2024 WM Phoenix Open: Elusive three-peat in sight with Scottie Scheffler’s dominance at TPC Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – Scotty Scheffler from Scottsdale, Arizona and Scotty Scheffler are getting along great. A loud, boisterous and in your face is like a puppy howling for attention. The other is mental, keeps doing his work without much emotion. Certainly there are similarities – they both start with the same five letters – but in the Venn diagram it serves as the beginning and end of their shared circle.

This week, at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler will attempt to become the 10th man in PGA Tour history to successfully three-peat in a tournament. Of the nine players to accomplish the feat since World War II, seven have been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, along with names like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Billy Casper, Johnny Miller and Gene Littler. Is. Steve Stricker remains the last player to participate in the John Deere Classic from 2009–11.

Scheffler getting a chance to go back-to-back isn’t a surprise given his current form. He has been the best player in the world over the last two years and he deserved this opportunity. It could have come in Austin, Texas, or Orlando, Florida, had his near-defense been redeemed, but instead it comes to Scottsdale where a love affair between player and course has emerged when you inspect it further. If so, it makes more sense.

The desert oasis has always had a way of identifying great champions since its relocation in 1987; That year, Paul Azinger won the first Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Major champions and breakout stars have continued to hoist the trophy ever since. Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh dominated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with four wins between them.

The past 11 Phoenix Open champions are golf legends, including Scheffler, Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland and Rickie Fowler.

The list of players who have performed best at TPC Scottsdale over the years mirrors a major championship leaderboard. In fact, 12 majors have been won between the eight best stroke-gained players at TPC Scottsdale, including numerous runner-up and podium finishes.

Most strokes gained at TPC Scottsdale (minimum 10 rounds)

TPC Scottsdale rewards two types of golfers: those who can hold their nerve and those who thrive as ball-strikers – areas that have been heavily tested in the major championship environment where Scheffler has played the past two years. I have isolated myself.

“Ball-striking is important around this golf course. Dealing with fans is also important,” Scheffler said. “It’s a little different than a lot of the tournaments we play. It offers some fun things but also some challenges with noise and other things. It’s just things you have to deal with on the course, but it It was definitely a lot of fun to play in this event.

“It’s not as much fun to get blown up, but it’s fun to cheer loudly when you do something good. But you also have to pay the price when you hit a bad shot. So many people It’s definitely fun to play up front.”

The greens at TPC Scottsdale are larger, but the targets are smaller, favoring iron players who can reach protected pins. While the par-3 16th gets all the headlines, it’s just one hole in the fireworks, prompting a final stretch that includes the risk-reward par-5 15th and the always dangerous, yet playable, par-4 17th . This can result in an eagle-birdie-eagle sprint to the finish line (Carlos Ortiz once went 1-2 on 16 and 17), but it can also spell disaster as Sahith Thegala learned in 2022 .

This most important part of the golf course is where golfers’ nerve and ball-striking are simultaneously tested. They have to decide between hitting a golf shot Know They can kill and golf shot them Needed Hit, everyone held their breath while executing said shot down the necks of the well-served Scottsdale faithful.

For Scheffler, that hasn’t been a problem. Over the last 12 months, he ranks first in total strokes gained, first in strokes gained off the tee and first in strokes gained approach.

The statistics support his ball-striking talent, and although there is no set mechanism for measuring his decision-making ability, most would argue that he ranks first there as well.