The WM Phoenix Open is home to professional golf’s rowdiest atmosphere and is by far the best-attended event in the sport.
The tournament, held at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, is dubbed the ‘greatest show on grass’ and is well-known for its raucous scenes at the famous stadium hole 16th, where fans boo and cheer players, music is played and plenty of beer is drunk – with alcohol and beer cups even thrown onto the course in celebrations during the 2022 event.
The par 3 is completely surrounded by the stadium complex with fans seated in stands on each side of the tee box and all the way up to and around the green. How many fans the stadium officially holds is not confirmed but reports state it seats anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000 people. It plays host to an electric atmosphere with fans creating a level of noise rarely seen in professional golf.
The Stadium Hole at TPC Scottsdale then and now 😮 pic.twitter.com/l9XO2RnFywFebruary 8, 2023
At last year’s event, the stadium hole saw one of its most iconic moments when American Sam Ryder made a hole-in-one in round three to send the crowds into a frenzy. It started a trend of the spectators throwing beer onto the hole, which led the PGA Tour to offer souvenir cups to try and stop fans throwing their beverages away.
Besides just the iconic 16th, there is still a vast amount of footfall across the four days at the WM Phoenix Open.
How many fans attend the WM Phoenix Open?
While official numbers have not been released since 2018, it is estimated that a total in excess of 700,000 people will attend “the People’s Open” across the four days this year.
Official data from 2018 showed that nearly 720,000 people attended the tournament, with a mammoth 216,000 people arriving for Saturday’s round alone. To put that in perspective, the highest-ever attendance at the Open Championship came last year at St Andrews where 290,000 spectators attended during the week.
The tournament this year promises to be even better than years gone by with the Phoenix Open now a designated event under new changes to the PGA Tour. One of 13 designated events, the Phoenix Open will now see an increased prize purse of $20 million with 23 of the world’s 24 best players in the field.
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…