Waste Management Phoenix Open Matchup Bets
The Waste Manage Phoenix Open, one of the most fun tournaments on the PGA Tour's schedule, is here and we have all the information you need to place your bets. You can find my full betting preview here, you can find my favorite long shot picks here, and Cody Williams of FanSided has even given out his best picks for DFS, for all of you daily fantasy players out there.
In this article, we're going to focus on tournament-long matchup bets. For these to cash, the golfer you bet on has to finish higher on the leaderboard than the player he's matched up against. Note that these bets are for the entire tournament, not just one round.
All odds listed are via WynnBET Sportsbook.
Waste Management Phoenix Open Matchup Bets
- Justin Thomas +140 vs. Jon Rahm
- Hideki Matsuyama -130 vs. Scottie Scheffler
- Sam Burns +110 vs. Daniel Berger
Justin Thomas +140 vs. Jon Rahm
There's no doubt that the No. 1 golfer in the world, Rahm, should be favored in this matchup, but having Justin Thomas set as the +140 (!!) underdog is completely insane and mis-priced, in my opinion. Just look at how Thomas has performed at this tournament over the past four years.
Justin Thomas ranks at @WMPhoenixOpen last 4 years (min. 10 rounds played)
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) February 7, 2022
Score to par: 1st
Birdies or better: 1st
Strokes gained approach: 1st
Strokes gained total: 1st
Yeah, I'd say JT is worth a shot at +140.
Hideki Matsuyama -130 vs. Scottie Scheffler
I truly think we might see the best Hideki Matsuyama we've ever seen this year. He already has two wins under his belt this season and now heads to a course where he's won twice already and fared well at throughout his career.
Hideki Matsuyama has averaged 1.44 strokes gained approach per round in his career at TPC Scottsdale.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) February 7, 2022
Since 2004, that's the 2nd best SG approach average of any player at any single course with 25+ rounds played.
Tiger Woods averaged 1.58 per round at TPC Boston.
Scheffler finished 7th here last season, but missed the cut in 2020. He doesn't have the course experience that Matsuyama does, so I'm willing to lay the -140 (bet $140 to profit $100) juice on Hideki this week.
Sam Burns +110 vs. Daniel Berger
I already listed Sam Burns as one of my outright picks for this week, but I also like him at +110 against Daniel Berger, who withdrew from last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am due to a back injury. I will be staying away from betting on Berger until he can show that he's feeling healthy and fit to compete. Meanwhile, Burns continues to be underrated and I think he's set for a big week at TPC Scottsdale.
Iain's Golf betting record in 2022 is 15-36-2 (-1.28 units). You can find his detailed betting record here.