Tag: Waste Management Phoenix Open

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Brooks Koepka is five shots off the lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open heading into its final round. That might seem like a lot to overcome, but Koepka ended Saturday’s round with four straight birdies to give himself a shot at his second title in the desert.

Koepka, who won at TPC Scottsdale in 2015, is feeding off the energy of the several thousand fans allowed to attend the tournament. It showed, as the fans helped energize him in his late push up the leaderboard.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m so flat without fans. My best results are with fans or a major. So I struggle with that, so it’s good to see them out,” Koepka said. “Yeah, it’s nice to see them back. I’ve been so flat, it’s tough for me to get up without them. I’ve struggled with it.”

Waste Management Phoenix Open: Photos | Leaderboard | Tee times

Koepka spent much of his round at 8 under, which is where he began the day. He birdied the ninth hole but bogeyed the 11th, then caught fire after the 12th hole.

He finished his round with five birdies in the final six holes to move to T-7 at 13 under.

“Just got to be within three on the back nine. Anything can happen here,” Koepka said. “Obviously with quite a bit of water off the backside, especially on 11 and 15 and 17, you can make a bogey very quickly. If you hit a good shot you can make birdie. It’s good risk-reward. But it’s fun and anything can happen.”

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Koepka’s success is a long time coming. He dealt with a lingering left knee injury last year and also suffered a hip injury in trying to compensate for his knee.

He missed three straight cuts between December and January.

Koepka admitted to feeling frustrated through 12 holes. But he was in a rhythm he arrived at 16, where his tee shot landed less than three feet from the hole.

The crowd inside the famed stadium hole let him hear its appreciation. Koepka’s group of Matthew NeSmith and James Hahn all carded birdies on the hole. Hahn finished Saturday also T-7 with Koepka while NeSmith is T-13 at 11 under.

Koepka said he has an “outside chance” for Sunday’s final round.

“It’s doable. You’ve just got to get off to a good start on the front nine. The back nine is definitely doable if you put it in the right spots,” Koepka said. “Anything can happen those closing four or five holes.”

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — About a year ago on the first Saturday of February, the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s 16th hole was a much different place.

Saturday is typically the most crowded and noisiest day of the tournament at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th hole, long known for its vibrant atmosphere. But this year, the famed 16th was more subdued, with fewer fans, fewer places around the golf course to purchase alcoholic beverages and hence, fewer fan reactions.

There was activity in and around the stadium hole on Saturday, but not the swarms of thousands trying to work their way around the course or waiting in line to get a coveted general admission seat at 16.

“We had a good crew behind us cheering them on, a couple of nicknames for the golfers were pretty awesome,” said Charles Fountain, a self-proclaimed snowbird from Minnesota who is a veteran of the 16th, pandemic or no pandemic. “It’s nice to be able to move around and not have so many crowds, and be able to walk out and watch the golfers finish up. It’s really nice.”

Fountain still expected the hole to be a little louder, but he did appreciate not having to deal with so much public intoxication.

“A little more normal golf tournament,” he said.

The atmosphere wasn’t completely calm. A fan holding a beer bottle missed a step on a short staircase as he exited the seating area, and tumbled to the ground.

“Man down!” someone shouted.

Before Patton Kizzire eagled the 17th hole and finished T-16 at 10 under, he took a 5 on the par-3 16th. His first shot landed in a bunker, drawing boos, and his second went over the second bunker and off the green.

Waste Management Phoenix Open: Photos | Leaderboard

Carlos Ortiz (T-16, 10 under) acknowledged a fan who shouted “Go Carlos, the Phoenix Open is yours!” in Spanish as he entered 16. A group of fans made enough noise for Brooks Koepka to force a marshal to hold up both hands to quiet them, and one fan was overheard telling Matthew NeSmith, “I’ve seen better,” after his tee shot.

It was possible to overhear conversations at 16, and those seats directly in the sunlight weren’t always full as people milled about further inside the suites. But there were moments that harkened back to larger crowd days, as all eyes were on James Hahn when his tee shot landed a few feet from the hole and he waved his arms as the crowd stood and cheered.

Outside the hole, a fan was dressed as pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, and other fans also wore garish attire.

After Louis Oosthuizen birdied 16, on his way to eight under for the day, a man yelled, “I love you bro! I love your swing. Best on the Tour!”

But the reaction of the afternoon might have been for co-leader Jordan Spieth, who drained a 36-foot, 8-inch putt for birdie. The party at 16 perked up for Spieth, who barely reacted although he heard the cheers.

“The only downside of the birdie putt on 16 is that it would have been arguably the loudest roar I’ve ever had if it were last year. But it was still loud. It is really fun. It is cool,” Spieth said. “It really actually felt normal.”

Billy Horschel was in Spieth’s group and heard some sing-song chanting of his name.

“I tell you what, it’s nice to have fans back out. The energy that we all feel from them and we all sort of feed off, Jordan did an unbelievable job of that.

“It’s nice to have applause. Yeah, it’s a little rowdy here, which we’re normally used to.”

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