For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as the always entertaining WM Phoenix Open gets underway!

1. Rory on No. 1 ranking

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”When a reporter asked McIlroy on Wednesday whether he’s still the best player in the world, he didn’t hesitate in answering yes.”

• “Because I do. I’m playing well,” McIlroy said, during a news conference ahead of this week’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. “I feel like, consistency-wise, I’ve been as good as I have ever been in my career.

• “I said at the end of last year, I feel as complete of a player as I ever have. If you just look at my statistical categories, there’s no real glaring weaknesses there. I’ve worked really hard on that, to try to become a more well-rounded player.”

2. …and Netflix series

Via the Golf Channel Digital team…”But there were limits to his involvement — several of them, which he explained on Wednesday ahead of the WM Phoenix Open.”

• “I sort of took the attitude of see how the first season works out, see if I like it, like the idea, feel comfortable letting cameras get into my life a little bit more. But I had a good chat with [executive producer] Chad [Mumm] in the summertime. Obviously, with everything that’s going on in the world of golf, he just said having my voice in there in some way could just add a layer of context that wasn’t there already,” McIlroy explained.”

• “I made sure that the parameters were very much like, look, you can film me at – you’re not coming to my house, you’re not coming in my car, you’re not coming anywhere near my family, but you want to do some stuff with me at golf tournaments, totally fine. They were the ground rules that were sort of set, and here we are.”

3. Billy Walters tell-all cometh

Adam Woodard for Golfweek…“Mark your calendars for Aug. 15, golf fans.”

• “A book by Billy Walters, the famed sports bettor who went to prison in 2017 for insider trading, is expected to include details of his relationship with six-time major champion Phil Mickelson that may not paint the Lefty in the most positive light. Co-written by Armen Keteyian, author of Tiger, Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk will be published by Simon & Schuster and be available later this summer.”

• “In addition to an against-all-odds American dream story, it reveals in granular detail the secrets of Walters’s proprietary sports betting system, which will serve as a master class for tens of millions of recreational gamblers in America and around the world,” according to a press release. “Walters also breaks his silence about his long and complicated relationship with Hall of Fame professional golfer Phil Mickelson.”

4. Saudi Ladies International invites

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“Next week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International features a stellar field and a $5 million purse, now the highest prize fund in women’s golf outside of the majors and the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.”

• “Up from $1 million last season, the women’s purse now matches that of the men’s Saudi International, won last week by Abraham Ancer.”

• “Many of the best players in the women’s game will make their 2023 season debut next week, including World No. 1 Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Atthaya Thitikul and In Gee Chun. In all, 13 major winners have entered.”

• “The 120-player field will feature 60 Ladies European Tour players, 50 from the top 300 in the Rolex Rankings and 10 sponsor invites. The event, which is presented by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, takes place Feb. 16-19 at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. The winner will receive $750,000.”

5. Scheffler on Masters menu

Golfweek’s Todd Kelly…”He’ll be aiming to defend his Masters title in two months and with the clock ticking, he was asked if has settled on the menu yet for the Masters dinner”

• “Not quite. We’ve got some ideas. I’m excited about it. Hopefully the guys will like it, too. I’m a little bit weird about my food. I don’t really branch out too much. We’ll see what they think.”

6. Rahm on world No. 1 “souvenir”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Jon Rahm apologizes to wife after revealing the ‘souvenir’ from when he first became World Number One”

• “At Jon Rahm’s pre-tournament press conference for this week’s first ever “elevated” version of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Jon Rahm was asked if he had a souvenir outside of the Memorial Tournament trophy from his first time as the number one player in the world.”

• “Rahm answered the question immediately.”

• “I do. His name is Kepa,” Rahm said. “He’s almost two years old. Sorry, Kelley, but yeah. She can tell you the story more than me. We suspect that it was that night. Sorry.”

7. Xander on the status quo

Gabrielle Herzig for SI…

• “Sports Illustrated: Are you generally happy with the direction that the PGA Tour is moving right now?”

• “Xander Schauffele: I like to set more long-term goals, and it’s a little tricky. The word “fractured” comes to mind when thinking about our sport, with some of the best players in the world split up, which sucks just from a personal standpoint of competition. But there’s been a big influx of money into the sport. Do we like how it happened? That’s probably a different conversation. But in 10 years from now, because of this fracturing, because of what happened, there’s a good chance that the sport could be better off. It could be attracting more people, it could force people to become proactive in the space and make a better product, something that will attract a younger generation. I think overall—I like to think long-term—it could be a really good thing. I think the Tour is doing its best to be proactive and put its best foot forward and make sure that no more top players leave the current Tour bubble.”

8. New Old vs. New episode

• In the latest episode of Old vs. New, our Andrew Tursky tested out TaylorMade’s Burner SuperFast 3-wood from 2010.

9. WM Phoenix Open photos

• Check out all of our galleries from Phoenix this week!