Prop Farm: Byeong Hun An, Sahith Theegala, Kevin Yu among popular prop plays for WM Phoenix Open

Whether it be waves from Carmel Bay crashing against the sea wall along the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links or waves of rowdy fans in the grandstands on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open, the Prop Farm has no bias. We march on each week, no matter the location, from venue to venue, only concerned with yielding a fruitful crop at every PGA TOUR stop.

Mother Nature threw quite the party last week along the Monterey Peninsula but the party of the season may be this week at the WM Phoenix Open — more of the man-made sort — as the West Coast Swing begins its home stretch. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is your two-time defending champion at TPC Scottsdale, illustrating two things: How much this golf course favors premium ball-strikers, and how strong course history has been over the years at this tournament.

Bookmakers in Las Vegas have indicated to me that it is typically a good result for the house when the favorite wins. Scheffler hasn't been drawing too much attention this week as he looks to make it three in a row here in Phoenix — from either professional or recreational bettors. Rather, liability for the books exists deeper down the odds board on longer shots like Keith Mitchell, Wyndham Clark and another two-time winner at the WM Phoenix Open, Hideki Matsuyama. Possibly riding the wave of triple-digit long shots having so much success early this season, there has been a respectable amount of play seen even deeper down the board on Nick Hardy.

We have seen the price on Scheffler drop as well as on some other top names but oddsmakers in Las Vegas are noting that this was primarily due to Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland dropping out of the tournament early in the week — not because of bets that are moving the number.

"Scheffler has the most handle so far in the First Round Leader market," said golf oddsmaker at BetMGM, Seamus Magee. "He's followed closely here by Sahith Theegala."

Drew O'Dell, senior associate PR data analyst for BetMGM, noted: "Despite being the favorite to win, Scheffler is the fourth most bet (tickets) for First Round Leader trailing Sahith Theegala (6.4%), Erik van Rooyen (5.1%), and Kevin Yu (4.8%)."

I mentioned earlier that course history is a very strong part of this week's handicap. Of course, Matsuyama is a two-time champ, and Fowler is a winner here from 2019. This will be Clark's sixth time playing the WM Phoenix Open. He has missed the cut twice, finished 34th and 36th, but surged to a 10th-place finish last year. Thomas' track record here is tremendous, having gone fourth, eighth, 13th, third, third and 17th in his last six trips to TPC Scottsdale.

As far as winning the tournament outright, Magee said: "There is lots of interest in Justin Thomas at the top of the odds board — and no shortage of Clark backers either after last week's win. Rickie Fowler and Matsuyama seem to be some popular long shots."

Magee went on to point out some action that has caught his eye in the finishing markets: "A few interesting wagers on Kevin Yu to finish Top 10 (+600) and Top 20 (+280)."

This was echoed by Magee's BetMGM colleague here in Las Vegas.

"Our worst outright winner result right now is on Kevin Yu at +8000," said, Tristan Davis, a senior trader at Mandalay Bay.

Davis backed up the taste for Clark and Thomas outright, too: "The most popular outright bet so far has been Justin Thomas. He's taking up 15% of the handle. But Yu and Clark (+2800) are the worst for us at this point."

Magee mentioned Theegala as a popular choice for First Round Leader while Davis is seeing Theegala support appear in the finishing markets: "We are seeing Theegala take action in the Top 20 market at +160 and he's responsible for about 11% of the handle here."

Davis went on to note significant action on a player who got off to a very hot start this season in Hawaii: "A player who we have seen out of the corner of our eye for Top 5, Top 10, and outright winner, has been Byeong Hun An. He's currently +550 for a Top 5 finish and has the top percentage in handle right now at 12% for Top 5 and Top 10."

O'Dell is seeing similar activity: "An is the most popular bet for the Top Asian and Top Rest of the World markets. Also, he’s the sixth most bet overall to win the tournament outright with his odds having moved from +4000 to +2800."

In the Full Tournament Head-to-Head Matchups, Davis has seen action on two particular duels.

"We saw good action on Sungjae Im to beat Jordan Spieth at +110 and now down to -105," Davis said. "The other matchup with a heap of action is Beau Hossler to beat Tom Kim at -110 but we have not yet decided to move that price."

Finally, we talked about the party that is the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. It is not a surprise that this hole and this wager offering are drawing attention.

"A hole-in-one on 16 has been very popular at +250. We are expecting this market to be extremely popular as the tournament rolls on," said Davis.

According to this week's stroll through the fields of the Prop Farm, Byeong Hun An, Kevin Yu and Sahith Theegala appear to be some prized value crops outside of the favorites — or maybe some of the greenest of this show on grass.