History
The Phoenix Open began in 1932 but was discontinued after the 1935 tournament. The rebirth of the Phoenix Open came in 1939 when Bob Goldwater, Sr. convinced fellow Thunderbirds to help run the event. The Thunderbirds, a prominent civic organization in Phoenix, were not as enthusiastic about running the event as he was, leaving Goldwater, Sr. to do most of the work in getting a golf open started. The event was played at the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, both in its earlier incarnations and after Goldwater resuscitated it. Beginning in 1955, the Arizona Country Club (also in Phoenix) alternated as event host with Phoenix Country Club; this arrangement lasted until Phoenix Country Club took The Arizona Country Club's turn in 1975 and became the event's permanent home again.
In 1987, the tournament was moved to its current home, the Stadium Course at TPC of Scottsdale.
The 4-day attendance of the tournament is usually around 500,000. The most popular hole for spectators to watch is the 16th hole due to the "Amphitheatre" atmosphere of the hole, created by the stands erected every year before the tournament. The hole could be described as "one big party", with many students from the nearby Arizona State University. Poor shots at the 16th hole receive boos, because the hole is very easy by the PGA's standards. Good shots, however, are cheered for loudly. Famous moments at the 16th include Tiger Woods' hole-in-one in 1997, which caused the gallery to erupt, throwing cups and other objects in celebration, and Justin Leonard giving the finger to the gallery after a poor shot. The most popular golfer at the open is unquestionably Phil Mickelson, an Arizona State alum. In addition to the golf, there is a concert/party held in the Scottsdale area called the Birds Nest, at which music artists like Huey Lewis and the News play. In 2011 Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle aced the hole, causing the stands to erupt in excitement.
It is the best-attended event in golf. In 2008 the FBR Open set a tournament week attendance record of 538,356 fans. In 2012 it set a PGA Tour single day attendance record with 173,210 fans in attendance on Saturday, February 4.
The Thunderbirds are still highly active in the organization of the tournament. Portions of the proceeds are used by the Thunderbirds to fund Special Olympics activities in Phoenix.
In recent years, the Phoenix Open has been played on Super Bowl Weekend. In 1996, the tournament was played Wednesday through Saturday, as Super Bowl XXX was held in nearby Sun Devil Stadium. In 2009, the tournament overlapped with the Super Bowl when Kenny Perry and Charley Hoffman went to a playoff, subsequently denying the spectators a chance to watch the beginning of the game, featuring the local Arizona Cardinals.
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