Phoenix Open: Difference between revisions

The '''Phoenix Open''' (branded as the '''WM Phoenix Open''' for sponsorship reasons)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pgatour.com/news/2009/12/09/phoenixopen.html |title=Waste Management to sponsor Phoenix Open |publisher=PGA Tour |date=December 9, 2009 |access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref> is a professional [[golf]] tournament on the [[PGA Tour]], held in late January/early February at [[TPC Scottsdale]] in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], United States.

The tournament was originally the '''Arizona Open''', but was known for most of its history as the Phoenix Open until the investment bank [[Friedman Billings Ramsey]] became the title sponsor in October 2003. For the next six editions, and it was known as the '''FBR Open''' for the next six editions. [[Waste Management (corporation)|Waste Management, Inc.]] began its sponsorship in 2010.

The event's relaxed atmosphere, raucous by the standards of professional golf standards, has earned it the nickname "The Greatest Show on Grass" and made it one of the most popular events on the PGA Tour calendar.

The Phoenix Open began {{Time ago|1932}} in 1932 but was discontinued after the 1935 tournament. The rebirth of the Phoenix Open came in 1939 when Bob Goldwater Sr. convinced fellow Thunderbirds to help run the event. The Thunderbirds, a prominent civic organization in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], were not asless enthusiastic about running the event asthan he was, leaving Goldwater Sr. to do most of the work in getting a golf open started.

The five-day attendance of the tournament is usually around a half million, the best-attended event in golf. In 2016, it set a PGA Tour and Phoenix Open single -day attendance record with 201,003 fans in attendance on Saturday, February 6, and set a tournament week attendance record of 618,365 fans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/golf/phoenix-open/2015/01/21/waste-management-phoenix-open-attendance-records/22116155/|title=Waste Management Phoenix Open attendance records |publisher=AZ Central |date=February 7, 2016}}</ref>

The most popular location for spectators is the par-3 16th hole, nicknamed "The Coliseum." {{nowrap|({{coord|33.64|-111.91}})}} One of the shortest holes on tour at {{convert|162|yd}}, it is enclosed by a temporary 20,000-seat grandstand. The hole could be described as "one big party," with many students from the nearby [[Arizona State University]] in [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]] in attendance. Poor shots at the 16th hole receive boos, because the hole is very easystraightforward by the PGA's standards. Good shots, however, are cheered loudly. Players who make [[Hole in one|holes in one]] at the 16th will cause the gallery to erupt, leading to beverages and other objects being tossed in celebrations; [[Tiger Woods]] (1997),<ref name=wrecace>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YwNZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C0sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7258%2C4406344 |work=Victoria Advocate |location=(Texas) |title=Jones maintains Phoenix lead; Woods records ace on No. 16 |date=January 26, 1997 |page=6B}}</ref> [[Jarrod Lyle]] (2011), and [[Sam Ryder (golfer)|Sam Ryder]] (2022) have each aced the hole on Saturday, creating raucous celebrations at the hole.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/02/12/sam-ryder-ace-16-wm-phoenix-open/ |title=Watch: Sam Ryder makes an ace on 16 at WM Phoenix Open, coliseum nearly explodes and beer cans come raining down |magazine=Golfweek |date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> The anger of a poor shot can lead to tempers flaring, as [[Justin Leonard]] gave obscene gestures to the gallery after a poor shot one year. After 2013, the PGA Tour banned the practice of caddies racing the {{convert|150|yd}} from the tee box to the green, citing injury concerns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/tour-bans-caddie-races-tpc-scottsdale-colonial/ |title=PGA Tour Bans Popular Caddie Races at TPC Scottsdale, Colonial {{!}} Golf Channel |website=www.golfchannel.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228223146/http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/tour-bans-caddie-races-tpc-scottsdale-colonial/ |archive-date=2014-02-28}} </ref>

Former [[Arizona State Sun Devils#Golf|Arizona State]] players are very popular at the Phoenix Open, with many often wearing a [[Pat Tillman]] jersey when entering the 16th -hole stadium. [[Phil Mickelson]] and [[Jon Rahm]] are popular there for that reason. In addition to the golf, there is a concert/party held in the Scottsdale area called the Birds Nest, at which music artists like [[Huey Lewis and the News]] play.

The Thunderbirds are still highly active in the organization oforganizing the tournament. PortionsThe ofThunderbirds theuse proceedsportions are used byof the Thunderbirdsproceeds to fund [[Special Olympics]] activities in Phoenix.

Because of the Super Bowl weekend status, the PGA Tour's television contracts with [[PGA Tour on CBS|CBS]] and [[PGA Tour on NBC|NBC]] include an alternating tournament. Usually, a CBS tournament occurs when NBC or FOX televises the Super Bowl, the Phoenix Open airs on NBC when CBS has the Super Bowl, and NBC's [[Honda Classic]] aired on CBS during the [[2018 Winter Olympics]].

* 1949: [[Ben Hogan]] loses in a playoff and; driving on his way home with his wife; he succumbsis toinvolved in a near -fatal accident.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014232.html |title=Hogan majored in courage |work=ESPN |first=Larry |last=Schwartz}}</ref>