‘Better, not bigger’: WM Phoenix Open reveals changes after chaotic 2024

The biggest party in golf is nearing capacity.

On Monday, organizers for the WM Phoenix Open announced a series of infrastructure and tournament flow improvements to the annual Scottsdale tournament, announcing for the first time their approach to build a “better, not bigger” event in 2025. The announcement comes after months of acrimony surrounding the 2024 edition of the Phoenix Open, which devolved into chaos after historically bad weather and record crowds overwhelmed tournament organizers and threatened fan safety.

“Each and every year, The Thunderbirds review the previous tournament and look for ways to improve,” tournament chairman Matt Mooney said in a statement. “We’ve been working closely with the PGA Tour, Scottsdale Police and Fire, title sponsor WM and our other valued partners to make impactful changes for 2025.  We are excited to announce these enhancements as the countdown to ‘The People’s Open’ begins.”

The biggest changes to tournament week will take the form of infrastructure tweaks aimed at increasing the flow of foot traffic near TPC Scottsdale’s famed 16th hole, and mitigating choke points that caused safety concerns in 2024. These improvements will take on the form of a new fan entrance near the 18th hole and expanded walkways between the 17th and 11th holes, and repositioned food and alcohol vendors throughout the course in the hopes of balancing the crowd flow.

“We understand the importance of ease and accessibility for our fans to navigate the golf course,” Mooney said. “Expanding these key walkways and repositioning some of our vendors, particularly around high-traffic areas like the 16th and 10th holes, will provide fans better access to popular venues and viewing areas.”

In addition to the physical tweaks, the Phoenix Open will also shift to an all-digital ticketing system in 2025 — a change that should allow organizers to better track the size and movement of tournament crowds. Crowd sizes were a particular concern in 2024 after unseasonable weather led organizers to cross-honor tickets on the weekend. At a few points on tournament Saturday, the flow of visitors into the course grew so intense that volunteers stopped scanning tickets altogether, leading the tournament to shutter gates and briefly halt alcohol sales.

“We are upgrading technology to provide a more seamless experience for our fans who purchase general admission tickets,” Mooney said. “By eliminating physical general admission tickets, good-any-day tickets and tickets sold by third-party partners, we not only improve the buying and scanning process, we also improve our oversight of crowd management.”

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The Thunderbirds — the civic organization that hosts the Phoenix Open every year — vowed a thorough review of its policies for 2025 after problems with alcohol sales, tournament security and ticketing led to unprecedented numbers of arrests and hospitalizations in 2024.

“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,” Chance Cozby, the Thunderbirds’ executive director, said in February. “So nothing is off the table.”

The “Greatest Show on Turf,” as the event has been dubbed, has earned its reputation as golf’s biggest party, attracting more than a quarter-million visitors during tournament week and seeming to double in size in recent years.

Now, it seems, one of the Tour’s biggest success stories is entering a new phase in its tournament life: growing not outward, but inward.