The WM Phoenix Open will look a little different in 2025.
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The biggest party in golf is near capacity.
On Monday, organizers for the WM Phoenix Open announced a series of improvements to infrastructure and tournament flow at the annual Scottsdale tournament, announcing for the first time their approach to building a “better, not bigger” event in 2025. The announcement comes after months of acrimony surrounding the 2024 edition of the Phoenix Open, which descended into chaos after historically bad weather and record crowds overwhelmed tournament organizers and jeopardize the safety of the fans.
“Each year, The Thunderbirds review the previous tournament and look for ways to improve,” tournament chairman Matt Mooney. said in a statement. “We’ve worked closely with the PGA Tour, Scottsdale Police and Fire, title sponsor WM and our other valued partners to make important changes for 2025. We’re excited to announce these improvements as the countdown to 2025 begins.” The People’s Open”.
The biggest changes to the tournament week will come in the form of infrastructure adjustments aimed at increasing the flow of foot traffic near TPC Scottsdale’s famed 16th hole and mitigating bottlenecks that caused safety concerns in 2024. These improvements will take the form of a new fan entrance near the 18th hole and widened fairways between the 17th and 11th holes, and repositioned food and alcohol vendors throughout the course in hopes of balancing the flow of the crowd.
“We understand the importance of ease and accessibility for our fans to navigate the golf course,” Mooney said. “Expanding these main walkways and repositioning some of our vendors, particularly around high-traffic areas like the 16th and 10th holes, will provide fans with better access to popular venues and areas of sight.”
In addition to the physical changes, the Phoenix Open will also move to an all-digital ticketing system in 2025 – a change that should allow organizers to better track the size and movement of tournament crowds. Crowd size was a particular concern in 2024, as inclement weather prompted organizers to honor tickets at the weekend. At some points in the tournament on Saturday, the flow of visitors to the course grew so intense that volunteers stopped scanning tickets altogether, prompting the tournament to close the gates and stop alcohol sales for a while.
“We are improving technology to provide a more seamless experience for our fans who purchase general admission tickets,” Mooney said. “By eliminating physical general admission tickets, good day tickets, and tickets sold by third-party partners, we not only streamline the purchasing and scanning process, but also improve our crowd management oversight.”
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The Thunderbirds – the civic organization that organizes the Phoenix Open each year – pledged a complete review of its policies for 2025 after problems with alcohol sales, tournament security and ticketing led to an unprecedented number of arrests and hospitalizations in 2024 .
“We don’t like what happened on Saturday, the players don’t like what happened on Saturday, our fans don’t like what happened on Saturday.” Chance Cozby, the Thunderbirds’ executive director, said in February. “So nothing is off the table.”
“The Greatest Show on the Course,” as the event has been dubbed, has earned its reputation as golf’s biggest party, attracting more than a quarter of a million visitors during tournament week and appears to have doubled in size in recent years. .
Now, it looks like one of the Tour’s biggest success stories is entering a new phase in its tour life: growing not from the outside, but from the inside.
