Featured Groups: Waste Management Phoenix Open
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SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 27: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Jon Rahm of Spain react after their balls landed touching in a bunker on the 18th hole during the second round of the WGC - HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on October 27, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Written by Staff
The PGA TOUR has announced the four Featured Groupings for Thursday and Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, to be contested at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
RELATED: Full tee times
HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET)
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (CBS).
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday 10:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes)
Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES ET)
Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm
Thursday: 10 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 2:15 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee)
• Thomas, who has two wins this season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions) holds the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings for the 30th week in his career, becoming the fourth player to reach that mark in the FedExCup era (others: Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker, Dustin Johnson).
• Matsuyama has two wins (2016, 2017) and two additional top-fives (T4/2014, T2/2015) in six career starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
• Rahm, a two-time Ben Hogan Award winner at nearby Arizona State, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler
Thursday: 2:15 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee); Friday: 10 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee)
• A five-time PGA TOUR winner, DeChambeau will make his first start on TOUR since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Oct. (T4).
• Coming off a T6 at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, Finau has made one cut in five starts at TPC Scottsdale (T22/2015).
• Fowler will make his fifth title defense on the PGA TOUR, with the best result among the previous four being a tie for 46th (2016 Dell Technologies Championship).
Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Gary Woodland
Thursday: 9:50 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 2:05 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee)
• Schauffele has three top-10s in four starts on the season, including playoff losses at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sentry Tournament of Champions.
• Smith earned his second career PGA TOUR title at the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii and currently sits at No. 6 in the FedExCup standings.
• The 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion, Woodland celebrates the one-year anniversary of his viral moment with Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette, who sank an inspiring putt on the 16th hole while playing with Woodland, in a video that has since been viewed nearly 44 million times across TOUR platforms; the pair will reunite on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Andrew Landry, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson
Thursday: 2:05 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee); 9:50 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee)
• Landry will make his first start since winning his second career PGA TOUR title at The American Express.
• At No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Jordan Spieth looks to move inside the top 50 on Feb. 10 or 17 to qualify for next month’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship; Spieth has two top-10s in three starts at TPC Scottsdale.
• Watson’s tie for fourth at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open was his fourth career top-five at the event; he comes off a T6 finish at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.