We come here not to condone nor to condemn the bacchanal known as the WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour’s annual late-winter retreat into overindulgence.
We come here to acknowledge the brilliance of what is created once a year at TPC Scottsdale and offer it as proof of what tournament golf can be with one caveat: there need to be limits, which apparently had not existed at the Phoenix event until circumstances demanded it last weekend.
It’s time to reel it back in a little bit.
In case you missed it, a tipping point was reached Saturday when spectator access was closed and alcohol sales were halted for a time because, well, things were getting out of control.
The decision may have come too late, but it sent a signal that, even at the WM Phoenix Open, it’s possible to have too much and too many.
You know things are serious when a man attending the tournament in a white wedding gown ranks way down the list of oddities. That got lost among the videos of fans fighting, drunks stumbling, fans sliding down muddy hills and tour players begging for fans to be quiet for just a moment.
The tournament is an acquired taste, flavored by beer and tequila, and it most definitely is not for everyone. It is a golf tournament in name, but it is more famous – or infamous – for being a mosh pit of excess.
It’s not so much about the golf or the golfers as it is about the fans who have been given the freedom to make it about themselves, no matter how loud, and it’s beginning to feel more like a hangover than a party.
When the weather there is nice, as it usually is this time of year, it’s a great spot to be. The course presents a great golf theater over the closing holes, the scenery is striking and the enormity of everything is mesmerizing.
It’s generally perfect one week a year.
For years, golf has been told that it needs to loosen up, not take itself so seriously, be more welcoming.
Yes, yes and yes.
But the Phoenix scene may have “drunk the shark” as someone said on social media. It’s not so much about the golf or the golfers as it is about the fans who have been given the freedom to make it about themselves, no matter how loud, and it’s beginning to feel more like a hangover than a party.
It’s like that old adage: it’s all in fun until someone gets hurt. Fortunately, the woman who fell from the grandstand on the 16th hole on Friday was not seriously injured.
At the Masters, security people will magically appear to remind anyone in a hurry that there is no running at Augusta National. At Phoenix, fans line up overnight and then bullrush to get seats at the famous par-3 16th hole when the spectator gates open in the cold gray dawn. Fastest ones win.
There is a sense of revelry about the event, which prompted a great line years ago when someone was asked about planning to attend and she said, “I love going to the golf tournament on Friday night.”
There’s something to that.
Golf tournaments were slow to figure out that they can attract more spectators if they offer more than just the golf. LIV Golf built its model on shorter events, shorter days, music and more. It’s like golf in a nightclub but with the sun out.
It was amusing that Jon Rahm, still adjusting to the bass-heavy backbeat and the fans’ constant chatter while he’s playing, asked for quiet at the LIV event in Las Vegas. Sorry, Jon, but that’s not part of the deal. Don’t worry, though. There will be plenty of holes where there aren’t enough fans to disturb anyone.
Phoenix figured it out. Food, music and booze are three words that go together, and it’s a combination that’s particularly attractive to the younger demographic with strong metabolisms and some disposable income. They may not know Nick Taylor from St. Nick, but that’s not the point for them.
Tournaments have seen what Phoenix has created – it has raised more than $124 million for local charities since WM took over as title sponsor in 2010 – and they have applied it where they can. Beer gardens and food courts are part of the tournament scene now, and the tour has five alcohol-related marketing partners.
Tour players long ago made their decisions about playing in Phoenix. Some love it. Some don’t.
“It’s a blast,” Sahith Theegala said. “There’s definitely some people that aren’t the best drunks, but for the most part it’s all positive, and it’s a fun atmosphere.”
Ben An was less enamored, calling it a “s***show” on social media.
Jordan Spieth had to find an alternate way back into TPC Scottsdale on Saturday after the roads, like the spectator gates, were closed, but he didn’t mind. It’s Phoenix.
“Honestly, they were awesome,” Spieth said of the fans.
Like Christmas, the WM Phoenix Open happens only once a year. It would be wise to end on Saturday in the future to escape the Super Bowl’s massive shadow.
It also would allow fans time to recover from one party and be ready for the next one.
E-MAIL RON
Top: The raucous site at TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole included one woman falling from the stands.
PHOTO: Jared C. Tilton, PGA Tour via Getty Images