WM Phoenix Open Planning For 'Complete Change' Next Year After Historically Drunken Weekend

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There is a reason the Waste Management Phoenix Open has long had the nickname of the Wasted Management Phoenix Open. The tournament has long been a drunken mess, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just a matter of fact. 

The 2024 edition of the event hit a new level of chaos, however. On Saturday afternoon, tournament organizers shut down the sale of alcohol and closed entrances to the course. The day prior, a woman fell from the grandstands on the Par 3 16th signature hole and was hospitalized.

The tournament featured several lengthy weather delays which led to longer hours of drinking and partying for fans, and it turns out that those extra few hours took a toll.

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While the Waste Management checks the box of getting fans, specifically younger fans, to a PGA Tour event there is a line between being ‘the most-fun atmosphere in golf’ and ‘a booze fest drinking club featuring a hint of golf.’

If you add in Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel getting into it with fans in the gallery over the weekend on top of having to stop alcohol sales and a woman falling from the stands, it's safe to say the line has been crossed.

Tournament organizers and the PGA Tour have recognized that and have plans for a complete overhaul starting with next year's event.

Chance Cozby, the executive director of the Thunderbirds organization that hosts the event, told Golf Channel that there will be a "complete operational change" to the tournament beginning in 2025.

"We’re very proud of what we’ve built," Cozby said. "I think, we’ve been tournament of the year on the PGA Tour five of the last seven years. But 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, and, so, nothing is off the table."

"We are going to look at our general ticket exposure and how many are out in the marketplace, we are going to look at our complete security plan and how we operate. Saturday at the WM Phoenix Open in 2024 is going to end up being a turning point for our tournament and our organization to make our event better."

So, in summary, anyone who was hoping to completely rage at TPC Scottsdale in the future, 2024 may have been your last opportunity to do so.

The scene at the 16th hole likely won't change, nor should it, but the party atmosphere there has trickled onto every other hole on the property and been accepted by most because ‘hey, this is the party tournament.’ Organizers should rightfully try to take things down a notch moving forward.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.