Sleeper Picks: WM Phoenix Open

Brian Harman (+333 for a Top 20) … Before you think that the 35-year-old lefty slotted 61st in the Official World Golf Ranking is low-hanging fruit for this prop, consider that none of his seven paydays in eight appearances resulted in a top 20, and only one (T24, 2017) went for a top 30. Still, the upshot is that his experience on the course is as invaluable as his firepower. He’s 6-for-6 since the renovation (2015-present) and he recently connected for a T3 at The American Express. Branden Grace (+400 for a Top 20) … The South African knows a little about summering in February, just not on this side of the equator. He’s been nails in the dry heat of Scottsdale with a runner-up finish here in 2019 and a T9 in 2020. His scoring average in those eight rounds is a sporty 67.75. The tournament arrives at a time when he really needs it, too. Since a T7 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP three-and-a-half months ago, he’s just 1-for-4 with (the guaranteed payday of) a T33 at Kapalua to open 2022. Also sat out the Tilt-A-Whirl of the last three weeks and eight courses in California, so he’s rested. Sahith Theegala (+550 for a Top 20) … Not unlike last week’s endorsement in Draws and Fades for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, there’s something to be said again this week of a young professional who still can feel the thrills of playing in college. The 24-year-old former stud at Pepperdine now gets to experience the joy, the rush and the unknown of navigating the hoopla at TPC Scottsdale for the first time. He and Greyson Sigg are the only rookies to open 2022 with four cuts made in as many starts, but Theegala is in the WM Phoenix Open on a sponsor exemption. As of Monday night, he’s the only rookie in the Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle category in the field. Kevin Chappell (+1400 for a Top 20) … While he and Patrick Cantlay never overlapped at UCLA, it still was fitting that the duo was paired together for three rounds at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. After all, it might have been Chappell’s final stop on the PGA TOUR in his home state. In what also promises to be compelling for at least two rounds this week, the WM Phoenix Open is poised to be his last start via a Major Medical Extension. for which a solo fifth-place finish is what’s necessary to retain status for the remainder of the season. (It’d also yield an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship.) Short of that, he’d need no worse than to finish alone in 34th place to secure conditional status for the remainder. In eight prior trips to TPC Scottsdale, he failed to crack a top 20, but he’s managed a trio of top-31 finishes. For more detail on his targets, click or tap here. Preston Summerhays (+2000 for a Top 20) … Let’s face it, a cut made would be a relative win, so it’s unfair to attach an expectation such as this prop onto the 19-year-old amateur who lives a short longboard ride from TPC Scottsdale and represents the maroon and gold of Arizona State University. He’s just 72nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and doesn’t even qualify for the Velocity Global Ranking at PGA TOUR University. Rather, this is a personal celebration worth watching even though it’s already his third TOUR start. (He missed the cuts at the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Barbasol Championship.) Yes, he has the pedigree. His father and former TOUR member, Boyd, is the only coach he’s ever had and will be on his bag this week. Uncle Daniel is a veteran of 215 PGA TOUR starts, including a pair of runner-up finishes. And Preston prevailed at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2019, a rare moment when he wasn’t shadowing family friend, Tony Finau, who also is in the field at the WM Phoenix Open. Preston isn’t expected to rise for a top five like Jon Rahm did as an amateur straight off the ASU campus in 2015, but this week will serve as a building block for a legacy that also will be worth watching. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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