The fans claimed they were barred from entering the tournament.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nearly 2,500 golf fans have requested ticket refunds from the WM Phoenix Open, claiming they were barred from entering the tournament during the third round after organizers closed the gates in an effort to mitigate the drunken chaos that overwhelmed this year’s event.
The Open ended with a record-high number of arrests, was overly crowded, and became so disorganized that it infuriated professional golfers and longtime fans alike ― some of whom questioned whether they would return next year.
The chaos reached its peak on Saturday, Feb. 10, when, “due to the large inflow of guests” tournament security “made the decision to allow guests into the event without scanning tickets to alleviate pressure at the entrance gates,” according to tournament spokesperson Ryan Woodcock.
Organizers cut off alcohol sales and denied access to individuals who had purchased tournament tickets.
In an email six days after The Arizona Republic asked, Woodcock said in an email that 2,461 fans have requested their money back. None of them have received a refund as of yet, but that refunds were starting to be issued on March 7 for those who bought their ticket on the Phoenix Open website.
Those who bought their ticket on StubHub, Vivid Seats or anywhere else are out of luck, however. Woodcock told The Republic that “we are unable to verify ticket purchases through any other vendor,” so anyone who did not use the Phoenix Open web page to buy their ticket is not eligible for a refund, even if they were barred from entering.
“They really screwed over a lot of a lot of fans,” said John Christensen, who attends the Open every year with his father as a family tradition, but was unable to get into this year’s event and is ineligible for a refund. “We paid for something that we weren’t able to use.”
The Open organizers, who are a nonprofit organization called The Thunderbirds, declined to answer questions about how many fans attended the tournament. They haven’t announced attendance numbers since 2018.
It’s also unclear how many fans who bought tickets were turned away from the Open on that Saturday, let alone how many of them can’t get their money back because they used a third-party ticket service.
Woodcock did not explain why the tournament is unable to verify tickets purchased through other websites, saying only that the refund process involves, “verifying the purchase of a ticket through (our) website and verifying that the ticket was not scanned. Upon verification, we will issue a refund to any and all eligible fans who request a refund.”
Eligible fans have until March 31 to submit a refund request by emailing orders@wmphoenixopen.com.
“We understand the frustrations from those who have submitted refund requests and welcome the feedback and opportunity to improve our systems,” Woodcock wrote to The Republic. “To request a refund or inquire about a pending request, please email orders@wmphoenixopen.com.”
Multiple agencies sent reinforcements to TPC Scottsdale to help quiet the chaos.
At least a dozen law enforcement agencies sent more than 100 officers to assist Scottsdale with public safety services at this year’s WM Phoenix Open, where large crowds, soggy conditions and alcohol spelled trouble for event organizers.
Massive weekend crowds were unable to spread out on the grass banks around the course given the muddy conditions, creating such congestion that the gates were closed Saturday to afternoon ticketholders.
Scottsdale police arrested a record 54 people, tripling the number from the previous year. And 211 fans were ejected from the event, which is more than twice the amount thrown out during the past two Opens. While these are still small percentages in comparison to the crowds on hand, it’s a trend organizers are hoping to reverse.
There were widespread reports of fans entering without tickets being checked or scanned, in an attempt to unclog the main entrance.
Tournament chair George Thimsen, in an interview with Golfweek Thursday, said organizers would review this year’s event as they planned next year’s tournament, and crowd size would be reviewed.
“I would say that likely there will be less people on a Friday and a Saturday at our event and that we would focus on quality over quantity,” he said.
He acknowledged “a lot of humans” at the event but did not characterize conditions as unsafe.
“That’s because of the hard work of our first responders and law enforcement and volunteers,” he said. “There may have been some frustrated fans … But at the end of the day, I think it (closing the gates) was the right call, and it was a successful event.
“From a safety perspective, there wasn’t a lot of major issues, and we feel thankful and blessed for that.”
A fan pounds two beers together and chugs them before getting arrested near the 17th hole during the second round at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
He said, “We have, you know, our PD all over … the course and supporting throughout the tournament.” He did say he expected a stronger police presence next year, “especially from a player perspective.”
Scottsdale police coordinate efforts with other Phoenix area departments to provide security. Pro Em is the company that provides event management and security staff at the tournament.
It remains unclear what the overall total number of officers was at the event or how that stacks up to previous years, but Scottsdale Police Department spokesperson Aaron Bolin said it “was staffed very similarly to every other year we have done it.
“This event is planned so well in advance and we have a ton of historical data as we staff it each year,” Bolin said. “We do have, according to our models and according to what has worked for us in the past, adequate staffing.”
The Arizona Republic asked 14 local law enforcement agencies how many officers and other resources they provided at the Open.
Scottsdale police declined to specify. “We do not want people with bad intentions to know how many officers and resources are staffed and working at the event. We don’t discuss it for security reasons,” Sgt. Allison Sempsis said.
Peoria and Mesa police did not immediately provide an answer. But 11 other departments confirmed they sent officers to the tournament.
Tempe: Sent approximately 50 officers between Wednesday and Saturday to provide “support” for the event. The department said the number of its officers assigned this year was lower than usual because of other events.
Arizona Department of Public Safety: Sent about 30 off-duty troopers. The department was unable to provide the number of troopers it sent during previous years.
Chandler: Sent about a dozen officers to provide support on bicycles.
Surprise: Sent four bicycle officers who worked with Scottsdale’s bike team but provided no enforcement on “incidents that result in charges.”
Gilbert: Had about 12 officers on bike teams and night traffic units. The department had a more limited presence at the open than usual because of officers’ regular shifts on Thursday through Saturday.
Apache Junction: Sent six officers who assisted Scottsdale police and the private security company.
Arizona State University Police: Sent four officers from Wednesday to Saturday.
Queen Creek and Goodyear: Sent one and two dog units to the Open, respectively. Goodyear’s unit did explosive sweeps every morning.
Phoenix police and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office: Only sent deputies and officers to the “Know Your Limit” event on Friday and Saturday to highlight the effects of alcohol consumption. The agencies provided no enforcement.
Fans pack the walkway near the 10th hole during the third round of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
The staffing models the Scottsdale department uses involve a lighter police presence on Tuesday and Wednesday for pre-tournament events, when Pro Em is mostly able to manage the crowds, Bolin said.
Thursday through Saturday is when law enforcement agencies ramp up their efforts as more fans arrive.
Bolin said security at the tournament is so well done, Scottsdale police “have outside police agencies and event coordinators actually come to our tournament, in particular, to see how we do it and how we are successful.” He noted that a team of police officers from Sweden previously had visited to learn from the Phoenix Open’s practices.
Some of the chaotic fan behavior was a matter for Pro Em security rather than the police, Bolin said. An increased police presence or different law enforcement model would not have made much of a difference when it came to constraining some of that, he said.
“I’m not really sure that a different staffing model would have solved any of the issues that were out there, that people are posting about, people sliding down hills, things like that. Just because something isn’t golf etiquette, or it’s … raucous behavior doesn’t necessarily mean it’s against the law.”
Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com.
“There’s some major improvements and operational things that we are looking to make.”
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The 2024 WM Phoenix had a fantastic finish with a playoff that ended just before dark Sunday but this year’s version of the People’s Open is being remembered for rain, muddy conditions and the social media videos of fans drinking too much and getting into it with players.
Four days after its conclusion, tournament director George Thimsen told Golfweek there have already been long discussions about how to be better next time around, especially for the third round on Saturday, always the most highly attended day of the week.
“With respect to Saturday, I think we have a lot of things to learn from,” Thimsen said. “I think that we understand that it was a challenging set of circumstances that we had to navigate.”
Using the term “operational audit,” Thimsen said the Thunderbirds, the civic group that runs the WMPO at TPC Scottsdale, will look at the entire week.
“Each year as this tournament continues to grow, the Thunderbirds and all of our partners in law enforcement and first responders, we meet and we do a post-mortem of the event,” he said. “What are some of the key learnings that how can we continue to improve? And obviously this year, there’s some major improvements and operational things that we are looking to make and the Thunderbirds are committed to doing that.
“We’re committed to making this an event that the community is proud of. But, yeah, on that Saturday, the weather that morning and just the sheer number of people that still wanted to come out and enjoy the event, it did create a lot of congestion.”
Days of rain made many of the grassy hillsides unusable for fans. Well, mostly unusable except for the fan caught on viral video sliding shirtless face first in the muck, then getting doused in beer from several of his friends.
Do the Thunderbirds feel like part of the future plan is the discouragement of excessive drinking?
“We’re going to be addressing the distribution channels of alcohol and the alcoholic beverages to our guests and we’re going to make the necessary changes that we need to once we are able to diagnose everything, all elements of it,” Thimsen said.
“You’re hitting me at a very emotional point right now, so if I were to say if I’m gonna come back, I’d probably say no,” Johnson told The Arizona Republic. “But at the same time, I have no idea.”
Things may have come to a head around 2 p.m. on Saturday when the tournament gates were closed, even to fans who purchased tickets. That led to social media outrage. To make it up to those fans, Thimsen said they can send an email to orders@wmphoenixopen.com and after providing an order number, a ticket number or an email associated with the original order, get a full refund.
“We own up to it, we take full responsibility and own that Saturday was not perfect and we want to continue to prove that but the stage was not the normal stage that we have,” he said.
Justin Thomas thanks the crowd after his putt on the 10th green during the second round of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: The Arizona Republic)
Chance Cozby, executive director of the Thunderbirds, was on Golf Channel Monday and called Saturday a “turning point.” On Tuesday, he and next year’s WM Phoenix Open tournament chairman Matt Mooney visited Pacific Palisades, California, ahead of this week’s Genesis Invitational. The Sports Business Journal reported that the duo met with PGA Tour players throughout the day to get feedback, the most common being that fans didn’t seem to get out of line when uniformed police officers were stationed in highly visible areas.
Tournament organizers stopped announcing attendance figures in 2019. In 2018, the tournament reported a weekly attendance of 719,179 and a Saturday attendance of 216,818, the most ever in a single day on record for the event. That Saturday was also the third year in a row the attendance surpassed the 200,000 mark.
“I think there’s been a lot of speculative numbers out there and we actually don’t have a number that we have officially communicated internally yet so I don’t have a number,” Thimsen said when asked about a 2024 number.
What is still being tracked are public-safety security issues. The numbers show that arrests went from 18 to 54 from 2023 to 2024 and that ejections went from 102 to 211.
Security issues
2022
2023
2024
Calls for service
440
558
653
Arrests
0
18
54
Ejections
90
102
211
Trespass
14
41
73
Source: Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control
If last Saturday’s attendance was close to the 2018 mark of more than 200,000, then the 211 fans tossed out represents 0.1 percent and the 54 fans arrested is 0.03 percent of all the fans who attended.
Still, seeing those numbers double and triple, respectively, is a trend moving in the wrong direction.
The full operational audit will take time to complete but one distinct possibility is that fewer tickets will be sold on the popular days of Friday and Saturday in future years.
“I think that one thing you can definitely count on is that we’re going to make improvements and diagnose through our operational audit what makes the most sense for our tournament,” Thimsen said. “But if I were a betting man, I would say that likely there will be less people on a Friday and a Saturday at our event and that we would focus on quality over quantity.
“You know, we’re proud of the uniqueness and energy of the WMPOs. It is the People’s Open but we do understand that we need to make changes and not necessarily, you know, always bigger, but definitely always to get better.”
The Phoenix Open donated more than $14 million to charities after the 2023 event, bringing the lifetime total to close to $110 million.
“We’re hoping to be able to get to announce a number very similar because people are out there partying with a purpose,” Thimsen said. “I think that that’s really the main focus, that I hope people can rally around, which is, yes, there are some things out there that are fun to see on video and kind of scroll through when you’re on your social media but at the end of the day, we’re making a really big impact for our community here and that’s why we do what we do.”
One spectator was upset when beer sales were suspended. “There was nothing else to do but watch golf.”
LOS ANGELES — It’s difficult to find more disparate experiences in consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour calendar than the WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational.
One is held at a modern course designed with spectator flow in mind, the other isn’t. One is at the center of every sporting conversation in its host city that week, the other isn’t. One is viewed by some Tour players with an aversion usually reserved for gas station sushi, the other isn’t. One attracts and engages fans at a level that’s the envy of most tournaments on the schedule, the other doesn’t. One stretchers out more inebriated, vomit-flecked fans than LIV draws in, the other doesn’t.
On the grounds at Riviera Country Club, much of the chatter remains focused on events at TPC Scottsdale, where the viral social media videos included Tour pros in terse exchanges with spectators, a pair of Two-Can Van Dammes brawling, shirtless belly slides in the mud, and a barely-conscious chap perched on a stool, blissfully unaware that he was also urinating.
It’s golf, but plastered.
The WM Phoenix Open is a known quantity. Tour players understand that the party vibe at TPC Scottsdale isn’t just tolerated, it’s welcomed. Merchandise offerings celebrate the boozy bro culture, like T-shirts proclaiming the wearer got hammered at the 16th hole. One friend at Riviera said he heard from a spectator in Scottsdale who was upset when beer sales were suspended. “There was nothing else to do but watch golf,” they griped.
That scene isn’t to all tastes, so many players choose to skip it. But the festivities last week proved two things: that giving free rein to jackasses doesn’t end well, and that the Tour’s new reality will force an uncomfortable reckoning for its most popular event.
The social media era has spawned a disease in many sports, in which a handful of spectators believe buying a ticket makes them part of the entertainment, apparently convinced there’s an audience dying to hear their slurred witticisms or watch them guzzle beer from a shoe. In most venues, that group is blessedly small. Not so at the Phoenix Open. To an extent —certainly more than they’re accustomed to — Tour players need to suck it up and tune out oafs riding the rope lines while offering commentary. That’s just part of being a professional athlete. The issue in Scottsdale is that the rope line is no longer the final frontier. Players won’t — and shouldn’t — tolerate people running onto the course to make snow angels in the bunkers, or yelling during the hitting of a shot with the intent of distracting competitors.
The standard defense offered by WMPO loyalists — if you don’t like it, stay home — is no longer fit for purpose. Only the stars can vote with their feet and walk. For everyone else, starts in Tour events are tougher to come by than ever, so staying home is a luxury they can’t afford. And if the Phoenix Open sees the quality of its field decline because of boorish fan behavior, that’s a problem. If women working on-site feel unsafe because of groups of leering drunks, that’s a problem. If spectators are emboldened to go inside the ropes, that’s a problem. When fans gleefully initiate and record conflict with competitors, that’s a problem.
Whose problem? The PGA Tour’s, partially, since that’s the brand being damaged. But moreso for the Thunderbirds organization that runs the event.
It’s not like the Phoenix Open needs to be taken over by the temperance movement — and the game certainly needs reminders these days that fans matter just as much as players — but there has to be a line on appropriate conduct that is policed effectively, and right now that line hasn’t so much been blurred as entirely erased. The alternative is more elite players choosing not to compete, more fans opting not to put their kids in the middle of a bawdy piss-up, and more reluctance on the part of the Tour and its partners to embrace the entire experience.
Perhaps Riviera needs a little more TPC Scottsdale, but TPC Scottsdale needs a lot more Riviera. Perhaps it’s futile to ask spectators in search of a party to act responsibly, but it’s sure as hell not too much to ask of the tournament organizers.
Here’s the cool part that no one has talked about yet: Hadwin missed the cut on Saturday morning.
LOS ANGELES – Adam Hadwin learned his lesson. He wore his PGA Tour badge and didn’t go running on the green with a bottle of champagne to spray Nick Taylor when he holed the winning putt to win the WM Phoenix Open in a sudden-death playoff on Sunday.
On Sunday, Hadwin wore the same green hoodie and jeans he was wearing in Canada on that fateful day as Taylor battled it out with Charley Hoffman. Hadwin said he sported the same outfit that morning for good luck for Taylor, who shared the 54-hole lead. As one social media commentator noted, “It’s like he wants it to happen.”
This time, Hadwin watched the tying putt from a bridge between 18 green and the clubhouse at TPC Scottsdale along with fellow Canadian Corey Conners. Then he moved greenside with Conners, his wife, Taylor’s wife, Andie, and pro Kevin Streelman during the two-hole playoff.
“I wore my badge this time. At least this time they knew who I was,” he said.
Here’s the cool part that no one has talked about yet: Hadwin missed the cut on Saturday morning. He was part of the wrong end of the wave that shot about three strokes higher and he carded 75-71 and had Sunday off. He had no reason to be at TPC Scottsdale. It wasn’t as if he finished a few groups before and had time to kill. Most of the country was busy watching the first half of the Super Bowl. But Hadwin lives nearby and told Golfweek he was watching the golf on TV that afternoon rooting for his buddy.
“I live only like 12 minutes away,” he said downplaying the fact that he headed over to TPC Scottsdale on the chance that Taylor rallied from three strokes back of Hoffman with four holes to play. Still, as Dionne Warwick once sang, “That’s what friends are for.” We’re giving a golf clap to Hadwin for being there for his buddy’s win again – and we’re glad he didn’t get pummeled this time.
I asked him during the playoff @WMPhoenixOpen if he had checked that security know who he is this time? He said he’s wearing his credential specifically and not risking it with a bottle of champagne! https://t.co/PBKFc9U4yk
It pays to play well on the PGA Tour. Just ask this week’s winner, Nick Taylor.
The 35-year-old Canadian won the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona after making clutch putt after clutch putt to take down Charley Hoffman in a two-hole playoff on Sunday. For his efforts, Taylor will take home the top prize of $1,584,000. Hoffman earned a hefty consolation prize of $959,200. Best friends and Ryder Cup partners Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns finished T-3 and each earned $519,200.
With $8.8 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open.
The win is Taylor’s fourth of his PGA Tour career.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nick Taylor clawed his way back from a three-shot deficit with four holes to go using a claw grip with his putter that propelled him to victory at the WM Phoenix Open.
Taylor birdied five of his last six holes at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday in an incredible display of putting to shoot a bogey-free 6-under 65 and win a two-hole sudden-death playoff over Charley Hoffman.
Taylor dropped his putter and clenched his fists as he birdied 18 for the third consecutive time – once in regulation and twice in the playoff — the final time from 15 feet. It marked the fourth career PGA Tour title for Taylor, who finished runner-up here last year.
“The finish was pretty dream-like,” he said.
Thirteen months ago at the Sony Open, at the suggestion of his short-game coach Gareth Raflewski, the Canadian Taylor switched to putting with a claw grip in which the left hand holds the club firmly and the right hand rotates so the palm faces his thighs. The grip is pinched “clawlike” by the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and used to guide the stroke in a pendulum arc.
“My setup got much cleaner, my face rotation slowed down, so we’ve done the same drills for a year, just constantly repeating them over and over again,” he said. “I felt like growing up the claw was kind of a stigma. If you went to that, you probably struggled on the greens, but for me, once I committed to it, I haven’t turned back, and I’ve never putted better than the last year.”
Nick Taylor celebrates after defeating Charley Hoffman in a playoff at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Pros trying to improve their putting is considered golf’s endless and seemingly most futile search, but for Taylor, who dubbed himself as a streaky putter, it has been a game-changer, turning the biggest weakness in his game into a strength. Taylor famously holed a 72-foot eagle putt to win the 2023 Canadian Open in a playoff and end a 69-year drought for Canadians in their national open.
Having already won in his native land, Taylor, 35, added his hometown event. He has been a local resident since he graduated from University of Washington in 2010, and practices at TPC Scottsdale frequently. And yet until last year, he had always struggled reading the greens at TPC Scottsdale. That wasn’t the case this year as he holed 184 feet, 6 inches of putts in the first round, a personal high watermark. He gained 7.2 strokes on the greens, the fifth-best 18-hole performance in the ShotLink era dating to 2004, en route to tying the course record with an 11-under 60.
“I putted out of my mind,” Taylor said.
He followed with rounds of 70-68 and shared the 54-hole lead, but he trailed Hoffman by three strokes with four holes to go before his putter turned deadly one more time. He sank a clutch 10-foot birdie at 18 to force a playoff, and drained birdie putts of 15 feet and 11 feet in extra holes. For the week, he made 459 feet, 9 inches of putts, the most in the field and the best in Taylor’s 260 career Tour starts.
On Saturday evening, after the third round of the Phoenix Open was suspended due to darkness, Hoffman was asked what it would take to win the title.
“The lowest score,” he said with a wry smile.
The 47-year-old in his 19th year on the PGA Tour went out and gave it all he had. He wrapped up the third round when play resumed on Sunday with five birdies in his final six holes to shoot 7-under 64 and then matched that figure again to be the first player in the clubhouse with a 72-hole total of 21-under 263. Hoffman, a WM ambassador since 2007, was seeking his first title since 2016 but had to settle for his first top-10 since the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“I played my butt off,” Hoffman said. “I knew if I got to that 22 number it would be hard for (Taylor) to catch me, and left a putt short (at 18) in regulation. But I love the juices. I love competing. This builds a little fire in the belly. I definitely want to be back here.”
This time Taylor also managed to get the better of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was bidding to win the title for the third straight year. Scheffler charged with five birdies in a row on Sunday morning during the third round to trail by two heading into the final round. Then he reeled off four more birdies in a row starting at the second to take the lead at 17 under. Taylor’s reaction to seeing the world No. 1 charge? “Oh, boy,” he said.
But Scheffler’s putter let him down in crunch time as he lipped out for par from 6 feet at No. 7, missed for birdie from 8 feet at the ninth and most disappointing of all, failed to make a 3-foot birdie attempt at 13. A final-round 66 made for a valiant effort to defend the title – had he won they may have re-named the course TPC Scottie-Dale – but it came up short (T-3).
“I’d say I’m a bit frustrated. I didn’t really finish the way I wanted to, but I gave myself a good chance this week,” Scheffler said. “Just wasn’t able to close.”
Nick Taylor Is awarded a check during the trophy ceremony after winning in a two-hole playoff during the final round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 11, 2024 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Weather delays totaling nearly seven hours had been a big part of the tournament’s story and so it was only fitting that there would be more one more on Sunday, a 76-minute frost delay, and a sudden-death playoff.
After players completed the third round, they had 10 minutes before they were sent back out for the final round. Hoffman made an eagle and six birdies in his first 15 holes to reach 21 under and build a three-stroke lead. But Taylor seized the moment.
“To find my swing a bit the last nine or ten holes and make some birdies was incredible,” Taylor said.
Only one other golfer has won the event three straight years: Arnold Palmer.
SCOTTSDALE Ariz. — Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA Tour stop at the WM Phoenix Open two years ago.
Now he’s in prime position to be the first to win the event three years in a row at TPC Scottsdale.
Scheffler made five straight birdies on Nos. 9 through 13 in the resumption of his third round Sunday morning, the fourth time he’s done that in his career, to zoom up the leaderboard and get to 13 under, one stroke off the lead.
He bogeyed the 14th but then birdied the 16th to stay within a shot of first-round leader Nick Taylor, second-round leader Sahith Theegala and Charley Hoffman.
A few minutes later, he poured in a four-footer for birdie on the driveable par-4 17th to get to 14 under and forge a four-way tie for the lead. But he inexplicably putted off the green from 42 feet and into the bunker at 18 and made bogey to drop two strokes off the lead heading into the final round.
Arnold Palmer turned the hat trick in the ’60s but that was when the tournament was held at Phoenix Country Club.
The final round officially started at 10:15 a.m. local time (12:15 p.m. ET) with the third round still in progress on other parts of the course as tournament organizers decided not to re-order groups for the final round. The last group started their final rounds at about 12:15 p.m. local time.
Play was called due to darkness each of the first three days at 6:07 p.m. local time.
The Super Bowl in Las Vegas kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time, so the final round is likely to overrun the start of the big game.
Golf Channel, NBC and Peacock are teaming up on the coverage of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rain on Thursday, a frost delay on Friday and a cut that didn’t come till nearly 2 p.m. local time Saturday put a twist on the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The third round spilled into Sunday, which saw a second frost delay of the week, this one was an hour and 16 minutes.
Fans at home started watching the Sunday action on PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Golf Channel and Peacock came on with TV and streaming coverage from 1-3 p.m. ET.
Network television coverage on NBC is scheduled to run from from 3-6 p.m. ET but the tournament will go beyond that. If it does, Golf Channel will be ready to go. It won’t get dark until about 8:15 p.m. or so ET. The NBC coverage will also be simulcast on Peacock.
Meanwhile, the Super Bowl in Las Vegas is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Fans were heard early and often on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.
The WM Phoenix Open bills itself as “The People’s Open,” but with its boisterous fans – who are often overserved, especially at the par-3 16th party hole – and different vibe, the PGA Tour’s annual stop in Phoenix may not be for everyone, especially the old-school pros.
Zach Johnson may be a new name on that list. The 12-time winner on Tour has made 14 appearances at the Phoenix Open dating back to 2005 when it was the FBR Open. He made the cut in 12 of those starts and has bagged six top-25 finishes and a top 10. In other words, Johnson is no stranger to the scene at TPC Scottsdale, which made the video below all the more curious.
The 47-year-old blew up at fans during the third round of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday, and the confrontation was caught on camera.
“Somebody said it, I’m just sick of it. Just shut up,” Johnson said to a group of fans before security stepped in on the par-5 15th-hole tee box.
The Tour wants the WM Phoenix Open to be fun, but all that fun can come at a disruptive cost. It’s unclear what led to the interaction, and maybe Johnson was justified in telling the fan to pipe down. But if you can’t handle a heckler, then the People’s Open just may not be for you anymore.
You can also add Billy Horschel to the list. The seven-time winner went off on a fan, justifiably so, after someone in the gallery was talking during a player’s swing. This video may not be safe for delicate ears.
