By Donald Wood
The PGA season is kicking into high gear in preparation for the first major of the season, the Masters in April, as the 2015 edition of the Waste Management Phoenix Open begins Thursday at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
With top names like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, Bubba Watson and others all looking to build momentum for April’s Masters Tournament, the Phoenix Open will be a great opportunity for players to find their rhythm.
Here are the tee times, vital viewing information, prize money and a breakdown of the biggest name in the tournament.
Where: TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona
Dates: Thursday, Jan. 29 - Sunday, Feb. 1
Watch: Golf Channel
Live Stream: NBC Live Extra
Full TV Schedule: WMPhoenixOpen.com
Purse: $6,300,000
Winning Share: $1,134,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Day 1 Tee Times
Tee No. Time (PT) Players
1 7:30 a.m. Graham DeLaet
Kevin Chappell
Troy Merritt
10 7:30 a.m. Bo Van Pelt
Kevin Kisner
Luke Guthrie
1 7:39 a.m. Carl Pettersson
Shawn Stefani
James Hahn
10 7:39 a.m. Robert Garrigus
Tim Wilkinson
Billy Hurley III
1 7:48 a.m. Bryce Molder
Scott Langley
Jamie Donaldson
10 7:48 a.m. Jason Bohn
Ricky Barnes
Martin Flores
1 7:57 a.m. Ryan Moore
Seung-Yul Noh
Zach Johnson
10 7:57 a.m. Hunter Mahan
Phil Mickelson
Rickie Fowler
1 8:06 a.m. Bill Haas
Russell Henley
Gary Woodland
10 8:06 a.m. Matt Kuchar
Jason Dufner
Keegan Bradley
1 8:15 a.m. Angel Cabrera
Ken Duke
John Merrick
10 8:15 a.m. Robert Streb
Ben Martin
Retief Goosen
1 8:24 a.m. Charley Hoffman
Kevin Streelman
Matt Every
10 8:24 a.m. Matt Jones
Brandt Snedeker
Jonas Blixt
1 8:33 a.m. Boo Weekley
Lucas Glover
Kenny Perry
10 8:33 a.m. Camilo Villegas
Martin Laird
Justin Leonard
1 8:42 a.m. Aaron Baddeley
Daniel Summerhays
Russell Knox
10 8:42 a.m. Pat Perez
William McGirt
Brooks Koepka
1 8:51 a.m. George McNeill
Scott Verplank
Justin Hicks
10 8:51 a.m. Andres Romero
Brian Stuard
Francesco Molinari
1 9 a.m. Sung Joon Park
Andrew Loupe
Michael Block
10 9 a.m. Carlos Ortiz
Derek Fathauer
Michael Hopper
1 11:40 a.m. Charlie Beljan
Brian Davis
Ryo Ishikawa
10 11:40 a.m. Robert Allenby
Brendon de Jonge
Nicholas Thompson
1 11:49 a.m. Chez Reavie
Morgan Hoffmann
Jason Kokrak
10 11:49 a.m. Freddie Jacobson
Danny Lee
Brice Garnett
1 11:58 a.m. Erik Compton
David Hearn
Troy Kelly
10 11:58 a.m. Kyle Stanley
Jhonattan Vegas
Chris Stroud
1 12:07 p.m. Patrick Reed
Tiger Woods
Jordan Spieth
10 12:07 p.m. J.B. Holmes
Geoff Ogilvy
Harris English
1 12:16 p.m. Bubba Watson
Billy Horschel
Hideki Matsuyama
10 12:16 p.m. Brian Harman
Scott Stallings
Charles Howell III
1 12:25 p.m. Chesson Hadley
Michael Thompson
Mike Weir
10 12:25 p.m. Nick Taylor
Nick Watney
Kevin Na
1 12:34 p.m. Steven Bowditch
David Toms
Stewart Cink
10 12:34 p.m. Woody Austin
Scott Piercy
Rory Sabbatini
1 12:43 p.m. Derek Ernst
Mark Wilson
K.J. Choi
10 12:43 p.m. Sang-Moon Bae
Ben Crane
Ryan Palmer
1 12:52 p.m. Cameron Tringale
Michael Putnam
Jim Renner
10 12:52 p.m. Chad Campbell
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano
Andrew Svoboda
1 1:01 p.m. Brendan Steele
Jeff Overton
Spencer Levin
10 1:01 p.m. John Huh
Padraig Harrington
Adam Hadwin
1 1:10 p.m. Tony Finau
Justin Thomas
Cory Renfrew
10 1:10 p.m. Daniel Berger
Scott Harrington
Jon Rahm
Source: PGATour.com
Top Player to Watch: Tiger Woods
There are many players who will be on full display in this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, but none will draw as much attention as the 14-time Major championship winner Tiger Woods.
Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August 2014, Woods has only played in one tournament, the Hero World Challenge in December. After a slow start and scoring a 77 on Day 1, Woods bounced back and finished 17th overall.
While his performance was outstanding, his ability to recover from a rough start is one of the reasons he is a top star. He has struggled with consistency, but he will have the chance to showcase any improvements he made since last month.
When asked about the expectations on Woods in this week’s tournament, ESPN.com senior golf writer Bob Harig gave his honest assessment of the situation:
Not much. You have to keep this all in perspective, which is always difficult to do with Tiger. This will be just his second tournament since August and he spent at least two months of that time not playing golf. And another seven weeks have passed since his last competitive shot at the Hero World Challenge. Any kind of a solid finish should be viewed as a positive.
Everyone is talking about how Woods will perform, but he is keeping his spirits high and shared a picture of the new shoes he’ll be wearing this week:
The question for the remainder of Woods’ career will be his health. At 39 years old, Woods doesn’t have the same physical ability he once did. His willingness to keep himself in shape and at the top of his game despite injuries is why he can come back, but staying healthy will be the key.
There is no way to question the physical tools Woods possesses after winning 14 majors, but his inability to string together four elite rounds has been his major downfall. If he can find a rhythm early and build confidence, golf fans can’t count out Woods contending for the win.
