Phil Mickelson hits out of a sand trap on the 15th hole during the first round in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday, July 31, 2014. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal/MCT)The first round of the 2015 Waste Management tees off tomorrow at TPC Scottsdale with plenty of storylines to follow along with, including a current Sun Devil in the mix.
The Phoenix Open is one of the richest events on the PGA calendar and draws some of the biggest names in the sport each and every year. And in a year where Arizona is also playing host to the Super Bowl on the same weekend, the tournament won’t disappoint.
Every big name in the sport will be competing in the event starting tomorrow including Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson, former Sun Devil Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who's making his return to Arizona.
Mickelson, who was recently “fired” from his position as assistant golf coach of the men’s golf team at ASU, will be looking to win his fourth Phoenix Open after wins in 1996, 2005 and 2013. Mickelson would gain sole possession of first place in most wins in the event if he could win this year. He's now tied with Mark Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and the legendary Arnold Palmer for most Phoenix Open wins.
Woods, Watson and Bradley would be looking for their first ever Phoenix Open win. Last year’s winner, Scottsdale’s own Kevin Stadler, is not participating this time around.
The Phoenix Open is often the most attended PGA event on the tour. At last year’s event a new PGA Tour record was set with 563,008 spectators over the four rounds with 189,722 during the third round alone.
An exciting part of this year’s event for Sun Devil fans, aside from Mickelson, is junior ASU golfer Jon Rahm getting a bid to play in the event. Rahm has been preparing for the event for weeks with ASU head coach Tim Mickelson and had to miss his team’s first tournament of the spring season as part of that preparation.
In a field of so many top-level pro players, it will be interesting to see if Rahm can make the cut. There is no doubt that the current No. 3 ranked amateur in the world according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings has the talent to compete with just about anyone on the planet, but Rahm has likely never been in such a high-level of tournament with so many living legends of the sport.
Rahm can go into the event already calling himself a world champion. In September, while representing his home nation of Spain in the World Amateur Team Championship in Karuizawa, Japan, Rahm not only took home the individual title but also broke the tournament record set by Jack Nicklaus in 1960 by shooting a remarkable 23-under par.
The four-round event begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at TPC Scottsdale with the fourth and final round starting on Sunday at 9 a.m. The winner of the event will be taking home a $1.116 million check that is part of a $6.2 million purse in the event.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or on Twitter @bill_slane.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
