Arizona golf updates: TPC Scottsdale sportsbook ready to open this week
Ten months after breaking ground, the DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale is ready for its grand opening. Former Cardinals receiver and avid golfer Larry Fitzgerald will make the ceremonial first bet on Thursday, which is also when there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The sportsbook opens to the public on Friday at 10 a.m.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was at the groundbreaking last December. He said there was a time when he couldn’t envision a sportsbook opening at the site of one of the Tour’s venues but admitted if he had, “this would have been the location I would have said.”
Now it’s a reality, this first-of-its-kind partnership between DraftKings and the PGA Tour. The 13,000-square-foot venue is about a 5-iron away from the TPC Scottsdale clubhouse.
The sea of fans that descend on the WM Phoenix Open next February won’t have a difficult time finding the place. There will be 40 betting kiosks, seven ticket windows and 3,400-square feet of video walls showing that day’s sports action. There’s also a dining area and a huge sports bar that opens up to a patio with cabanas and firepits.
Ron Price, COO of the PGA Tour, and Jennifer Aguiar, DraftKings Chief Compliance Officer, are scheduled to be in attendance along with Fitzgerald. Former ESPN personality Mike Golic will emcee the event.
Mesa Country Club preps for renovation
The historic Mesa Country Club golf course opened in 1948 and was designed by William Bell, who is perhaps better known for his work at Torrey Pines and La Jolla Country Club in San Diego. Now, architect Andy Staples, principal of Scottsdale-based Staples Golf Design, will get his hands on the 6.900, par-72 layout.
Improvements will include a "responsible refresh" of the clubhouse. The golf course will see a new irrigation system (replacing the original, which was installed in 1950), a rebuild of all the greens, a re-grassing of all the fairways and bunker renovations.
PGA Tour Champions playoffs are here
The countdown to the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship is on. The regular season is over and the top 72 golfers on the PGA Tour Champions have advanced to the three-tournament playoffs.
David Duval was the lone golfer from outside the top 72 to climb into the playoffs, finishing tied for 11th at the SAS Championship last Sunday to knock Jason Bohn to the 73rd position. Former Arizona Wildcats golfer Jim Furyk ended up in the 72nd and final spot.
The first leg of the Champions tour playoffs is this week’s Dominion Energy Classic at the Country Club of Virginia, followed by the TimberTech Championship at the Old Course in Broken Sound, Florida, Nov. 3-5. From there, only the top 30 in the points standings will advance to Phoenix Country Club, Nov. 9-12. A year ago, Padraig Harrington won the finale while Steven Alker clinched the season-long title.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: TPC Scottsdale sportsbook ready to open this week
