WM Phoenix Open chairman credits ‘group effort’ after $20M raised for charity for 1st time

The Thunderbirds, hosts of the WM Phoenix Open, surpassed the $20 million mark in charity fundraising for the first time at the 2026 tournament.

The golf tournament has raised $134 million in the past decade, including $20,154,600 at this year’s event, to account for more than half of the money raised in its 91-year history ($246 million).

“First time in our … history we’ve eclipsed $20 million,” 2026 tournament chairman Jason Eisenberg told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday. “It takes a group effort and every single person within the organization pulling in the same direction to pull off what we pulled off.

“To have the amazing open we had this year, the results we had to make the charity announcement the way we did, it makes it all worthwhile.”

This year’s funds were announced in Phoenix at the Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center, a nonprofit founded in 1981 that works to ensure those with disabilities remain active.

“The open is a great week, but that great week supports the other 51 weeks of the year where we get to give out the money to the charities, see the impact we have on the community, see the faces on the people we’re impacting. It’s why we do it,” Eisenberg said.

The Thunderbirds have awarded nearly $1 million to Ability360 over the past two decades, most recently awarding $250,000 in 2025 to upgrade infrastructure, including scoreboards and shot clocks.

“When you go to these places and you see the impact that you’re having on these facilities, on these people at a really personable level, it’s incredibly touching,” Eisenberg said.

When will the 2027 WM Phoenix Open be held?

The 92nd edition of the tournament is slated for Feb. 8-14, 2027, at TPC Scottsdale.

It will be the 18th year with WM as the title sponsor, with sustainability and zero-waste efforts at the center of the tournament.

“WM is arguably the best title sponsor in all of sports,” Eisenberg said. “Everything from our event is either reused or recycled. Just their support of the event, you’ve clearly seen a pattern where once they got involved 17 years ago, the amazing acceleration and growth we’ve had as a tournament, they have a big hand in that.”

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