The 2025 WM Phoenix Open is shaping up to feature one of the tournament’s strongest fields in years with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth committing to the event this week.
They join the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, who won the season-opening The Sentry, world No. 7 Wyndham Clark and Billy Horschel. Last week, all three committed to play in the event at TPC Scottsdale, to be held Feb. 6-9.
Thomas, 31, is playing at The American Express in La Quinta, Calif., this week as he attempts to snap a winless drought that dates back to the 2022 PGA Championship.
Thomas has played in the WM Phoenix Open 10 previous times, with a pair of third places in 2019 and 2020 along with a fourth-place finish two years ago. He began 2025 with a tie for 26th at The Sentry and is No. 21 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Spieth, also 31, is returning from wrist surgery in August, and last competed in the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is planning to make his official return at the first signature event of the year, which takes place at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the week before Phoenix.
Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour, but none since the RBC Heritage in April 2022. He began the 2024 season with a third-place showing at The Sentry and tied for sixth at the WM Phoenix Open, but he had only one more top-10 the rest of the year while missing seven cuts. He has five career top-10 finishes at TPC Scottsdale.
The commitments from several marquee names is a big boost for the tournament, which was marred last year by heavy rains and unruly fan behavior. Known as “The People’s Open,” organizers took measures this year to curb rowdy fans, including adding a second entrance and capping the number of attendees on Friday and Saturday.
Nick Taylor, the defending champion who also won last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, said after last year’s victory that he’s not sure how much the tournament can do to change the atmosphere at TPC Scottsdale.
“I think the cat’s probably out of the bag. I don’t know how much they can change,” Taylor said last February. “I think it’s a week where the classic line is that ‘I can do this for one week but multiple weeks, probably not.’
While some players avoid the annual tournament do to the chaotic atmosphere — and others have had vocal run-ins with fans — others such as Max Homa try to accept the unique environment.
“I think if you embrace that you’re going to get booed — I’ve gotten booed for missing a 20-foot putt,” Homa said before last year’s WM Phoenix Open. “I think it’s funny and it’s fun. You just have to, I think, have the right attitude.”
This year will mark the 90th playing of the event and despite not boasting signature event status in 2025, the WM Phoenix Open has managed to draw several marquee names to the event.
“We are less than 20 days away, and already the field for the 2025 WM Phoenix Open is shaping up to be one of the strongest in tournament history,” tournament chairman Matt Mooney said in a news release. “The latest round of commitments includes some of the biggest names on the PGA Tour. We can’t wait to see them out at ‘The People’s Open’ in February.”
–Field Level Media
