How wild did things get at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Saturday?
Things got so crazy that local police shut own alcohol sales, and even the entry gates, at TPC Scottsdale.
The decision to halt beer sales didn’t go over well with fans, who began chanting, “We want beer! We want beer!”
“We want beer” chants breaking out as the WMPO has apparently stopped serving alcohol 💀
(via eric_gliebe IG) pic.twitter.com/1SwJJ8Q8kM
— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) February 10, 2024
And at one point, a fan dove head first into a sand trap on the 16th hole. He was quickly detained after staggering out. That incident prompted the Twitter account @shooterMcGavin_ (after the character in the classic film Happy Gilmore) to tweet, “Damn you people. Go back to your shanties.”
Damn you people. Go back to your shanties. pic.twitter.com/jhf3Gyg0tR
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) February 10, 2024
This was clearly not your grandfather’s quiet, polite PGA Tour.
The WMPO has long been an outlier on the tour, with its raucous atmosphere earning it the nickname “The Greatest Show on Grass.” The centerpiece is the par-3 16th hole, which is surrounded by a huge grandstand.
Yet Saturday was as wild a scene as anyone could remember. Golf.com writer Claire Rogers called the atmosphere “insane.”
“What I witnessed the first half of the day today at TPC Scottsdale was pretty insane. I saw men bleeding from the face, people napping on muddy hills and adults knocking each other over because they couldn’t walk straight,” Rogers wrote. “Picture the first few minutes of trying to exit a sold-out concert and multiply it by 15. That’s where we were at.”
Golf fans had mixed thoughts on the situation, with some loving it, while others claimed it gave the sport a black eye. Many critics compared it to LIV Golf, not a comparison the PGA Tour welcomes.
You can’t be the greatest party on grass and also shut down alcohol sales. Those are not the same things. https://t.co/eyNVyxVUhl
— Canon Claycomb (@canonclaycomb) February 11, 2024
I originally described the WM Phoenix Open as what you see when leaving a Patriots game but it’s actually less like that and more like your very first weekend night of college
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) February 10, 2024
When you name a golf tournament after trash collection and carpet bomb it with Bud Light what do you expect to happen? https://t.co/Uh1RVASk6A
— Andy Barr (@AndyBarr34) February 10, 2024
I suffer from extreme FOMO. If I don’t ever get to see this event live, I will consider my life a failure 😂 this is hilarious. https://t.co/E4HXaHia7R
— Stephanie Rockwood (@03bluengrayhoya) February 11, 2024
Happy I made the decision to watch LIV this morning and not this clown show. This tourney is becoming a joke https://t.co/qMqlL5QaxH
— Tim Naylor (@timsterrrrrr) February 11, 2024
Are we sure it’s alcohol and not meth? It is Arizona after all? https://t.co/tBRyZiBJlg
— Aaron Albers (@Marine1279) February 11, 2024
Irrefutably the worst event on the calendar? Basically a liv event https://t.co/VWOAZsKO7L
— Shaun (@ShaunREz) February 11, 2024
None of the people who attend this tournament are golf fans, by the way. https://t.co/oV89JM5w5w
— Brendan Spreder (@IE_Gekkoninja) February 10, 2024
these idiots are gonna ruin it for everyone. Please for the love of God ,don’t do this. I love this golf tournament!! it is on my bucket list. https://t.co/PUHxuGhdna
— Maija Jackson (@MaijaVogel) February 10, 2024
[Golf.com]
