It’s hard to imagine that home-field advantage could possibly be a thing in golf, but Phil Mickelson’s performances at the Waste Management Phoenix Open certainly make the case for its existence. The former ASU Sun Devil has won the tournament three times -- including a dominant wire-to-wire win in last year’s Open -- and figures to be the favorite again this year.
Mickelson will face a tough field that includes Brandt Snedeker, Keegan Bradley, Angel Cabrera, Martin Kaymer, and Vijay Singh. The weeklong event at TPC of Scottsdale, 17020 North Hayden Road, always has the most unique (read: rowdy) atmosphere of any tournament on the PGA tour. Practice rounds for the pros and the Kyocera Pro-Am kick off the weeklong event at 7 and 9:30 a.m. respectively on Monday, January 27. The tournament proper starts on Thursday, January 30, and wraps up on Sunday. Sunday’s decisive round will tee off at 9 a.m. Tickets for the event start at $30 and are available via www.tickemaster.com.
Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 7 a.m., 2014