Open Waste Management has always been buzzing – but in 2024 it crossed the line into uncharted territory.
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The last 12 months had it all – crazy winning streaks, great new champions, a major weekly arrest (!) and more. With 2025 on the horizon, our writers are looking at the most memorable moments from 2024.
no. 15 – Charley Hull goes viral
no. 14 – LIV, CEO of the LPGA say goodbye
no. 13 – The Solheim Cup parking fiasco
How the WM Phoenix Open turned out in 2024
Nick Taylor won the 2024 WM Phoenix Open in thrilling fashion, defeating Charley Hoffman in a play-off to claim his fourth Tour title. Most years in the desert, a championship win in overtime would be a thrilling story that punctuated a successful week. However, 2024 was anything but an ordinary year at TPC Scottsdale.
The WM Phoenix Open 2024 will go down in infamy – and almost entirely for what happened OUTSIDE the ropes.
The tour’s annual early-season stop in Scottsdale, Ariz. has long been known as the biggest party in golf. With many tired fans and monstrous stadium construction – headlined by the stands surrounding the 16th hole – the Phoenix Open is unlike any other golf tournament.
That reputation – while loud – has largely not caused any major problems in the tournament’s nearly century-long history. Sure, there have been minor incidents of cramping and the occasional over-served patron, but for the most part, the fun has been relatively harmless.
Everything changed in 2024.
As the tournament has grown in popularity over the years, the identity of the event has changed. What was once a golf tournament played in a party-like atmosphere has turned into a frenzy with a golf tournament attached. If you arrived at TPC Scottsdale just to watch golf last February, you were in the minority.
The 2024 Wm Phoenix Open actually started somewhat subdued. Thursday and Friday featured heavy weather (by Scottsdale standards) and that helped keep the crowds somewhat subdued. When play was suspended on Friday night, there was optimism that the weekend would go smoothly. The weekend, however, quickly turned into an unmitigated disaster.
The gates opened early on Saturday morning and fans quickly got to work drinking. It wasn’t long before things went sour.
Social media exploded with videos of fans stumbling down wet hills. Grown men were photographed huddled under trees, and the noise of players from outside the ropes became increasingly common.
Claire Rogers of GOLF was on the ground and had this to say about what he saw:
“I have observed more chaos in the last eight hours than I have cumulatively in the last decade of my life. I saw men bleeding from the face, people dozing on muddy hills, and adults knocking each other down because they couldn’t walk straight. Imagine the first few minutes of trying to get out of a sold-out concert and multiply that by 15. There we were.”
