Following a fantastic week at Pebble Beach that saw Rory McIlroy pocket $3.6 million with a two-stroke victory over Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry, the PGA Tour now heads to the desert for the biggest party in golf , also known as the WM Phoenix Open. While McIlroy won't be in the 132-man field this week, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale will play host to 15 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking , a list headlined by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who made his 2025 debut last week at Pebble and played well, tying for ninth. As difficult as it may be to believe, it was just three years ago at this very event that Scheffler won his first PGA Tour event, a victory that served as the catalyst for his ascent to the top of the world rankings. Scheffler also won this tourney in 2023 and tied for third here a season ago, so he's clearly the betting favorite heading into Thursday's opening round. Joining him from the OWGR top five at TPC Scottsdale is fifth-ranked Hideki Matsuyama, who is also a two-time winner of this event. And also like Scheffler, he went back-to-back, taking the title in 2016 and 2017. Last year's champion, Nick Taylor, who finished second to Scheffler in 2023, is also in the field this week to defend his title.
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