Waste Management Phoenix Open recap

While some may think the Super Bowl and the Olympics were the only exciting events to watch this past weekend, they clearly missed the Waste Management Phoenix Open held at TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course. The tournament was filled with surprises and comebacks, capped off with a thrilling ending.

This course is a challenging one with over 70 bunkers, water hazards, and, of course, the par-3 16th hole that is a fan favorite. Needless to say, this weekend was not going to be easy for anyone.

Thursday started shaky for a majority of the field as only 75 players shot par or better, and 63 players shot under par. This was from a total of 123 players in the field.

One of the surprising strugglers from this day was Scottie Scheffler, who shot +2, 73, to kick off the tournament. Si Woo Kim also shot a 73. However, this would not be the last time that these names would come up. After day one, Chris Gotterup would stand at the top of the leaderboard after shooting -8, 63.

On day two, the cut line was set at -1, showing the difficulty that this course was presenting. However, both Scheffler and Kim would come back and make the cut after shooting -6, 65 for Scheffler and -9, 62 for Kim.

However, Gotterup would drop in the leaderboard after his four bogeys and shooting even par. This gave the Japanese players Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune chances as they came in with -7, 64 for Matsuyama and -8, 63 for Hisatsune. This was just the start of the weekend.

The third round came, and Scheffler continued to prove why he is No. 1 in the world. He would have a chip-in birdie from the bunker on hole 10 to cap off his -4, 67 to help propel his way to the top of the leaderboard.

However, Scheffler was not the only one who played well in this round. By the end of the day, over 12 players were within that top spot, showing that it was going to come down to the final round. The Japanese stayed consistent as the round ended with Matsuyama and Hisatsune being tied for first at -13.

The final round, a day that is typically seen as the best day, had arrived. This tournament withheld that standard since it was anyone’s best guess who was going to win.

By the time the tournament switched to national television, 11 players were within four strokes of the leader. Hisatune would shoot even par to fall out of the lead and finish T10.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Jake Knapp, Kim, Nicolai Højgaard and Akshay Bhatia would all try to make a push but would come up short. That left Michael Thorbjornsen, Scheffler, Matsuyama, and Gotterup.

Thorbjornsen would take the lead after an eagle on hole 15, but would then follow that up with two bogeys on 16 and 17, causing him to fall and finish T3 at -15. While some of the world was hoping that Scheffler would complete the comeback, he would also come up short after shooting a -7, 64 to put him at -15 and T2, just one stroke short.

Gotterup was four groups ahead of Matsuyama, and after coming in with a -7, 64, he would have to wait. Matsuyama had full control of the tournament, and he determined his own fate along with Gotterup’s.

Matsuyama was one up on Gotterup going into the 18th hole at -17. However, after a poor tee shot into the bunker, a common theme for Matsuyama all day, he would hit a short second shot to then force him to end the hole with a bogey. It was official, this day would not be over until a playoff.

Back on the 18th hole was the playoff between Gotterup and Matsuyama. Gotterup’s tee shot would set him up well, landing in the middle of the fairway. However, Matsuyama would have a different result.

After stopping his swing due to a disruption, his second swing would take his ball to the rough, where it would bounce backwards and into the water. Gotterup would lock things up with a shot onto the green and then sink in the birdie putt from 27 feet to win the 2026 Waste Management Phoenix Open in one playoff hole.

The PGA Tour stays on the West Coast this upcoming week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am takes place at both Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Julia Nawalany is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email jrn5527@psu.edu