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Last week's WM Phoenix Open caused various reactions from fans, golfers, and officials. While many expected a lively atmosphere and stressed the unpredictability of having a large number of spectators, no one foresaw the extent of the 'craziness.'
People usually expect a lively and fun atmosphere at this event because it's a tradition. But this year, things got more intense than before. There were more problems with people drinking too much, more fights, and even an accident where a woman got hurt after falling from the stands.
The organizers of the tournament are worried about these issues.
Some golfers who were there, like Max Homa, talked about what happened.
In an interview with the PGA Tour's Sirius XM, Homa shared his thoughts. Even though things were more intense than usual, Homa wasn't very surprised because he thought something like this might happen.
"I thought it was fine, it was crazy. Maybe it just depends if you go in assuming it's going to be insane then I guess it's hard to be overly surprised."
Homa is aware that this year there were more problems than usual. However, it appears that he didn't give a lot of attention to the tournament's events. His main focus was on his performance and his determination to succeed.
Max is pleased with the lively atmosphere and the large crowd at this event. Based on his statements, it can be seen that Homa isn't particularly surprised and doesn't grasp why there's so much noise about it.
"There did seem like more fighting this year, which was quite funny. But I don't really mind [the atmosphere]. I get that for some people it's probably overwhelming. Granted, I played two-and-a-half days so I didn't have to endure it all four. But, I dunno, it's just one week of chaos."- Homa said, as reported by golfmonthly.com
Wyndham Clark is also one of the golfers who decided to react to the events of the WM Phoenix Open. He primarily focused on his performance.
Clark shared his thoughts on his performance at TPC Scottsdale, expressing that he enjoyed the tournament despite finishing T41. Wyndham did not have a great performance, but soon he will have the opportunity to improve things and increase the quality of his performances to a higher level.
He mentioned that it's one of his favorite events. However, he emphasized that not everyone had a positive experience, especially some friends and family who attended with him. They were not as happy with the week, and Clark identified two main reasons for their discontent.
Firstly, he pointed out that the weather conditions and the large number of people on Saturday made the situation a bit challenging. This tournament, historically, attracts enormous attention. A great atmosphere with a large number of spectators is what is expected every year.
He mentioned that some areas became muddy, limiting where people could walk. Secondly, the high turnout created a chaotic atmosphere, leading to complaints from those close to Clark. Some of them even expressed that this might be their last time attending the Phoenix Open due to the overwhelming experience on that particular Saturday.
WM Phoenix Open chief on changes for 2025
This is one of the reasons why the leaders of this tournament are ready for changes in the year 2025. The WM Phoenix Open is one of the most popular tournaments on the PGA Tour year after year. Waste Management Phoenix Open chief Chance Cozby announced the changes in an interview with the Golf Channel.
Although they are proud of the fact that this tournament attracts such attention, they emphasized that they will make changes in the coming years, considering that no one wants to see such scenes anymore.
"We are very proud of what we’ve built.
I think, we’ve been tournament of the year on the PGA Tour five of the last seven years. But 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, and, so, nothing is off the table."-he said.
Cozby is addressing the need for changes and improvements in the organization's approach to managing their golf tournament.
Cozby wants to check how many tickets are being sold and where. This is to make sure they know how many people might come to events. He also says they're going to look at the security plan to make sure it's working well. This is like checking if the safety measures they have are good enough and figuring out where they can make things better.
Additionally, he talks about the organization. They want to see if there are better ways of doing things to make events go smoothly.