- Slug: Sports-Phoenix Open Fans. 550 words.
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By Nicholas Furman
Cronkite News
SCOTTSDALE – Golf is often called a gentleman’s game. At the WM Phoenix Open, that narrative doesn’t always hold true. Last year’s event resulted in 54 arrests after large crowds and poor weather contributed to a sometimes chaotic environment.
That didn’t stop spectators from returning this year. The WM Phoenix continues to have a strong and loyal fan base.
“After last year, I said I’m not coming again,” Phoenix resident Chris Carpenter, 41, said. “And then the ads came on, my friends were talking about it and then, well, all was forgiven.”
Tom Weinhold has attended every WM Phoenix Open event since the TPC Scottsdale stadium course stated hosting tour events in 1987. The memories remain vivid.
“Watching Phil Mickelson hole out on 18, ” Weinhold said. “And watching (wife) Amy and the girls run out and greet him, that was cool.
Mickelson, who has since departed for LIV Golf, is just one of four competitors who have won the WM Phoenix Open three different times, with his most recent coming in 2013.
The stories that come out of the WM Phoenix Open are unlike those at any other PGA event. Some of the biggest highlights come at 16, including on Friday when Emiliano Grillo aced the par-3 hole for the 12th hole-in-one there. Others include Sam Ryder’s spectacular ace in 2022 that saw the coliseum erupt and fans jumping up and down and throwing their drinks onto the course.
None was more memorable however, than when the feat was accomplished by 21-year-old Tiger Woods in 1997.
Named the coliseum due to the stadium-style seating, the 16th hole presents an atmosphere unlike any other golf tournament in the world. The hole sits around 20,000 screaming and rocking fans.
After what took place last year at the WM Phoenix Open, the Thunderbirds – the charitable organization that runs the event – worked to correct some of the tournament’s issues.
“It feels like they have made necessary changes for security and ticket prices,” spectator Ty Martin said Friday. “This is my first day out here, so it seems like they’ve increased prices which has been helpful.”
Last year, daily ticket prices ranged from $50 to $75. This year, they’re $75 to $125, in part ot help curb the crowd size. Even with the increase in prices, Martin said that wouldn’t keep him from coming to this event.
Others feel the same.
I live here,” Arizona resident Vanessa Long said. “It’s like the biggest event, it’s like the Super Bowl of golf. It’s fun. You don’t have to be super quiet, although last year got a little out of hand.”
For all the adult antics that are spotlighted at this PGA tour stop, it has made an effort to be more family friendly, and added a kid zone for children to secure autographs from the pros.
Travis Behrens and his son have attended this event for the past nine years and appreciate the addition.
“It’s great because there are no adults pushing them around trying to get an autograph, like when you go anywhere else, ” Behrens said. “So they have their own zone and the PGA tour golfers are amazing about it.”
Many of the spectators who attend the WM Phoenix Open appreciate its uniqueness.
“It’s unlike any other tournament in the entire world,” Weinhold said.
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