Some of the reasons why 2023 will be the biggest, loudest and most interesting WM Phoenix Open ever.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The WM Phoenix Open is the fifth-oldest tournament on the PGA Tour. In 2023, it will celebrate its 88th playing and 36th time at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium course.
This year will also mark the biggest, most high profile, most star-studded rendition of what has become the “People’s Open.”
The PGA Tour, in an effort to stave off the upstart LIV Golf League, which has been pilfering some of the top names in the game for the last nine months, has ramped up the prize money in a big way. The Phoenix Open had a purse of $9 million in 2022. It’s more than double that in 2023.
Here’s a closer look at some of the reasons why 2023 will be the biggest, loudest, and perhaps most interesting Phoenix Open ever.
The Thunderbirds will provide $1 million in emergency funding to assist Arizona charities in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
The Thunderbirds are well-known in the greater Phoenix area. In golf, they’re known as hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Regardless of the history, the Thunderbird legacy is about to grow.
The organization announced last week it would provide $1 million in emergency funding to assist Arizona charities during a time of great uncertainty brought on in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Funds were donated at the end of last week to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley, St. Mary’s Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul. The Thunderbirds announced they would continue to evaluate the situation and hand out the remainder of the money over the next few weeks as other priority needs arise.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open raises a colossal amount of money for Arizona charities. The tournament’s chairman announced during tournament week that this year’s event would raise more than $14 million. The Thunderbirds and Waste Management Phoenix Open have raised more than $95 million for local charities since 2010.
“Thanks to the tremendous community support every year of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Thunderbirds are able to give to so many worthy charities,” said Chance Cozby, Big Chief of the Thunderbirds. “We are in unprecedented times. We felt, as an organization, it was imperative to act quickly and get much needed funds to help those in dire need right now.”
Webb Simpson, as the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion, is inherently connected to the tournament and the Thunderbirds.
“I love the Phoenix Open for many reasons, of course 16 is an amazing spot, the record crowds every day are great,” Simpson said in a video posted on the Phoenix Open’s Instagram account. “But what gets lost in translation is the amount of money they raise for charities and the amount of money they give away to charities. This just highlights their generosity, that in this pandemic, they’re thinking of others, thinking of those who need it most.”
Yes, flying inches away from each other, most of the Thunderbirds aren’t facing forward.
This is the Daytona 500 from the Sky: A multi-part series from For The Win looking at NASCAR’s biggest race of the year from an aerial perspective.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform the flyover for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX), the six pilots fly their F-16 jets between 18 inches and three feet apart in a delta formation, as they perfectly time their appearance with the end of the national anthem. Specifically, it’s the last word, “brave.”
And even more impressive: Most of the pilots aren’t even looking forward while flying.
As Maj. Michelle Curran, Thunderbird No. 5, explained, Lt. Col. John Caldwell is Thunderbird No. 1 — he’s also known as Boss — and he leads the way in the delta formation as they fly over Daytona International Speedway.
“Everyone is flying off of the jet closer to the boss than them,” Curran told For The Win.
“So we have Thunderbird No. 1 out in the middle. He sets the timing. He’s the one responsible for making sure you see us go right over at the ‘B’ in ‘brave’ in the national anthem. So lots of pressure on him. He’s also flying a nice, smooth platform because we’re on the wings.”
And those pilots on the wings, two on each side of No. 1, are either looking to their right or left during the flyover, rather than looking straight forward, which requires a lot of practice and trust.
“I’m staring at No. 2’s jet and setting references and seeing the back of his head, as he’s looks at Boss, who’s all the way in the middle,” said Curran, who’s only the fifth female Thunderbird and second lead solo pilot for their airshow demonstrations.
“The same thing’s happening the on other side all looking towards the middle. So we often times don’t even know when we actually went over the track because the angle you’re looking at, you can’t really see it. You only know because the boss calls a turn afterwards. He’s like, ‘Right turn!’ And you’re like, ‘Oh we already did it. It’s done. We did the flyover!'”
(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
Curran is in her second year with the Thunderbirds but 11th overall with the U.S. Air Force. So this is her second Daytona 500 flyover, but she had plenty of practice with the Thunderbirds’ nine-month schedule filled with flyovers and airshows.
And she learned their heads turned to the side for flyovers isn’t the most comfortable thing.
“It hurts for a while, and then I think part way through the season, your body adapts to it,” Curran said. “And then by the end of the season, you’re like, ‘OK, it’s time for this to be done because my neck and back are really sore from looking in one direction.’ But you get used to it.”
For the Daytona 500, the F-16 jets at Daytona Beach International Airport adjacent to the Daytona race track. Curran said the Thunderbirds take off between 30 and 45 minutes before the national anthem, and they fly over to the beach to their “hold point,” which is a low air traffic area.
It takes them about 20 minutes to get from the beach airspace to the track, and their team members on the ground are providing updates about the anthem singer’s timing and if that person is a few seconds ahead or behind their usual pace. The good news for them is Air Force Technical Sgt. Nalani Quintello is this year’s singer.
Once the Thunderbirds are on their way to the track, they can speed up or slow down, to a certain extent, to time their flyover with the end of the anthem and “can normally make up the difference,” Curran said.
(Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
The Thunderbirds also have a little something special planned for Sunday’s Daytona 500. It’s called a delta burst, which is when they’re in the standard delta formation and then all go in opposite directions like a firework.
Curran said it’s not standard for a flyover, but they’ve practiced it multiple times. She said the plan is to do a regular flyover and then come back around for the command — “Drivers, start your engines!” — and then do the burst.
“It’s a lot of people’s favorite maneuver, so that’ll be cool,” Curran said.
For The Win took a wild ride with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds ahead of NASCAR’s Daytona 500.
This is the Daytona 500 from the Sky: A multi-part series from For The Win looking at NASCAR’s biggest race of the year from an aerial perspective.
NASCAR drivers and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds actually have a lot in common. They both pilot specialized machines running at high speeds at events around the country with seasons that last for the majority of the year. The biggest difference is, obviously, is the altitude — or lack thereof.
For the 10th straight year and 11th overall, the Thunderbirds will perform a flyover before the Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX). The event kicks off both the NASCAR season and that of the Thunderbirds, who have 36 flyovers and airshows between now and November, showing off the capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet. (NASCAR also has 36 races in that same time period.)
Before the Daytona 500, we took a ride with the Thunderbirds, specifically with Maj. Jason Markzon, who’s No. 8 of 12 officers on the team. Nos. 1 through 6 perform during airshows and flyovers, but Nos. 7 and 8 are also pilots.
So from this wild and unique experience, here are eight things we learned about the Thunderbirds.
Taking off (and going straight up) for our flight. The airport is right next to Daytona International Speedway.
1. The F-16’s max speed is about 1,500 miles per hour
But they said that’s mostly a training and combat speed. During our flight, we stayed in the 500-600 miles per hour range, which is also what they’re typically at for flyovers and airshow demonstrations.
2. The F-16s can pull 9 gs
That’s an unfathomable amount of gravitational forces. To compare, when you take off on a commercial airline, you’re looking at two or three gs, the Thunderbirds explained.
Retired NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon took a ride with the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, back in the late 1990s. The experience is only slightly different from riding with the Thunderbirds, and he called the flight “unbelievable” and something he’ll never forget.
“As a race car driver, I’m used to going high speeds, pulling heavy gs,” Gordon recently told For The Win. “But nothing compares to what it’s like to be in that cockpit and going along for this ride. …
“Pulling the kinds of gs they pull, which is mind boggling what that airplane is capable of, I definitely did not get through the experience without getting really queasy and getting sick.”
Same, JG. Same.
(Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
3. It’s OK to get sick
It’s obviously not ideal, but the Thunderbirds are ready for that. Flying with the Thunderbirds for the first time, there’s no way your stomach is prepared for the g-forces or, you know, flying upside down. But they’ve got you covered with airsickness bags that they open ahead of time and put in an easy-to-reach place.
“It was the coolest experience of my life,” Joey Logano told FTW about his Thunderbirds ride in 2009. “The g forces are so strong it almost hurts. …
“I got sick and blacked out a little, but it was so cool and not like anything, any roller coaster, not like anything you’ve ever been on.”
He walked me through everything we were going to do during the flight, which included flying around Cape Canaveral and checking out NASA and SpaceX.
Markzon’s call sign is “Flack,” he’s logged more than 2,000 flight hours and more than 1,000 in an F-16 and he geeked out hard as we flew around NASA — but to be fair, it’s pretty cool.
That’s NASA over my left shoulder.
5. Becoming a Thunderbird is a highly selective process
Officers 1-12 are hand-selected, and they must have at least 750 flight hours and be at least a captain.
6. The Daytona 500 is the only sporting event on the 2020 schedule
(Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Although the Thunderbirds did a flyover during the national anthem at the 2019 Super Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, their only sporting event this year is NASCAR’s biggest race.
7. Maj. Michelle Curran (Thunderbird No. 5) is the fifth female Thunderbird pilot
She performs during flyovers and is the lead solo pilot during airshow demonstrations. She will participate in the Daytona flyover Sunday.
8. During flyovers, the jets are inches away from each other
It’s hard to tell because the Thunderbirds are so fast, and the flyovers last only a few seconds. But when they’re in that delta formation (a V), they said they’re only about 18 inches apart.
