This year’s WM Phoenix Open upgrades made event smoother, more respectful, organizers say
Event organizers put in place a variety of changes during the WM Phoenix Open 2025 after weather conditions and crowd issues last year.
PHOENIX — Talking lobsters, booing bananas and beer showers were all part of this year’s WM Phoenix Open — but the massive golf tournament was still less chaotic than last year, according to event organizers.
“We were really pleased with the week overall,” Matt Mooney, the 2025 tournament’s chairman, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Monday. “We’ve gotten great feedback from the players, from the fans, from our sponsors.”
What was new at the WM Phoenix Open 2025?
Organizers of the Valley’s biggest sporting event put in a variety of changes this year to make sure they didn’t see a repeat of past issues.
One of the most impactful upgrades was an additional entrance on Greenway Hayden Loop, just north of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, near 18th tee at TPC Scottsdale.
“We really saw a transformation in our traffic patterns that just allowed people to move efficiently around the golf course,” Mooney said. “That, coupled with with some of the infrastructure improvements that we made to venues, we felt like it was just a really good week.”
Big changes also came to the tournament’s ticketing system. Organizers got rid of any day tickets so they could have a better idea of how many people would show up each day.
“In addition to that, we built over 1,100 feet of player bridges that span a lot of these high-traffic pinch points,” Mooney said. “In the past, the galleries have had to be held back by these gallery ropes, and so it keeps the players out of traffic, but allows the fans to continue to flow across the golf course.”
There were also enhanced walking areas for spectators at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open.
“We’re one year into these changes, but we were, I would say, pleasantly surprised that they were probably even better than we had anticipated,” Mooney said.
.@AZSports intern @HiBranFlakes went out to day two of the @WMPhoenixOpen and we told him to find the wackiest fans. Turns out, per usual, that wasn’t difficult. pic.twitter.com/Kpbyp7bMxv
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) February 7, 2025
What issues last year shaped upgrades at WM Phoenix Open 2025?
It was a turnaround from last year, which saw such huge crowds that officials temporarily closed the event’s gates due to crowd management, effectively denying entrance to some ticketed fans. During the third round, the tournament also stopped serving alcohol at multiple venues around the grounds.
Additionally, a woman fell through the bleachers during the high energy 16th hole during the second round.
While the atmosphere this year was just as electric as it always is, it was more respectful, Mooney said.
“We were also pleased that there was, I’d say, just a bit of a dialed-back fan behavior compared to last year when we dealt with just some unprecedented weather conditions,” Mooney said. “It felt respectful as well.”
Related
Scottsdale launching emergency alert system in time for 2025 WM Phoenix Open
KTAR's Community Spotlight shines a light on how WM Phoenix Open helps local charities
2025 WM Phoenix Open will make several key crowd-related changes
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani will take the stage at the 2025 Phoenix Open
2 contemporary fashion brands to make Arizona debuts at Scottsdale Quarter
Cien Agaves Tacos & Tequila expands with new East Valley location
Comments
2 Comments
I miss the walk up sales though. You don't need ALL the tickets electronic. Save..say 20% for walk ups. I get this is the "electronic" age but all that does is to allow the scalpers in China (lol) to swallow up the tickets and resell on the 2nd market for $200+ for Thursday. If you walk up, buy a ticket, I bet 100:1 you are going in, not reselling. Plus if walk up tickets are available the day of the event, I bet the scalpers would lose 1/2 their business. IMO
I attended Friday and Saturday and have to say I thought they did a much better job this year that in the past few years. The crowds were still huge and loud but I thought they were much less out of control than previous years. When you have that many people in that kind of atmosphere, you're always going to have some idiots but over all it seemed much better this year and the golf was really good.