SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA | This year was my third straight covering the WM Phoenix Open. I’ve always enjoyed being at TPC Scottsdale, even during the chaotic (to say the least) 2024 tournament when I stood in freezing rain and slipped in the mud just to get interviews with players and follow the action.
Needless to say, the Phoenix Open is unlike any other tournament in golf. It brings together a mixture of golf fans and people who couldn’t care less about the game but just want to have a few drinks and a great time.
Then there’s the famous, and sometimes infamous, par-3 16th hole – aka “The Coliseum.” When players hit a good tee shot or make a birdie, the crowd in the grandstands goes wild. When players miss the green or a short putt, the crowd mercilessly boos and heckles them. A hole-in-one can lead to the proverbial roof being blown off the stadium and beer cups being thrown onto the hole.
Some players embrace the chaos. Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs ripping off their shirts and waving them around on 16 in 2022 comes to mind. And although both players were reprimanded by the tour, the tournament committee apparently wasn’t offended, as Dahmen received a sponsor exemption this year by sending a letter attached to a polo shirt to Chance Cozby, the executive director of organizer The Thunderbirds.
Max Homa plays his shot from the 16th tee during the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.
Alex Goodlett, Getty Images
Despite loving this tournament, I must admit that when Sunday afternoon rolls around, I root against a playoff. (Nick Taylor and Charley Hoffman, why did you do that to me in 2024?) I, like the legions of fans in football jerseys at TPC Scottsdale repping their favorite NFL teams, want to get home to watch the Super Bowl.
George Brush is a 70-year-old retiree from Seattle who now lives in Arizona. He’s an avid golfer and has come to the Phoenix Open every year since he moved nine years ago. He’s a fan of the tournament, but his Richard Sherman jersey showed he’s a bigger fan of his team, the Seattle Seahawks – who played the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX.
“I will not be here on Sunday,” Brush said. “I’ll be at home putting some chow together and I think my son is planning on firing up some steaks for us. We’ll be ready for the Super Bowl.”
If it wouldn’t negatively impact their pocketbooks, I’m sure some of the players would rather be home early on Sunday to watch the big game as well. After hitting his tee shot on 16 and getting booed for missing the green on Thursday, Dahmen, a native Washingtonian, donned a Seahawks helmet. He proceeded to chip in for birdie.
“My caddie, Ben Hulka, used to be the equipment manager for the Seahawks,” Dahmen said. “He has the official helmet, so he brought that out; [I] threw that on. It was debatable about throwing it on after such a bad shot in there, but, yeah, hit an unbelievable pitch shot that rolled in like a putt and the environment [was] really special after that.”
The Phoenix Open’s relationship with the Super Bowl is beneficial, if somewhat competitive.
“The Super Bowl is the second biggest event this week,” joked Jason Eisenberg, the 2026 WM Phoenix Open tournament chairman. “But I think it works out great. I think that coming out here and enjoying the environment and then either going to see the game or recuperating on Sunday with the game in the background, it’s kind of become a tradition.”
Which is why potential PGA Tour schedule changes that may be implemented as soon as next year pose a dilemma. It’s possible that the Phoenix Open and the Super Bowl may no longer be played on the same weekend, ending a long-standing tradition.
Whatever happens, Eisenberg says the Phoenix Open will remain the Phoenix Open.
“If things do change in the future, we’ll adapt and we’ll make it great,” Eisenberg said. “The People’s Open will continue.”
Everett Munez
Top: Joel Dahmen wears a Seattle Seahawks helmet during the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.
