2022 Waste Management Open Buys & Picks: Viktor Hovland & Jordan Spieth Among 3 Players to Watch

2022 Waste Management Open Buys & Picks: Viktor Hovland & Jordan Spieth Among 3 Players to Watch article feature image
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Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images. Pictured: Viktor Hovland

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PlayerOdds
Jon Rahm+750
Justin Thomas+1200
Viktor Hovland+1400
Hideki Matsuyama+1600
Jordan Spieth+1600
Patrick Cantlay+1600
Xander Schauffele+2000
Brooks Koepka+2700
Scottie Scheffler+2900
Daniel Berger+3100
Tony Finau+3300
Sam Burns+3300
Webb Simpson+3400
Louis Oosthuizen+4100
Bubba Watson+4100
Seamus Power+4100
Matthew Fitzpatrick+4100
Abraham Ancer+5000
Corey Conners+5000
Talor Gooch+5000
Adam Scott+5000
Harold Varner III+5000
Russell Henley+5000
Luke List+5500
Tom Hoge+5500
Maverick McNealy+5500
Harris English+5500
Billy Horschel+5500
Max Homa+6500
Rickie Fowler+7000
Francesco Molinari+8000
Pat Perez+8000
Kevin Kisner+8000
Matt Kuchar+8000
Branden Grace+9000
Andrew Putnam+9000
Joel Dahmen+9000
Gary Woodland+9000
Cameron Davis+10000
Keegan Bradley+10000
Keith Mitchell+10000
Lucas Herbert+10000
Aaron Wise+10000
Charles Howell III+12000
Martin Laird+12000
Troy Merritt+12000
Si Woo Kim+12000
K.H. Lee+12000
Brendan Steele+12000
Charley Hoffman+12000
Michael Thompson+12000
Nate Lashley+12000
Alex Noren+12000
Zach Johnson+12000
Brian Harman+12000
Russell Knox+12000
Kevin Streelman+12000
Stewart Cink+12000
Carlos Ortiz+12000
Wyndham Clark+12000
Chris Kirk+12000
Dylan Frittelli+12000
Adam Hadwin+12000
Matt Jones+12000
Denny McCarthy+12000
Mito Pereira+12000
Brendon Todd+12000
Beau Hossler+12000
Scott Stallings+15000
Chez Reavie+15000
Patton Kizzire+15000
Matt Wallace+15000
Sahith Theegala+15000
Lucas Glover+15000
Joseph Bramlett+15000
Hudson Swafford+15000
Patrick Rodgers+15000
Garrick Higgo+15000
Nick Taylor+15000
Matthew NeSmith+15000
Doug Ghim+15000
Brandt Snedeker+15000
Emiliano Grillo+15000
J.T. Poston+21000
Scott Piercy+21000
Harry Higgs+21000
James Hahn+21000
Adam Long+21000
Sepp Straka+21000
Henrik Norlander+27000
Kyle Stanley+27000
Kramer Hickok+27000
C.T. Pan+27000
Ryan Moore+27000
Sebastian Munoz+27000
Rory Sabbatini+32000
Austin Eckroat+32000
Hank Lebioda+32000
Roger Sloan+32000
Adam Schenk+32000
Sung-Hoon Kang+32000
Stephan Jaeger+32000
Kevin Tway+32000
Danny Lee+32000
Peter Malnati+32000
Sam Ryder+32000
Graeme McDowell+32000
Tyler McCumber+32000
Robert Streb+32000
Jimmy Walker+42000
Jason Dufner+42000
Kevin Chappell+42000
Bill Haas+42000
Nick Watney+42000
Brian Gay+42000
Chesson Hadley+42000
Wesley Bryan+42000
Brian Stuard+42000
Kelly Kraft+42000
Tyler Duncan+42000
Brice Garnett+42000
Brandon Hagy+42000
Anirban Lahiri+42000
Seung-Yul Noh+50000
Luke Donald+50000
William McGirt+50000
Craig Hocknull+50000
Martin Trainer+50000
Preston Summerhays+50000

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am provided a great finish for what is always a bit of a difficult tournament week from a spectator perspective.

Tom Hoge followed Luke List's lead in capturing his first win after 203 events played on TOUR. He was able to run down Jordan Spieth during the back stretch at Pebble Beach, with clutch birdies on 16 and 17 to cruise to a two-shot victory.

Now, we head to Arizona for Super Bowl weekend and the biggest party in golf at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

This week, for me, is always the kick start to an exciting part of the golf schedule, as some big events will quickly follow. It helps that many of the stars have decided to tee it up at TPC Scottsdale, as three of the top four players in the world are set to play, including Arizona State alum and World No. 1 Jon Rahm.

Viktor Hovland will also make his first appearance on TOUR since the Sentry TOC, and Patrick Cantlay will play for a third consecutive week.

This is always an exciting week of golf, as the stadium atmosphere at the 16th hole takes center stage. It's a week that is simply like none other during the golf year, as fans are encouraged to be rowdy rather than quiet down.

I love everything about this week, and hopefully we can find a winner as it comes together.

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Early Buys

Viktor Hovland

I could start this article with Rahm every week he's set to play. While this is another week where Rahm makes a ton of sense, I'll highlight another star ahead of the Phoenix Open.

Hovland has been every bit as good as any other player on the planet over the last 14 months. He has four worldwide wins during that timeframe, with two on the PGA Tour and two more on the newly-named DP World Tour.

Most recently, the Norwegian chased down and beat Rory McIlroy in the final round and defeated Richard Bland in a playoff.

Hovland will need to lean on that recent form this week, as he doesn't have much tournament history at this event. His only appearance in 2020 resulted in a missed cut, but it's hard to ding him for that as he's clearly a different player at this stage of this career.

He has climbed to No. 3 in the world, and while I expect his price to reflect that when odds are released on Monday, he has the skillset we want when shopping for a winner at TPC Scottsdale.

Jordan Spieth

There was a lot of questions about the game and health of Spieth heading into the week at Pebble Beach. He was notably sick during the Farmers, and really had not shown much form at the start of the year.

I identified the AT&T Pro-Am as my litmus test for him because if he didn't perform there, I thought it would be time to be concerned for his game.

Clearly, those concerns are gone after he put together back-to-back great rounds, which included one of his best rounds on approach of his entire career on Saturday.

Spieth gained 5.31 shots with his irons in the third round, and followed it up with a solid half stroke gained on approach on Sunday. While he wasn't able to close out the win, he really did everything I wanted to see, and simply got beat down the final stretch of holes.

Jordan will now head back to the site of an event where he was in the final group last year with Xander Schauffele. He would wind up tied for 4th, and post his second Top 10 in his last four trips to this tournament.

I think we will see a similar player show up once again. With the depth of the field, he may be worth a look if we get odds in the low to mid 20s to start the week.

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Bubba Watson

Watson and this time of year are always synonymous. He has consistently played well in this event, with four straight made cuts and two Top 4 finishes in his last three trips to Scottsdale before his favorite event next week at the Genesis.

Now, he has added another top finish to the season with a solo 2nd at the Saudi International over the weekend, which shows he has his game ready for the week.

Bubba is always in play at tracks that fit his eye. He has a unique way of playing golf with the dramatic shot shaping and unique lines he will take, which works best at certain courses.

TPC Scottsdale has definitely been identified as one of those courses, and with him in form, I will have an eye on his opening odds as he looks to capture his first win since 2018.

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