Organisers of this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open have introduced measures that they pray will help avert any repeat of the shameful scenes that shocked the game last year. However, there are fears that the reaction might not be stringent enough.
The PGA Tour stop, which annually breaks its own record for golf’s biggest attendance, set a mark in the sport for gross misbehaviour, with a remarkable 54 fans arrested and almost 300 evicted as TPC Scottsdale descended into near anarchy. The Saturday disorder veered way past the debauched, resulting in the gates being shut, ticket-holders waiting outside and alcohol sales being halted, as security struggled to contain the chaotic lawlessness.
Social media videos of extreme drunkenness and at least two fights breaking out quickly went viral. A woman who fell out of a grandstand on the infamous “Stadium Hole” 16th was taken to hospital overnight. Another attendee spent the night in the cells after leapfrogging the ropes bare-chested and jumping into a greenside bunker before performing “snow angels” in the sand.
But Scottsdale organisers are now ready to clamp down on such obscenities. Members of the galleries were pictured urinating in the open and others were carted away in ambulances after blacking out from intoxication.
Through it all the players were heckled and abused, with Zach Johnson, the 2023 US Ryder Cup captain, declaring that the promoters “should be embarrassed”.
Even Canadian Nick Taylor, the eventual champion, said “the bad behaviour needs to be cut out” but after decades of the atmosphere being ramped up, he was unsure this would be possible. “I think the cat’s probably out of the bag,” he said. “I don’t know how much they can change and I’m not sure how they would reel it back to be honest.”
No doubt, The Thunderbirds – the body responsible for the general management of what was called the Phoenix Open – want to retain the event’s title as quite easily the best attended tournament in the game and they could still get 700,000 through the turnstiles for the week. The third round is expected to peak above 200,000.
The charitable foundation, which points out that it has raised more than $200 million since its inception 88 years ago, is proud of its reputation of being the rowdiest tournament on the circuit and for so long basked in the credit of being a refreshing change to golf’s traditionally stifled atmospheres.
Scheffler: ‘It’s fun to experience’
However, even back when it was admired, the “Wasted Open” seemed less like the Old Course and more like the New Den, and there were players who warned that what was once good-natured revelry would eventually boil over into the ugly. “It was inevitable this would turn into a s—show,” An Byeong-hun, the astute South Korean, said.
That undoubtedly was the case 12 months ago, with Billy Horschel, who told a bunch of spectators to “shut the hell up”, making urgent contact with the organisers soon after the final round.
“I love a little banter back and forth, and I have no problem with that, but there gets a point where it crosses a line, and it’s crossed the line the last couple years,” Horschel said. “People were coming out and thinking they can just say whatever they want [to the players], and they think that’s what the golf tournament is about.
“As players, we just sort of finally said enough is enough, and we expressed our frustration a little bit more. Our message was to rein it in.” Big names, such as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, plainly believe the organisers have succeeded in answering the ultimatum – the £7.5 million event that begins on Thursday boasts a fine cast.
“It’s a unique test because not only are you battling the course, but there can be a pretty hectic crowd out there,” said Scheffler on Wednesday. “It’s something we don’t see throughout the year, but it’s really fun to come here and experience it.”
In fairness, the weather did not assist last year, as downpours turned the walkways into mudslides, of which the yobs duly took full advantage. And problems at the gates led to supporters streaming in, uncontrolled. Crowd favourite Rickie Fowler labelled it “the perfect storm” and expressed his hope that the officials would not go over the top in their reaction. It seems as if they have fulfilled the wish of the 2019 champion.
2025: ‘You throw, you go’
While there were calls to at least limit alcohol sales, the Thunderbirds have resisted that option and instead concentrated on improving the flow of spectators. A new entrance has been created and thoroughfares widened. A digital-only policy on general admission tickets which requires fans to sign “codes of conduct” has also been implemented. Anyone breaking the rules have been promised a “zero-tolerance” response .
“We always have a heavy PD [police department] presence, they’re going to be very visible this year, and if fans cross that line they will get removed,” Matt Mooney, the tournament director, said.
Signs have been posted in the large grandstands, stating “No throwing items onto course”, along with the slogan “You throw, you go”, in response to the 16th being given a beer shower in any event of a hole-in-one.
“Our general admission fans will have to click on a code of conduct acknowledgement and we’re going to have a zero-tolerance policy for people that cross those procedures,” Mooney added.
“Unfortunately, there’s a small segment of our society that wants to create these viral moments and it’s to the detriment of the event, the detriment of the other fans and most importantly the athletes themselves.”
Mooney is aware that the PGA Tour will be closely watching and could implement its own draconian overhaul if it does not believe the unseemly partying has been cleaned up sufficiently.
With concerns escalating that the Ryder Cup in New York could also be blighted by unruly behaviour, Luke Donald, the Europe captain, is not in this week’s field. The former world No 1 did play last year and commented in jest, but with commendable prescience: “This will give me a taste of what it might be like at Bethpage.”
