Update: after this story went to print, Thomas Detry joined the LIV Golf Tour and is not playing in the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.
Last year, we traded scorecards with such PGA Tour favorites as Charlie Hoffman, Scottie Scheffler and Sahith Theegala. Now, we return with seven golfers to know on the eve of the 2026 tournament – including the dialed-in Belgian muscling up for an encore.
DEFENDING WM Phoenix Open CHAMPION
Thomas Detry
- CURRENT WORLD RANKING: 51*
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Six career Top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour; represented Belgium in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics
- WMPO APEARANCES: 2
- BEST WMPO FINISH: First place (2025)
The mind is a powerful thing. Just ask Thomas Detry.
Despite entering the final round of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open with a five-shot lead, the 32-year-old was not feeling confident. He had never won on the PGA Tour and was understandably nervous. So much so that he woke up at 4 a.m. that Sunday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. Instead, he meditated and took an ice bath. It worked.
“I actually felt comfortable on the first tee,” he says. “I didn’t really have any nerves. I felt like I had my full mind to it, and I was just ready to play my own game and not try to chase something.”
That big lead got even bigger with a closing round of 65, giving Detry a seven-shot victory that made him the first Belgian to ever win on the PGA Tour.
“I felt like I’ve been doing a lot of really good things in the past to put myself in that position, and I felt like I was kind of ready to win,” says Detry, who had nine career Top-10 finishes when he arrived at TPC Scottsdale last year. “So, deep inside, I was kind of – yeah, this one nobody was going to take it away from me.”
Detry, who played at the University of Illinois, had two main parts of his game firing on all cylinders, as evidenced by rounds of 66, 64 and 65 prior to the final round. “I was driving well and putting well. Usually that’s kind of the magic formula, especially for me. Every time I drive it well and putt well, not much really can happen.”
He also became the ninth non-American to win the WM Phoenix Open – even if his home country’s flag can befuddle some local fans. “So many people think that I’m from Germany just because we’ve got the same colors of flag, but it’s obviously different.”
As for his meditation process? “It doesn’t take that much time,” he says. “It just takes 10 minutes at night and 10 minutes in the morning. I’m a forward thinker. I just constantly, especially when I’m doing well, just project myself and just imagine myself winning, and it just – I can feel my heartbeat going. I can feel my breathing getting out of control a little bit, and that meditation really helps me stay in the present.”
*As of 11/21/25
J.J. Spaun
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 6*
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 2 career PGA Tour wins, including the 2025 U.S. Open
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 6
- BEST WMPO FINISH: T4 (2017)
DID YOU KNOW: The 35-year-old late bloomer exploded on the world golf stage by winning the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont with a dramatic 64-foot birdie putt on the final hole, the highlight of a career-best season that included seven Top-10 finishes, including two playoff losses. That record enabled the former San Diego State University star (and current Scottsdale resident) to earn a total of $13,278,222 in prize money, the fifth highest total on the PGA Tour during the 2025 season. That haul nearly matched his overall career earnings since joining the PGA Tour in 2014.
Quoteable: “I just felt like [if] you keep putting yourself in these positions, like eventually you’re going to tick one off,” Spaun said after his 2025 U.S. Open win. “This isn’t – I don’t put myself in this position often – or at all – for a major, that’s for sure. This is only my second U.S. Open. But all the close calls that I’ve had on the PGA Tour this year has just been really good experience to just never, never give up.”
* As of 11/30/25
Harris English
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 11*
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 5 career PGA Tour wins
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 12
- BEST WMPO FINISH: 3 (2016)
DID YOU KNOW: The Georgia native, resident and graduate of the University of Georgia notched his fifth career PGA Tour win last year at the Farmers Insurance Open, 10 years after losing there to Jason Day in a playoff. The 36-year-old also finished second at two majors last season: the PGA Championship and The Open championship, his best results in 35 career major appearances.
Quoteable: “When you win, you never know when your next time’s going to be, so you’ve got to really cherish the moment,” English said after winning the 2025 Farmers Open. “It’s so hard to win out here on the PGA Tour, there’s so many good players. There’s young guys coming out here every single year that are trying to take your job, and it’s awesome to see it. It pushes me to get better. And at 35, I feel like I’ve got a lot more years out here to compete and just keep getting better at this crazy game.”
Keegan Bradley
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 14*
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 8 career PGA Tour wins include capturing the PGA Championship in a playoff during his rookie season in 2011; served as captain of the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 12
- BEST WMPO FINISH: T15 (2012)
DID YOU KNOW: The Vermont native is a diehard fan of Boston sports teams, including the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins. So much so that after completing his final round at the 2015 WM Phoenix Open (where he tied for 17th), he rushed over to State Farm Stadium in Glendale to see his Patriots hold off the Seattle Seahawks in an iconic goal-line finale. Despite his Ryder Cup duties, Bradley had a stellar 2025 season, including six Top-10 finishes and a win at the Travelers Championship, where he also won in 2023.
Quoteable:
“You win, it’s glory for a lifetime. You lose, it’s, ‘I’m going to have to sit with this for the rest of my life,’” Bradley said after his U.S. team lost to Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. “There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this.”
Matt Fitzpatrick
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 22
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Won the 2022 U.S. Open, one of two career PGA Tour wins along with nine wins on the PGA European Tour; also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 4
- BEST WMPO FINISH: T10 (2022)
DID YOU KNOW: The 31-year-old heads into the 2026 season with momentum after outlasting Rory McIlroy in a playoff to win the DP World Tour championship in November. The native of Sheffield, England, does have one desert connection: He’s a member of Team Troon, which is sponsored by the Scottsdale-based golf course management company.
Quoteable:
“Normal is normal golf etiquette,” Fitzpatrick said prior to the 2025 WM Phoenix Open. “The polite golf clap, a few cheers. But this week is different. It’s definitely louder. It’s almost like that LIV slogan, ‘Golf But Louder.’ It’s good fun. The only times when it’s not is when you get a few that have had a few too many, shouting for your ball to go into the water or doing something crazy. But for the most part, it’s always good fun.”
* As of 11/30/25
Chris Gotterup
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 28
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: PGA Tour wins at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic and the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open; at Oklahoma State University, won both the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award as the top college golfer (2021-2022)
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 2
- BEST WMPO FINISH: Missed the cut in both appearances
DID YOU KNOW: One of the longest drivers on the Tour, Gotterup raised his profile dramatically in 2025 when he outlasted world No. 1 Rory McIlroy to win the Genesis Scottish Open. It was the clear highlight in the 26-year-old’s best season to date, which included four Top-10 finishes, including a third place at The Open championship in 2025. He’ll look to continue the momentum at TPC Scottsdale, where he underperformed in two previous appearances.
Quoteable:
“I feel like a lot of people say that the second one is harder just because you have expectations and whatnot,” Gotterup said after winning the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open. “It’s definitely more a validation this week. Myrtle Beach was amazing, but this one, I feel like I’ve been talking to my team about I want to take the next step, and I feel like this is part of that.”
Alex Norén
- CURRENT WORLD GOLF RANKING: 17
- CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 12 PGA European Tour wins and two Top-10 finishes in The Open championship
- WMPO APPEARANCES: 5
- BEST WMPO FINISH: T6 (2022)
DID YOU KNOW: After taking the first five months off last season to recover from a serious hamstring tear injury (which forced him to miss the WM Phoenix Open for the first time since 2020), the 43-year-old Swede bounced back nicely with two Top-10 finishes in 11 PGA Tour events, plus two wins on the PGA European Tour at the Betfred British Masters and the BMW PGA Championship. Like Matt Fitzpatrick, he is a member of Team Troon.
Quoteable:
“I’ve played pro golf for a long time now, and so I like the crowd,” Norén has said about the WM Phoenix Open. “Some tournaments, you know, it’s kind of more packed, every hole. Here, it’s kind of packed on maybe six holes and sort of spread out. I mean, going into that 16, it’s great. I think it’s amazing for golf, amazing for everybody, even if people up there don’t watch the shots.”
* As of 11/30/25
