The Waste Management Phoenix Open needs an Intervention

Everything golf fans saw from the Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO) this week on social media, TV or otherwise is all the evidence you need that the tournament has gotten away from organizers. It’s time for a change.

Nick Taylor winning in a playoff over Charley Hoffman is the afterthought to a tournament that will instead be remembered for a heightened level of debauchery that bordered on chaos. This year’s tournament included a Saturday when, for the first time in the tournament’s history, entry gates were closed to fans and alcohol sales were stopped and ultimately canceled for the day. Reports from volunteers at the event suggest upwards of half a million fans stormed onto TPC Scottsdale at one point, prompting the fire marshal and state police to order closures.

Severe weather that opened the week caused delays throughout the tournament, resulting in a Saturday where the fans with tickets to Round 2 were allowed to remain on property for Round 3, contributing to the overcrowding. A tournament already widely known for its extreme party atmosphere — particularly the “stadium” surrounding the 16th green — quickly degraded into a scene that included a woman falling from a top level of the grandstands and suffering “non-life threatening injuries,” drunken fans fighting in the middle of pedestrian walkways, mud slides down rain-soaked hills (both intentional and not), and nasty interactions with PGA TOUR players just trying to do their jobs.

Before anyone accuses me of being a kill joy or old codger, allow me to admit that I have attended the WMPO once in the past for the exact reason hundreds of thousands do: to experience the party at the 16th.

My visit to the 2019 tournament was memorable and I’m happy we did it, understanding that the scene then was a little different than what we saw this week. I’m not sure if pre-pandemic times were calmer or more mild in comparison, but I’m also not sure it’s much of a stretch to insinuate that everyone has lost their damn minds since 2020. Nowadays it seems that any public event is at risk of tomfoolery at best and devastation at worst. In the case of professional golf, it feels like the proverbial line that separates fans from golfers has been blurred to the point of invisibility.

It’s true that this week normally coincides with Super Bowl week every year, including last year’s madness of both sporting events taking place in the same city. This year’s version — which included the Super Bowl being played in nearby Las Vegas along with competing tour LIV Golf’s event — still managed to be worse in every way possible. I’ve had multiple Arizonians who attended the 2023 and 2024 WMPO tell me as much.

The PGA TOUR and the Thunderbirds — the organization that runs the golf tournament — have an important decision to make: do they want to protect the longevity of this tournament in order to protect a sponsor and fans, or do they lean further in to this mania as to remain the “hottest ticket in town” to remain competitive against LIV?

Truthfully, there is no choice to make here. You have to do what’s right to protect the galleries and players, regardless of what it means to the legions of college-aged drunks who come to the tournament. The PGA TOUR is bleeding sponsors as of late and it’s only going to get worse as the association’s sponsor fees have increased significantly. Waste Management doesn’t need a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah on its hands sullying its corporate image.

Yes, I realize I’m worried about the corporate image of a garbage company.

Solving this issue doesn’t feel like it should be all that difficult. One step the TOUR can take is to issue drink tickets to somewhat limit alcohol sales. We all know this is merely a band-aid approach, however it’s a start. The WMPO’s party legacy has long been established and will remain for as long as a tournament is held. Another step would be an overhaul of entry points into the tournament as to eliminate chances of ticketless fans just showing up, as was the case on Saturday.

The issues seen this week in Scottsdale are not unsalvageable, but they are also completely preventable. Here’s hoping the TOUR and Thunderbirds do what’s right to protect one of the best sporting events of the year, even if it means preaching a little more moderation among its supporters.