Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from PoolGenius, whose subscribers have reported more than $10 million in pool winnings across all sports using their tools.
When looking for the best Phoenix Open One and Done picks to use this week, don’t fall for the trap of clicking the top of the odds board and moving on.
The Phoenix Open has a $9.6 million purse with about $1.66 million to the winner, which ranks firmly in the second tier in terms of prize money. We also have two straight high-purse events (with the big names showing up) coming after this.
With that in mind, let’s break down who to fade and who to use in Golf One and Done Pools this week.
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2026 WM Phoenix Open Field Overview
The Phoenix Open returns to TPC Scottsdale with one of the strongest fields you will see for a non-Signature Event.
Scheffler leads the way and will be heavy chalk, but the depth behind him is the real story. Ten other golfers in our Top 20 are playing, including Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, making their first Phoenix starts since 2023. Si Woo Kim is also trending hot and has moved up to No. 10 in our golfer rankings.
Past winners are present as well. Thomas Detry will not defend after leaving for LIV, but Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama are both two-time winners here, and Nick Taylor won the event in 2024.
WM Phoenix Open Odds To Win
Here are the top golfers by outright win odds as of Monday afternoon, Feb. 2:
- Scottie Scheffler +225
- Xander Schauffele +2000
- Si Woo Kim +2200
- Hideki Matsuyama +2200
- Cameron Young +2200
- Ben Griffin +2500
- Sam Burns +2500
- Viktor Hovland +2800
- Rickie Fowler +3300
- Maverick McNealy +3300
Scheffler is in a tier of his own. The bigger decision in One and Done pools is whether this is the right week to spend that level of season-long asset on a second-tier purse event, especially with bigger leverage spots ahead.
Don’t Automatically Take The Chalk
Scheffler is easily the top win candidate, but One and Done is not a betting card. It is an asset management game.
Saving Scheffler and Rory McIlroy for the biggest events is straightforward. The decision gets harder as you move down the list and consider the next tier. Where do golfers like Ludvig Ã…berg or Russell Henley fit in your season plan. Those are the picks that quietly decide seasons.
This week also brings pick popularity into play. We project Maverick McNealy, Hideki Matsuyama, and Cameron Young to be among the most popular picks, with several other names drawing meaningful ownership.
In a larger pool, or any format with top-heavy payouts or segment prizes, popularity can change what the best pick actually is.
5 Best Phoenix Open One and Done Picks (2026)
Keep in mind, there is no universal best pick without knowing your pool size, scoring, payout structure, used golfers, standings, and whether you are chasing or protecting a lead.
However, these five picks are strong candidates in many pool types because they balance win equity, future value, and likely pick popularity.
- Rickie Fowler: Profiles as a future value savings play. He has win equity this week and strong course comfort, but he is typically not a top tier season-long asset. That means using him here is less likely to sting later. The tradeoff is a wide range of outcomes.
- Maverick McNealy: Likely to be one of the most popular picks, and the case is obvious. He is coming off a top 10 last week and has strong results at this event. In a smaller pool, eating the chalk can be fine. In a larger pool, the popularity spike can turn into a reason to compare other paths.
- Collin Morikawa: He’s in the third tier of win odds if you treat Scheffler as his own top tier. Morikawa still has solid win equity, and his overall ranking suggests he is less likely to cost you future value than the true elites.
- Nick Taylor: Brings a useful combination of win equity and realistic deployability in many season plans, and he has proven he can win this event. In pools where you are trying to preserve your very top options for later, he fits the type of pick that can keep your future slate flexible.
- Cameron Young: He is likely to be popular based on our PoolGenius pick popularity projections. Between that and his future value, this might be a spot to swerve away from him. The same goes for Schauffele. In many pools, both are better saved for bigger leverage spots later in the season.
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One of the hardest parts of Golf One and Done pools isn’t finding good picks. It is understanding how your pick stacks up against the rest of the pool and how it affects your future options.
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The PoolGenius Golf One and Done Picks Tool handles all of that in one place. It combines win equity, future value, and projected pick popularity into a single pick grade, then pairs it with a season planner that shows how every decision impacts the rest of your year.
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