There’s nothing else quite like the par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale during Waste Management Phoenix Open week. With all due respect to TPC Sawgrass, it’s golf’s greatest stadium.
You can see and feel the electricity of the crowd, and there’s nothing else like it in golf.
But that’s only the case for a couple of weeks a year (including the set up and take-down time). During the other weeks, the 16th is about as plain of a 163-yard hole as you will find. But that’s what makes the transformation of the hole so amazing. Check out the video below as it transforms from an easy par-3 to the most exciting hole in golf.
Waste Management Phoenix Open chairman Andy Markham asserts that Scottsdale is among the top golf towns in the world. His tournament builds on that belief by bringing tourists and Arizonans from the country and beyond to enjoy golf, food and music Monday, Jan. 30, to Monday, Feb. 6.
“We provide a really great time and have incredible corporate and municipal partners,” Markham says. “The event brings people out in droves. It is the place to be in the Southwest at that time of year.”
2017 will mark the 31st year of the Waste Mangement Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale but the event has a long standing history of spectacular golf dating back to the 1930s.
“The event was started by the Thunderbirds, a local community organization, to promote the Valley of Sun through sports,” Markham says. “Through the years, it became a hit with celebrities, golf professionals and fans.”
That is selling it short as Markham anticipates that the 2017 event will pull record crowds of more than 600,000 depite a conflict between the authorities.
“The final round of the tournament will again fall on Super Bowl Sunday,” Markham says. “That makes for a good, fun and festive week."
What adds to the history of the tournament is the roster of past winners comprising of golfing legends including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller. In the TPC era, greats such as Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Tom Lehman have all been victorious. In recent years, the new breed of talent on the PGA Tour has raised the bar, as did last year’s victor, 24-year-old Hideki Matsuyama.
“We want patrons to have the opportunity to see the best players in the world,” says Markham, who is a Thunderbird. “We are going to continue to see a great field this year.”
It's truly a win-win situation as fans as well as charities alike immensely benefit from the event. In 2016, the Thunderbirds raised $9.3 million for charities, making the total amount of $111 million over the life of the tournament, according to its website.
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Fantastic golf, music and energy mark the Waste Management Phoenix Open. “This is the people’s open,” Markham says. “We have great fans, a great tourney, great weather and a great time.”
Here’s 5 of my favourite moments from the “Greatest Show on Grass” :
#1 Tiger Woods’ hole-in-one, 1997
Some have labelled Woods’ hole-in-one as the modern-day ‘shot that was heard around the world’. He didn’t win that year, but his holed tee shot was the stand-out moment of the tournament.
#2 Francesco Molinari’s ace in 2015
Where better to make an ace in the world than on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the tournament? Molinari hit a beauty which sent the fans so crazy that they began to throw beer cans onto the course!
#3 Robot gets in on the act
In the opening round of the 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open, LDRIC the golf robot gets a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole. He deserves a pat on the back, doesn’t he?
#4 James Hahn Gangnam Style, 2013
The Gangnam Style dance was attempted by a huge number of people after the song’s release. James Hahn was one of a handful who managed to pull it off after making birdie at 16 during the final round of the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
#5 Caddy races
In the third round of the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open, brothers Brent and Kip Henley race to the green at the 16th hole and Brent takes a tumble.
2013 saw a number of caddie races and this clip was a particular highlight.
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