Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele withdraw from WM Phoenix Open

Viktor Hovland, the No. 4 player in the World Golf Ranking, and No. 5 Xander Schauffele have both withdrawn from this week’s WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour revealed Monday.

Hovland concluded in a tie for 58th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, defeating only 14 players in the limited field event. He opened with a 69 last Thursday, but then struggled to consecutive 72s before the tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

It was Hovland’s first start since finished tied for 22nd at The Sentry, which also featured a limited field.

Schauffele, 30, has six top-20 finishes in his six starts at the Phoenix Open, including second in 2021. He tied for 58th at Pebble Beach, shooting 73-72-67 to finish at 4 under.

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Victor Perez will substitute Hovland in the field at the Phoenix Open. 

Davis Riley has also withdrawn and has been replaced by Ryan Fox, while Alexander Björk replaces Schauffele.

The tournament starts Thursday at TPC Scottsdale and still includes an elite field that is led by two-time defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He is scheduled to be joined by No. 6 Wyndham Clark, No. 8 Max Homa, No. 9 Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 10 Brian Harman.

Other marquee names in the field include Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns and Rickie Fowler, along with past major champions Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott.

Hovland’s withdrawal naturally sparked embers on simmering rumors of a potential move to LIV Golf. Tyrrell Hatton pulled out ahead of Pebble Beach before joining Jon Rahm’s team that went on to earn LIV’s first event of the season in Mexico on Sunday.

The Norwegian, who has committed to the Genesis Invitational at Riviera next week, has repeatedly denied a potential move to LIV, saying as recently as December that he doubted that would be a future consideration despite also criticizing the PGA Tour’s leadership.

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