One of the most exciting and popular non-major events of the year is upon us. The ever-exciting WM Phoenix Open takes place this week in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the legendary TPC Scottsdale. This event is historically the best attended event in professional golf, with an average weekly attendance of over 500,000, and the legendary “Coliseum” hole is a large part of that. The party around the par-3 16th hole is legendary, and this year's iteration looks to be much of the same. Let’s break it down!

 

 

WM Phoenix Open 2025: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

The Phoenix Open has been a mainstay on tour since it was first held in 1932 as the Arizona Open. Often referred to as “The Greatest Show on Grass” thanks to its high attendance and legendary 16th hole, we’ve seen fairly consistent winning scores in recent history. Outside of a few outlier years, such as last year, the winning score often falls in the high teens, though good weather can certainly push that number over 20. This event is truly a party, with the largest attendance of any PGA Tour event year over year, with as many as 200,000 fans in attendance on a single day.

 

 

TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course): Course Breakdown This Week

Finally, after a handful of multi-course events, we get to break down just one course this week. That is none other than the classic venue of TPC Scottsdale. Since its opening in 1986, this course has hosted the Phoenix Open every year since. This course hasn’t changed much since its inception. Playing at 7,261 yards and a par of 71, we should see quite a fun weekend of golf. Unlike previous events which were mostly coastal, the desert atmosphere of this course limits the impact of weather. With projected temps of low 80s and almost no rain or wind this week, the course should play pretty straightforward.

At TPC Scottsdale, all 3 of the par 5’s play between 550 and 560 yards. All but one of the Par 4’s plays over 400 yards, with the longest coming in at 490. Lastly, the Par 3’s play between 160 and 192. Since this course has remained pretty consistent in terms of weather and layout over the years and is one of the bigger spectacles on tour, it comes in as the third most predictive course on tour. These yardage buckets are to be considered in our key stats. 

When looking at TPC Scottsdale, the statistics of importance vary compared to previous courses. While some of our classics remain such as Birdies or Better Gained and Bogey Avoidance, one of the key differences of Scottsdale is that putting statistics generally do not matter. The greens play very flat, and very true, so elite putting or green reading is not of much importance this week, but we still are weighing the importance of historical putting on Poa Trivialis greens. While putting doesn’t have major importance, scrambling does, as the dry and flat desert conditions require a different set of skills around the green which puts emphasis on Short Grass Scrambling. Additionally, both driving distance and driving accuracy will come into play this week so Total Driving will be my preferred off the tee stat. When looking at the approach game, as many as 70 percent of approach shots historically fall between 100 and 200 yards, with 40 or more percent coming from 150-200. 

Looking at the whole of this event, we will be able to create some unique lineups and take some shots on lower-priced guys who’ve historically played well here, and we do not have to be as afraid of bombers who struggle with the flat stick. While high-priced, multiple-time winners like Scottie will find themselves in many lineups, I believe that this week you do not need to worry about either paying up or fading these players.. 

 

 

WM Phoenix Open 2026 Field: Golf DFS

This week at TPC Scottsdale, we will see 123 golfers teeing it up, chasing their share of the $9,600,000 purse and 500 FedEx Cup points. We see a stronger field here than we have historically as well, with two-time winner Scottie Scheffler joined by J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, and Ben Griffin joining him from the top 10. There are former champions aplenty in the field as well, with Nick Taylor, Brooks Koepka, Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland, and Hideki Matsuyama in the field. There is no defending champion this week, as Thomas Detry is no longer playing on the PGA Tour. 

 

 

This Week’s PGA DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator

To enhance your daily fantasy golf selections and secure optimal PGA DFS values, it's advisable to utilize our PGA DFS optimizer and lineup generator. This optimizer serves as a valuable resource for daily fantasy golf enthusiasts aiming to develop effective lineups!

It provides projections, updates on player injuries, and a range of analytical insights to facilitate the lineup-building process. Essentially, it functions as a strategic advantage for participants in daily fantasy golf and makes their own PGA DFS picks!

PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2026 WM Phoenix Open (2-4 Overall, +3.85 Units)

  • Sahith Theegala Top 20 (+205)
  • Maverick McNealy Top 10 (+320)
  • One and Done Picks
    • Jake Knapp
    • Pierceson Coody
    • Keith Mitchell

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Si Woo Kim ($11,800 FanDuel/$9,900 DraftKings)

If there's anyone in golf who can beat Scottie right now, it might be Si Woo Kim. In his last 32 rounds, he's played 31 of them at par or better. He's leading the PGA Tour in SG: T2G over the last 6 months, and he's rattled off 5 straight top 12 finishes, and 10 straight top 21 finishes. If anyone can catch a heater and take this one home, my money's on Si Woo.

Cam Young ($11,400 FanDuel/$9,800 DraftKings)

Young is the 3rd highest ranked player in my model this week. Since his win at the Wyndham Championship, he's rattled off 6 straight top 22 or better finishes, including 4 top 10s in that stretch. He's one of the best drivers of the golf ball on driver heavy courses, is scoring at an elite rate, and is a top 20 player in the field on these Poa Trivialis greens. He's a great value compared to the price of Scottie this week.

Sam Burns ($11,100 FanDuel/$9,400 DraftKings)

Burns ranks 7th in my model, but his place here makes a ton of sense. While his overall driving stats don't represent how strong he can be off the tee, he does a great job of minimizing his misses, keeping it closer to the fairway which will be important here. Additionally, he's one of the best putters on these greens, and has strong scoring and approach numbers as well.

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Viktor Hovland ($10,800 FanDuel/$9,200 DraftKings)

Hovland may be lacking the historical success here, but he's also playing some great golf of late. He came 4th in my model this week, and that's largely due to the strength of approach game and putting on these greens. He presents a great value option, or just an option where you want a big name without paying big name prices. 

Maverick McNealy ($10,600 FanDuel/$9,100 DraftKings)

Mav is a perfect combination of strong play entering this event, and strong historical play at this venue. He's rattled off top 25 finishes in 5 of his last 6 starts overall, and has top 10 finishes in his last two starts here. He's been scoring well, and has no clear weakness while demonstrating some elite driving of late.

Jake Knapp ($9,800 FanDuel/$8,800 DraftKings)

Knapp is a repeat play for me after his performance last week at the Farmers. He's struggled here in the past, but his driver swing was off both of those weeks. He's rattled off 9 straight starts gaining multiple strokes off the tee, he putts extremely well on these greens, and has had elite approach weeks in his previous starts here. As long as his driver continues to work, he's going to perform very well here. 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Keith Mitchell ($9,300 FanDuel/$7,400 DraftKings)

If Mitchell can sink putts this week, he can win this thing. He's one of the most underrated drivers in the world, as he leads the tour in drives over 320 yards over his last 36 rounds. He scores well, especially on par 5s, and has scored well period over his last 36. He's got a ton of upside at value prices and I'm all over him this week. 

Kurt Kitayama ($8,900 FanDuel/$7,600 DraftKings)

We know the story on Kitayama at this point. He's an elite ball-striker and driver, he just can't putt. I'm willing to take a shot on those putts dropping this week. He's got enough upside that the risk is worth it at this price, given that his bad weeks with the putter aren't as bad as they used to be since he made the switch to a longer putter. 

Michael Brennan ($7,700 FanDuel/$6,800 DraftKings)

While he was unfortunately DQ'd last week, I think this venue fits his game so well I'm willing to go back to the well. Brennan has done nothing but score well on courses over the last year, regardless of what tour he's been playing on. He's an absolute masher, who not only hits it a mile, but also is top 5 in the field in distance from the edge of the fairway on his misses. As long as putts are dropping, he's got a real chance to win here. 

 

 

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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