PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open: Jon Rahm ready for a breakout

Jon Rahm is ready for his big breakthrough on the PGA Tour at any time, and it could come this week at the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open. The Spaniard was named the 2019 European Tour Player of the Year, and he sits at No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings. Now he returns to familiar ground when he tees it up on Thursday at TPC Scottsdale at one of the tour's most popular and raucous tournaments.

Rahm held the 54-hole lead last week at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished as the runner-up at 14 under par after a slow start on Sunday and a furious finish. He played golf for Arizona State, just down the road in Tempe, and now lives in Phoenix, and he has a history of strong play at TPC Scottsdale.

The 25-year-old will make his fifth Waste Management Phoenix Open appearance, and he is +650 on the FanDuel golf odds. He has finished in the top 16 in his previous four starts at Scottsdale, tying for 10th last year and finishing tied for fifth in 2015 as an amateur.

The long-hitting Spaniard turned pro after spending a record 60 weeks as the No. 1 golfer in the World Amateur Rankings and finishing as the low amateur at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. He tied for third at the U.S. Open last year at Pebble Beach, and he was T-9 at The Masters and T-11 at the British Open.

Rahm had 12 top-10 finishes in 20 appearances on the PGA Tour last season and won the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas for his third Tour victory. He was sixth on Tour in scoring average and also won three times on the European Tour.

Rahm will have to contend with Justin Thomas, who is +850 at FanDuel and will be seeking his third PGA Tour victory of 2020. Webb Simpson, who has finished in the top 10 in his last three Tour starts, is the third favorite at +1400. Defending tournament champion Rickie Fowler and two-time winner Hideki Matsuyama are both at +1600.