The 90^th playing of the highly anticipated WM Phoenix Open (the 16^th edition with WM as title sponsor) hosted by the Thunderbirds takes place Feb. 3-9, 2025, at TPC Scottsdale. Nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Grass,” and “The People’s Open,” the tournament will once again feature a top-notch field, star-studded entertainment, and arguably the best people-watching on TOUR.

The five-time PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year was most recently honored with additional awards for Best Special Event (the Concert in the Coliseum), while the innovative 16^th hole tee side seats earned Best Product.

132 players will tee off, vying for the $9.2 million purse, $1,656,000 first-place check and 500 FedExCup points.

Last year Canadian Nick Taylor notched his fourth PGA victory in a two-hole playoff against Charley Hoffman, while defending champion and two-time tournament winner Scottie Scheffler tied for third.

Weathering the weather

It’s all fun and games at the WM Phoenix Open until Mother Nature asserts her dominance. The epic weeklong celebration of golf and merriment was derailed in 2024 by rain, frost, mud and congestion. The weather was uncharacteristically frightful, causing suspension and ultimate cancellation of the popular Wednesday Pro-Am, and delays every round.

The good news: The tournament is unique in size, scale and scope, and has been recognized as the most well-attended golf event in the world.

The bad news: The same aspects that make TPC Scottsdale an exceptional spectator course – plenty of hills and banks that provide great sitting and vantage points around a 400-acre tract of land – became serious liabilities, especially on Saturday. More than an inch of rain over several days soaked the grounds making muddy hills slippery and dangerous, forcing most spectators onto the narrow walkways and creating huge, impassable (and in some places, scary) bottlenecks.

In 2018, the last year official statistics were provided, attendance for the week reached a staggering 719,000, with over 200,000 attending Saturday. In 2024, weather may have kept some folks home, but the course on traditional “moving day” was still packed and the day had the makings of a deadly stampede (see 1979 Who concert disaster).

Behavior was rowdier than usual. Alcohol-fueled spectators chirped at the pros, fights broke out in the crowds and more than 50 arrests were made. Tournament officials eventually closed the gates, denying entry even to ticketholders. Alcohol sales were also suspended.

It appeared that many forgot the WM Phoenix Open motto – Respect the game. Respect the players. Respect the fans.

The tournament concludes on Super Bowl Sunday, making the final day calmer with fewer spectators. But the event suffered a degree of reputational damage with some players even threatening to skip the 2025 edition.

The fix is in

The Thunderbirds began addressing the issues even before the tournament ended, with the conviction that while you can’t control the weather you can do something to control the consequences.

They recently announced several major changes and improvements for 2025, designed to mitigate issues that arose last year and creating a better fan and golfer experience.

“Each and every year, The Thunderbirds review the previous tournament and look for ways to improve,” said 2025 WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman Matt Mooney 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.”

Major changes include:

Digital ticketing – All tickets will be digital, with none sold by third-party vendors.

Specific-day tickets – There will be no more “good any day” tickets sold. All tickets must be purchased for the specific day(s) of attendance. This will provide information that will help with crowd management.

New entrance – A new gate will be added near the 18^th hole, spreading out entry onto the grounds.

Wider walkways – Course walkways are being expanded to twice their size in order to mitigate logjams, especially near the 16th hole and behind the 18^th.

Cap on attendees – There will be a cap on the number of attendees Friday and Saturday. An official number has not been released.

Increased ticket prices – General admission tickets for Friday and Saturday will cost $125, and tickets for Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday $75. Monday and Tuesday will remain Ford Free Days.

Venue upgrades – More accessible viewing areas and expanded concessions will be available at the less-trafficked holes in order to draw spectators away from the most heavily congested holes.

Coors Light Birds Nest performers announced

Entertainment at the Coors Light Birds Nest, directly across from the main tournament entrance, is always a highlight of the week. The nearly 50,000-square-foot tent will house four nights of live performances Feb. 5-8.

Jelly Roll and Treaty Oak Revival kick off the festivities Wednesday, followed by Luke Bryan and Nate Smith, Nickelback and Josh Ross, and Swedish House Mafia with GORDO headlining the final concert.

The 4^th annual Concert in the Coliseum held at the iconic 16^th hole takes place Saturday, Feb. 1, with headliners Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.

Charity begins at home

One thing that will never change and shouldn’t be overlooked is the enormous charitable impact WM Phoenix Open makes in the local community.

The Thunderbirds announced a record $17.5 million raised from the 2024 tournament, in spite of the issues. That eclipsed the $14.5 million from the previous year, and $10.5 million in 2022.

In the 15 years of WM’s title sponsorship the Thunderbirds and the WM Phoenix Open have raised an impressive $142 million. In the tournament’s 89-year history, more than $208 million has been raised and distributed to local charities.

The Thunderbirds were founded in 1937 with the mission of promoting the Valley of the Sun through sports. The organization consists of 55 “active” members below the age of 45, and several hundred “life” members post-45, who remain involved, but pass the leadership reins to the younger members.

Thunderbird Charities manages and distributes funds raised through events, especially the WM Phoenix Open.

Balance

The WM Phoenix Open will no doubt retain its reputation as the place to party and, for some, to watch the best golfers in the world. It remains to be seen how the changes will affect the fan and pro experience.

Some pros still enjoy the raucous atmosphere.

Said Taylor Montgomery about the 16^th hole in particular, “You still need your traditional silent tournaments like the Masters and others that have history, But for regular PGA events, you want the fans to be involved as much as possible. And fans don’t want to go to a golf course or a golf tournament where you have to be completely silent all the time. Could you imagine going to an NBA game and not being able to say a word when a guy’s at the free throw line? Like nobody would ever show up.”

He added, “A lot of players don’t like it, but I think they’re going to have to get used to it in the future. I mean, I love that type of golf. That’s kind of how I grew up. It’s everybody being rowdy and talking trash or whatever.”

The Thunderbirds hope they have come up with new processes that will effectively achieve a balance between safety, respect and fun.