After a tough first day at TPC Scottsdale, the scoring situation improved significantly in the second round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, and many players took advantage of that to skyrocket up the leaderboard on Friday.
Two Japanese stars are at the top of the leaderboard. Ryo Hisatsune shot a 63 in the afternoon to reach 11 under, and two-time Phoenix Open champion Hideki Matsuyama opened the weekend with a 64 in the morning to reach 10 under.
TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course has always been a comfortable venue for Matsuyama, and he tore through the front nine early to get out in 30th place and rapidly move up the leaderboard to take the lead before the afternoon waves rolled onto the course.
Hisatsune did some damage on the back nine, going 6 under for five holes from 13th to 17th, and taking the lead over his compatriot. I hit the water on the short par 4 17th hole and chipped in for birdie.
As Matsuyama and Hisatsune battled for the 36-hole lead, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler found himself in unfamiliar territory after shooting a 2-over 73 on Thursday just trying to get through the weekend. Scheffler started the round with four straight pars, but finally, as if to wake him up, he birdied the fifth to take the lid off. He went on a rampage in the remaining rounds and shot a 65 to not only qualify, but to be in position to advance into the weekend at 4 under.
Scheffler, who made some uncharacteristic mistakes with his irons on Thursday, seemed to be back on track with his ball-striking on Friday, warming up his putter and getting it inside the cut line nicely.
Schaeffler currently holds the record for the longest cutting streak on the PGA Tour, currently extended to 66 consecutive tournaments by Xander Schauffele. Last week marked the end of the 72nd consecutive interest rate cut. At Torrey Pines.
leader
1. Ryo Hisatsune (-11)
Hisatsune is fresh off a T2 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open last week and looks to be bringing that great form back to the desert. The question for Hisatsune heading into the weekend is whether he can remain consistent enough to stay at the top of the leaderboard. He’s a good player and can get hot and rack up birdies, but he’ll also run into situations where he concedes a few birdies. He will have a familiar partner in compatriot Matsuyama, and we’ll see if he’s comfortable in the frenetic atmosphere at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday.
The 23-year-old is looking to make his mark in the United States in his third full season on the PGA Tour, and perhaps there’s no better place to find fans on the PGA Tour than at the WM Phoenix Open.
other candidates
2. Hideki Matsuyama (-10)
T3. Chris Gotterup, Pierceson Coody (-8)
T5. Matt Fitzpatrick, Siwoo Kim, Akshay Bhatia, John Parry, Sahit Segala, Jake Knapp (-7)
Matsuyama’s career record at the WM Phoenix Open is incredible, but much of that success came early in his career, including two wins in 2016 and 2017. He never took a weekend off in the desert, but since those two wins he has only finished in the top 10 once (in 2022). After Friday’s performance, he looks poised to not only move back into the top 10, but become a serious threat to win his third Phoenix Open title, tying him with Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer and two others for the most in history.
Chris Gotterup was the 18-hole leader and looked like he could do no wrong in the first round, but he had too many blemishes on Friday’s card and managed to tread water and stay at 8 under for the tournament. He needs to get his putter back in place and avoid the miscues that cost him Friday, but his length off the tee and ability to keep the ball low in the wind will make him a big threat to get his second win of the season.
Pierceson Coody is also an emerging young player whose tee shot accuracy has been a threat this week, with the firmness of the greens seeing his wayward tee shots severely punished. Kim Si-woo improved his score from 73 to 62 in Friday’s low round, his biggest performance of the first two days, and rejoined the fray in what was a heated start to 2026.
Notable players who missed out
- Joel Damen (E)
- Brooks Koepka (+2)
- Corey Connors (+2)
- Jordan Spieth (+3)
- Billy Horschel (+3)
- Sam Barnes (+5)
Not everyone was able to jump into the weekend like Scheffler did on Friday. Brooks Koepka was unable to repeat his performance this week as his putting woes have continued since returning to the PGA Tour after slapping to begin the weekend at Torrey Pines last week. Jordan Spieth, who is playing with Scheffler, couldn’t get his round going in the right direction Friday, making four bogeys before finishing just short of the cut line.
WM Phoenix Open odds and picks updated
Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook
- Hideki Matsuyama (+230)
- Ryo Hisatsune (+470)
- Scotty Scheffler (10-1)
- Chris Gotterup (11-1)
- Similarly (13)
- Pierceson Coody (14-1)
- Saheeth Segala (17-1)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (19-1)
Given his history here, Matsuyama is a natural favorite to win, and if he’s as confident on the greens as we’ve seen so far, it’ll be hard to see him move far away from the top spot. The course remains hard and challenging, but the wind isn’t really a factor so I think we’ll see some great scores all weekend. This tells me that Kim, who is 13-1, is a serious threat given his ability to rack up birdies. I also like that Coody stays near the top of the leaderboard and threatens to get his first career win, and at 14-1 he’s also shown some value.
