Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele have withdrawn from the WM Phoenix Open because they displayed poor performance in the PGAT’s event at Pebble Beach. Hovland had two rounds of 72 on Friday and Saturday. Among the three days of performance, his best score was 69 in round one. However, his total score was 14 strokes behind Wyndham Clark.
The FedEx champion had a tough time with his irons and wedges and he was ranked 78th among the 80 golfers in terms of strokes gained. Hence, Hovland needed a break to get better mentally and get back to better gameplay at the Genesis Invitational. Shortly after Hovland, Xander also went on to withdraw from the tournament. Thus, which golfers are teeing up at the WM Phoenix Open after losing these two gems from the field?
The Field Of The Waste Management Phoenix Open
Victor Perez will be replacing Viktor Hovland in the event. Although the event wouldn’t have Hovland and Schauffele, it would have other top ten golfers like Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, among others. The event also includes Ryder Cup warriors like Luke Donald and Shane Lowry from the English side.
Also, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and others from the American side. Apart from these, there will be major champions like Hideki Matsuyama (2021 Masters winner), Lucas Glover (2009 US Open), Gary Woodland (2019 US Open), and other major champions.
While Viktor stated that he plans to work on his form and that is his reason for the withdrawal, Xander Schauffele didn’t clarify the reason for backing out. The event will start on Thursday at TPC Scottsdale.
Hovland’s withdrawal is also speculated to be a move that is similar to what Tyrell Hatton did. He withdrew from a PGA Tour event to move to Jon Rahm‘s team, but as Hovland stated last year, he plans to stay on the tour. It is, thus, quite probabale that both golfers are taking time out to work on their form.
