hasn't was the Houston Open and The Farmers Insurance Open. These were also the two events he finished outside the top 20. The last time we saw him was at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Taylor got off to a good start but closed with two rounds of 75 to finish 31st. It was his worst-putting display of the season. Looking at the statistics it's fairly obvious he relies heavily on his short game to get results. It's not just the putter; his game around the green is also very tidy. If those two parts of his game aren't firing, he's likely to have a bad week. He's strong off the tee but his irons have been poor. He hasn't finished inside the top 26 for approach all season.

Taylor has his style and it's working for him at the moment; as the saying goes, 'There's more than one way to skin a cat'. I've bet Taylor already this year at the Shriners Children Open at TPC Summerlin. A similar type of test that we'll see this week at the Phoenix Open. He finished a respectable T15th that week and I'm backing him again for similar reasons. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Taylor is very accustomed to desert golf. He's a member at Shadow Creek, where he recently broke the course record. He shot a round of 60 and apparently it should've been even better. This, along with TPC Summerlin, is two courses that bare some resemblance to TPC Scottsdale and he's shown to be comfortable playing at both. More recently, Taylor finished fifth in the Californian desert at the AmEx. Despite not playing at this event before, a lot suggests he's going to enjoy this test of golf in Arizona. We nearly had a debutant win here last year with Cantlay and Theegala, so it doesn't bother me too much that he hasn't competed here. Taylor bounced back well from when he lost strokes putting at the Houston Open; I'm expecting him to do the same this week.

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Rickie Fowler Top 20 (+250) Bet $100 to collect $250 Get the best odds at DraftKings, click here to bet

Rickie Fowler has shown some encouraging signs of late and is rounding into form just in time for one of his favorite events. There aren't many players in the field that boast a better record at TPC Scottsdale. His 2019 victory was the pinnacle of a course record, that also shows two seconds and a fourth. It was actually the last time he won an event, so it would be quite fitting if his comeback win were to arrive here. We last saw Rickie at the Farmers Insurance Open where he finished T11th. He hit his irons superbly, ranking out ninth on approach; it's the best he's hit them since the USPGA back in 2021. Reunited with coach Butch Harmon, he's certainly turned a corner this season missing just one cut from his last six starts. He contended at the ZOZO Championship finishing runner-up to Keegan Bradley; he also finished a respectable T6th at the Fortinet. I'm optimistic Rickie can keep the momentum going this week at the Phoenix Open. His game is looking in great shape and if a big performance were to come anywhere it would be TPC Scottsdale.

Garrick Higgo Top South African (+230) Bet $100 to collect $330 Get the best odds at FanDuel, click here to bet

Revisiting the top South African market, we had no luck last week with Erik Van Rooyen despite a convincing case. Garrick Higgo looks like the pick of the bunch this time around. Garrick missed three consecutive cuts to close out 2022 but has started the new year in much better form. In his last three starts, he has recorded an 11th-place finish at the AmEx, 53rd at Torrey Pines, and 20th last week at Pebble Beach. Garrick finished T21st on his debut at TPC Scottsdale last year and clearly took a liking to the course and the atmosphere. He shot an impressive third round of 64 to move up to 12th place going into the final round. Like Montgomery, he played his college golf in Las Vegas, meaning he's more than comfortable playing golf in the desert. He's the type of personality that will welcome the party atmosphere that TPC Scottsdale brings this week. Looking at his opponents in this market we have Christiaan Bezuidenhout as the favorite.

The last time we saw him was at Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago, where he finished T11th along with Higgo. He's yet to play at this event and I don't think TPC Scottsdale is a good course fit for him on paper. I'm simply speculating at this point but I've always found Christiaan a little quiet and shy, so it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to the fans' relentless noise this week. Moving onto last week's selection; Erik Van Rooyen who performed excellently at the AmEx but poorly at Pebble Beach played here once before back in 2021 but missed the cut. Struggling for consistency it's tough to know what to expect from him. Then we have Dylan Frittelli who looks truly out of sorts at the moment. He's played at this event three times before missing the cut twice with his best finish of 63rd coming on his debut. I'm convinced Garrick Higgo is the man to beat in this market.

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