Los Angeles Dodger Walker Buehler doesn’t appear to be fazed by pressure. Not only has he faced the intense expectation of pitching in a World Series, which he won with the Dodgers in 2020, he’s also experienced the gauntlet of the WM Phoenix Open’s stadium-style 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.
“I got to play in the [WM Phoenix Open] Pro-Am last year,” Buehler told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode of Subpar. “Me and [Viktor] Hovland had balls right next to each other. I hit a club less, but he chipped and putted it. Those are scores, you do that on every hole, like, you have no chance.”
Buehler wasn’t able to participate in this year’s edition in Scottsdale, but hopes to be back again soon.
“It was awesome. That was such a cool experience,” he said. “I want to do it again. I have kind of a stipulation. I want to play with [Max] Homa and Justin Thomas, because Justin Thomas is a Louisville guy, Kentucky guy, and I want to play with Homa.”
Buehler is a Kentucky guy himself, and says got to know Homa, a longtime Dodger fan, over the last few years. And it turns out, the pro-am pairing Buehler is hoping for might be easier to achieve than he thought.
“I don’t know if you know it but the chairman of the Wednesday Pro-Am is sitting right right next to you,” Knost said, referring to Stoltz, who is a part of the Thunderbirds organization, the charity arm of the WM Phoenix Open.
“How bad do you want it?” Stoltz said as Knost laughed.
“I was texting Homa all off-season, like, you need to start talking to people, like, get this done,” Buehler said.
“JT’s highly requested, this is gonna cost a pretty penny,” Stoltz joked.
“This is going to be the most ridiculous Wednesday Pro-Am in Phoenix Open history,” Knost said.
Will Buehler get his wish? Time will tell. For more from Buehler, including the golf he likes to play while on the road, check out the full interview below.
As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.