Waste Management Phoenix Open

Odds to Win Tournament

Justin Thomas will be going for his third PGA TOUR victory of the year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Thursday. Thomas has shocked the world with his start to the year, as he won both the SBS Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier in January. Thomas skipped last week’s Famers Insurance Open, but he has done plenty to make a name for himself early on. Once known strictly for being Jordan Spieth’s good friend, Thomas is currently first in the FedExCup standings. Spieth will be joining him in this field, though. So will Hideki Matsuyama, who won last year’s tournament. Matsuyama shot a 14-under to win this last year, defeating runner-up Rickie Fowler in a playoff. Other noteworthy members of this tournament field would be John Rahm, Ryan Moore, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson is tied for the most ever career wins in this tournament with three, and will be hoping to earn that coveted fourth victory on Sunday. For those looking for Tiger Woods, he'll be playing in the Dubai Desert Classic this week. With that being said, let’s now take a look at some of the best values for this weekend’s event:

Justin Thomas (9-to-1) - As previously mentioned, Thomas has already won two TOUR events this season. Not only did he win those events, but he absolutely dominated them as well. Thomas shattered records in those two tournaments, and it’s just very difficult to go against the hot hand this weekend. Thomas is swinging the club better than any of his competitors right now, and he’s receiving some very favorable odds heading into Thursday. Putting a unit on him at 9-to-1 would pay out very nicely, and there’s a very good chance he’s at least near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.

Hideki Matsuyama (10-to-1) - Matsuyama won the Hero World Challenge in early December and followed that tournament up with a second place finish at the SBS Tournament of Champions in early January. He has, however, struggled the past two tournaments, finishing worse than top-25 in both of those events. Still, Matsuyama seems like he is ready to bounce back and compete this weekend. He won this event a year ago, and that should give him the confidence to play at a high level. The 10-to-1 odds he is getting are also rather intriguing.

Phil Mickelson (30-to-1) - Mickelson has played some solid golf in recent weeks, combining to shoot a score of -18 at the CareerBuilder Challenge and the Farmers Insurance Open. The fact that he has looked sharp coming into this event is only a plus, as he was already going to be one of the more confident players out here this weekend. Mickelson has won the Waste Management Phoenix Open three times in his career, and he knows that he still has what it takes to win here. Mickelson is not around simply to play golf. He wants to win tournaments, and this one represents one of his best opportunities of the year.

Keegan Bradley (50-to-1) - When looking for a dark horse for this event, Bradley is definitely a guy that sticks out. He was excellent at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, shooting a nine-under to finish the tournament tied for fourth place. Bradley has always been a very talented player, so perhaps this is the confidence boost he needed to really take off this season. Putting a half-unit on him could be one of the better decisions you’ll make this year.