FIELD NOW BOASTS EIGHT OF TOP-20 IN THE WORLD

“The People’s Open” field continues to grow as former champion Gary Woodland and World No. 16 golfer Tony Finau are the latest PGA TOUR stars who have committed to play in the 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open, which is set to tee it up Feb. 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale.   The field now includes eight players in the Top-20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Woodland has four career PGA TOUR wins in his 15-year professional career, including his 2018 win at TPC Scottsdale and a win at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.  Woodland will be making his 13^th WM Phoenix Open start, notching three Top-10’s and six Top-25 finishes to rank 10th all-time among WM Phoenix Open money winners.

Finau is coming off arguably his best season in 2021 where he picked up his second PGA TOUR victory at The Northern Trust, carded two runner-up finishes, five additional Top-10 outings, placed 11^th in the FedExCup standings and was a member of the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits.  He will be making his seventh start at TPC Scottsdale in 2022, two years removed from his 2020 playoff loss to Webb Simpson.

Currently the field has 16 players ranked in the Top-50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, led by Jon Rahm who sits first in the standings and followed closely by Justin Thomas at 5th. The other top-ranked players include Sam Burns (11), Scottie Scheffler (13), Brooks Koepka (17), Hideki Matsuyama (19), Abraham Ancer (20), Jason Kokrak (22), Matt Fitzpatrick (26), Webb Simpson (29), Talor Gooch (32), Max Homa (34), Corey Conners (38), Lucas Herbert (40) and Stewart Cink (50).

A field of 132 players will vie for the $8.2 million purse, the $1,476,000 first-place check, and 500 FedExCup points.  PGA TOUR members have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, to commit to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Eligible players are assigned one of 34 PGA TOUR priority ranking categories based on their past performance on TOUR. The field will continue to change as players with higher priority rankings commit to play in the Open.

The 2022 WM Phoenix Open will take place Feb. 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale. “The People’s Open” has been named the Tournament of the Year by the PGA TOUR four times in the past seven years (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) to acknowledge the tournament’s legendary status as one the most unique events in golf. The 2022 edition will mark the 87th playing of the event (one of the five oldest events on the PGA TOUR) and the 13^th with Waste Management as title sponsor.

The Thunderbirds were founded in 1937 with the mission of promoting the Valley of the Sun through sports. The Thunderbirds consist of 55 “active” members and more than 280 “life” members who have helped the tournament eclipse $165 million in charitable giving since its inception in 1932 (through the 2021 tournament).  For more information on The Thunderbirds, visit thunderbirdscharities.org.