The first of the PGA Tour’s highly anticipated elevated events is the WM Phoenix Open – a tournament that barely needs any more hype to get fans and players alike excited.
Indeed, it was during this tournament at TPC Scottsdale last year where Joel Dahmen (who returns this year) and Harry Higgs (who doesn't) got caught in the moment and went topless on the famous par 3 16th green as bottles and cans rained down around them.
While there is a genius attempt by the PGA Tour to ensure that, this year, beer throwing doesn't happen, it is highly likely that the atmosphere will be electric again regardless, particularly given the enormous $20m purse on offer – over double last year’s $8.2m - and a field packed with some of the world’s best players.
No fewer than eight of the world’s top 10 play this week - Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick. Two of those players, Scheffler and Cantlay, battled it out for the title last year in a playoff, with Scheffler eventually emerging victorious in an epic for his first win on the PGA Tour.
That was the culmination of an incredible four days of action that also saw two aces at the 16h, from Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz. Ryder is back this year, no doubt hoping to repeat the achievement while building on his tie for fourth in his most recent appearance, the Farmers Insurance Open. Ortiz doesn't get the chance to do it all over again, though, as he now plays for LIV Golf.
Another less celebrated player, rookie Sahith Theegala, also had a say in how last year's tournament played out, pushing Cantlay and Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard before faltering towards the end, leaving him in a three-way tie for third with Brooks Koepka and Schauffele. While Theegala returns this year, like Ortiz, Koepka is absent due to his involvement with the PGA Tour's rival.
The tournament is McIlroy’s first start on the PGA Tour since winning the CJ Cup at Congaree last October. However, it's less than two weeks since he last experienced victory, on the DP World Tour in the Dubai Desert Classic. He will be confident of following that up with another win this week, but will surely face pressure from the likes of Rahm, who has four wins from his last seven tournaments and is a Scottsdale resident and Arizona State graduate.
The talent doesn’t end there with a further 10 of the world’s top 20, including Hideki Matsuyama, who won back-to-back WM Phoenix Open titles in 2016 and 2017. Other former winners in the field include 2020 winner Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler, who won the year before, and 2018 victor Gary Woodland.
The winner will earn an incredible $3.6m, with 2.18m awarded to the runner-up.
Below is the full prize breakdown and field for the WM Phoenix Open.
Phoenix Open Prize Money 2023
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1st | $3,600,000 |
| 2nd | $2,180,000 |
| 3rd | $1,380,000 |
| 4th | $980,000 |
| 5th | $820,000 |
| 6th | $725,000 |
| 7th | $675,000 |
| 8th | $625,000 |
| 9th | $585,000 |
| 10th | $545,000 |
| 11th | $505,000 |
| 12th | $465,000 |
| 13th | $425,000 |
| 14th | $385,000 |
| 15th | $365,000 |
| 16th | $345,000 |
| 17th | $325,000 |
| 18th | $305,000 |
| 19th | $285,000 |
| 20th | $265,000 |
| 21st | $245,000 |
| 22nd | $225,000 |
| 23rd | $209,000 |
| 24th | $193,000 |
| 25th | $177,000 |
| 26th | $161,000 |
| 27th | $155,000 |
| 28th | $149,000 |
| 29th | $143,000 |
| 30th | $137,000 |
| 31st | $131,000 |
| 32nd | $125,000 |
| 33rd | $119,000 |
| 34th | $114,000 |
| 35th | $109,000 |
| 36th | $104,000 |
| 37th | $99,000 |
| 38th | $95,000 |
| 39th | $91,000 |
| 40th | $87,000 |
| 41st | $83,000 |
| 42nd | $79,000 |
| 43rd | $75,000 |
| 44th | $71,000 |
| 45th | $67,000 |
| 46th | $63,000 |
| 47th | $59,000 |
| 48th | $55,800 |
| 49th | $53,000 |
| 50th | $51,400 |
| 51st | $50,200 |
| 52nd | $49,000 |
| 53rd | 448,200 |
| 54th | $47,400 |
| 55th | $47,000 |
| 56th | $46,600 |
| 57th | $46,200 |
| 58th | $45,800 |
| 59th | $45,400 |
| 60th | $45,000 |
| 61st | $44,600 |
| 62nd | $44,000 |
| 63rd | $43,800 |
| 64th | $43,400 |
| 65th | $43,000 |
Phoenix Open Field 2023
- Barnes, Ricky
- Bezuidenhout, Christiaan
- Bradley, Keegan
- Brehm, Ryan
- Buckley, Hayden
- Burns, Sam
- Cantlay, Patrick
- Champ, Cameron
- Cink, Stewart
- Clark, Wyndham
- Conners, Corey
- Dahmen, Joel
- Day, Jason
- Dufner, Jason
- Duncan, Tyler
- English, Harris
- Finau, Tony
- Fitzpatrick, Matt
- Fleetwood, Tommy
- Fowler, Rickie
- Frittelli, Dylan
- Gay, Brian
- Ghim, Doug
- Glover, Lucas
- Grillo, Emiliano
- Hadley, Chesson
- Hadwin, Adam
- Hahn, James
- Harman, Brian
- Hatton, Tyrrell
- Henley, Russell
- Herbert, Lucas
- Herman, Jim
- Hickok, Kramer
- Higgo, Garrick
- Hodges, Lee
- Hoffman, Charley
- Hoge, Tom
- Holmes, J.B.
- Homa, Max
- Hopper, Michael
- Horschel, Billy
- Hossler, Beau
- Hovland, Viktor
- Hubbard, Mark
- Hughes, Mackenzie
- Im, Sungjae
- Jaeger, Stephan
- Johnson, Zach
- Kim, Si Woo
- Kim, Tom
- Kirk, Chris
- Kisner, Kevin
- Kitayama, Kurt
- Kizzire, Patton
- Knox, Russell
- Kraft, Kelly
- Kuchar, Matt
- Laird, Martin
- Landry, Andrew
- Lashley, Nate
- Lee, Danny
- Lee, K.H.
- Lipsky, David
- List, Luke
- Long, Adam
- Lower, Justin
- Lowry, Shane
- Malnati, Peter
- Matsuyama, Hideki
- McCarthy, Denny
- McGreevy, Max
- McIlroy, Rory
- McNealy, Maverick
- Merritt, Troy
- Metzger, Andre
- Mitchell, Keith
- Molinari, Francesco
- Montgomery, Taylor
- Moore, Ryan
- Moore, Taylor
- Morikawa, Collin
- Mullinax, Trey
- NeSmith, Matthew
- Noren, Alex
- Palmer, Ryan
- Pendrith, Taylor
- Piercy, Scott
- Poston, J.T.
- Power, Seamus
- Putnam, Andrew
- Rahm, Jon
- Rai, Aaron
- Ramey, Chad
- Reavie, Chez
- Redman, Doc
- Riley, Davis
- Rodgers, Patrick
- Ryder, Sam
- Sabbatini, Rory
- Schauffele, Xander
- Scheffler, Scottie
- Schenk, Adam
- Schwab, Matthias
- Sigg, Greyson
- Simpson, Webb
- Smotherman, Austin
- Spaun, J.J.
- Spieth, Jordan
- Stallings, Scott
- Steele, Brendan
- Streb, Robert
- Streelman, Kevin
- Svensson, Adam
- Tarren, Callum
- Taylor, Nick
- Theegala, Sahith
- Thomas, Justin
- Thompson, Davis
- Thompson, Michael
- Todd, Brendon
- Tway, Kevin
- Van Rooyen, Erik
- Vegas, Jhonattan
- Walker, Jimmy
- Wallace, Matt
- Ward, Dalton
- Watney, Nick
- Werenski, Richy
- White, Brett
- Wise, Aaron
- Woodland, Gary
- Wu, Brandon
- Young, Cameron
What Is Special About The Phoenix Open?
Aside from the greatly increased purse and talent-packed field now guaranteed thanks to its elevated status, the WM Phoenix Open is also known for its incredible atmosphere provided by the huge number of fans who attend. Most famously, the 16th hole - the Coliseum - is known for being particularly raucous.
Who Is Favourite To Win The Phoenix Open?
The bookies favour either Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm to win the 2023 Phoenix Open. However, Collin Morikawa and Tom Kim lead the way in the public betting.
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