Has this PGA TOUR Event Finally Gone TOO FAR?

The WM Phoenix Open has been met with sharp criticism for the excessive rowdiness on display at this year’s event, leaving us wondering if “The People’s Open” has finally gone too far.

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They call it the people’s open they call it the ultimate party but has the WM Phoenix Open gone too far well totally out of control on nearly every single hole is the way at least one pro described it and this year we saw a highlight reel on social media of fights

Going down with between fans interactions with the players we even had one woman fall out of the grand stands on 16 and get injured but the question I really have is is it all too much or is it excuse the pun par for the course and for the PGA Tour can they

Truly have their cake and eat it too because we know that this is one of the most exciting events on the schedule but to a certain extent there is a component of it that leaves a little bit of a black eye on the sport when it gets out

Of control like I don’t know if you saw this but they even had at one point the the police department and the Fire Marshals had to shut down alcohol sales this year because it got right it’s got to tell you something yeah I mean this this thing goes down is

Arguably like the most fun event for golfers golf people golf fans golf Fanatics golf buddies they they they look forward to it every year to go out and just make it an ultimate blackout but is this what the tour is going for like honestly I want to think today like

If the tour was like Monahan and all them were sitting around a table how do you think they would have grayed how it went though that’s just the thing and I think there’s there’s a a torn there’s a feeling of being torn between good and bad and there’s we’re going to talk

About like is there ways that it can kind of exist in this way uh or maybe even has it really not gone too far do players truly kind of know what they’re getting into when they sign up for this event and I would personally be fearful of stealing the soul from this event

I’ve talked about it here on the podcast before totally I think you can have different tones and different Vibes at different um tournaments I truly believe we have a a a world where the WM can exist on the schedule and in all of its routin and have the Masters on that same

Type of schedule where it’s saying two very very different stylistically events but again it’s a you’re driving and creating a culture at those events yeah definitely and yep kind of spoiler alert here I want to get your take in a second too but it’s kind of spoil alert I’m not

Necessarily for stamping down you know and and look I say this with a grain of salt and I know people will say stuff in the comments because I I’m never going to be a proponent of intentionally trying to uh ruin a a player’s swing by swinging uh by screaming in their back

Swing you know that the intention of it I’m never going to go for that I’m never going to go for overly drunking this o you know being fighting and things like that I want to have make sure that you still got an event that I could safely

Bring my kids to you know at least have a spot where where I could be you know not worrying about somebody drunk falling down on top of them or something like that but that being said I think there’s a slippery slope that we don’t steal the soul of this event and still

Allow there to be a party and a chance for people to to ex you know celebrate the game in a way that is a much more party atmosphere sounds like you got a game plan I wish I did I mean what do you think I mean how could they make it

Or cuz I feel like first of all do you think it’s gone too far this year no doubt okay I feel like in previous years it was wild but tame yeah they throw some cups onto and they they clean them up you know you that stuff different you

Know it it’s it’s like I said different but great I’m a proponent for the like you said not taking the soul out of this event it is the people’s open people like to go there they like to party y so I don’t know but maybe there are ways

Like even some of the things where they like I know that footage of people lining up and running right like that’s nuts it it can get a little bit out of him but but that’s Rock concert stuff it is like a rock concert but General ad rock concerts also exist and we’re not

Up in arms about it complaining about it you know you see a lot of reporters reporting on this and being a little bit disgusted with how it went they don’t talk about that at a rock show now I can understand like you say golf golf uh tournament’s not a rock show but maybe

There’s a place for that to a certain extent but let’s just quickly go over just some of the individual incidents that kind of happened out there because I think that also kind of sheds light and maybe people didn’t catch everything but I think each one of these is nuanced

In its own thing the first one I want to talk about which I think is kind of one of the most important signals is for the players themselves we saw frustration boiling over um you know we we don’t get the full story because it’s just whatever was shared in little social

Media posts and clips but the first one that stood out was of course with Zach Johnson um who’s normally as we know a very level-headed guy he’s not new to this at all he’s been around the sport he’s been in very heated Ridder Cup events where we see a similar level of

Energy Ridder Cup captain things like that for the first time I think we’ve seen Zack Johnson get more elevated than we’ve ever seen before he finally went over to the crowd and he basically he basically telling the crowd that’s enough but he does it in a heated way

From what I can piece together it sounds like he was really getting egged on by the fans for his Ridder cup performance uh there’s still they yeah I mean look there’s still a little tens was there anything about what was said or we just caught Zach’s response we just caught

The last bit of Zach’s response so I didn’t personally see anything surface of exactly what caused him to boil over but you had again a guy who’s normally very levelheaded and would normally tune the crowd out directly engaging with the crowd then you had Billy H horal come at

The crowd um and and here too I I get it to a certain extent there was some screaming and yelling that were happening in another player’s backswing Billy horel came into the defense of that player and said hey basically in so many words with a few more obscenities

He said we’re working here like you can’t do this yeah it kind of reminded me of Happy Gilmore Happy Gilmore I totally you said it’s a was a rock concert or like go back to your shant I mean that’s terrible horel was shooter in that situation in a certain way and

That’s why I kind of Wonder like do do we have to feel bad for these players or is there a component of saying guys you know what you’re getting into and I think it’s Nuance so like there’s two things one heckling shouting at guys caveat other than when they’re actually

Swinging I don’t think I can get too mad at fans for that it happens in every other sport sure you think about you know the NBA and and the guys walking you know through the tunnel and how close they are on the floor there you think about the same thing with the NFL

Hockey oh my God you know these guys you don’t quiet down for a free throw well not only that like the heckling specifically oh no doubt it happens it players it’s part of being a professional to a certain extent is being able to tune that out we’ve seen

Some players use it as motivation to do better look at Brian Harmon in the open this year he was being followed and heckled the entire time now I think one guy took it too far and he asked to have him removed yeah but you know he he said

I use that as motivation to me I don’t believe that we’re in a world now where we have to make sure that everyone you know is watching what they’re saying and not heckling like that’s part of fandom whether you like or not now you make a personal choice

Whether you want to do that I would never do that right I know that these are human beings I’m not I don’t wouldn’t feel very great about myself going there and heckling guys but these are crowds these are sporting events if you guys disagree with me let me know in

The comments there’s always gonna be a Heckler but I think that that to a certain extent heckling happens yep now the other side of that intentionally messing with someone’s performance by trying to yell or shout in their back swing I’m I’m really not cool with that yeah yeah but but but

But golf really is the only sport I can think of maybe other than bowling darts you know things like this right where T tennis yeah where the crowd will be silent allowing them to perform right every other sport it’s part of the sport that the crowd and it’s home game

Advantage is a large part of this y the crowd will intentionally be loud distracting you know you think about behind a free throw like you said and and making like a lot of noise and players are required to find a way to tune that out the free throw is a

Perfect example MH so it makes me wonder are we being too sensitive as golfers not allowing that yeah that’s a good point now I do not want to live in a world I was just going to say we want this at every event where every event people are shouting everybody back

Swings but do I think it to a certain extent if it’s expected players can can tune you know put more of a deaf ear to it and what I mean by that is when they walk through that tunnel into into 16 they know they’re going to be taking

That swing that t-shot with a lot of background noise and screaming because they don’t get quiet there right so as a golfer if you expect it is that acceptable I mean if I I think if you expect it it’s fine same with Ryder Cup you know that first te people are going

To be chanting and booing and it’s different you expect it I think it’s fine so what it drives the question then for me is that whose fault really is it should players be getting upset like that and fighting with the crowds or should players say I

I know I I I signed up for the for the the wampo yeah I know what I’m signing up for that’s what I think elevated event a lot of money on the line great venue great fans I mean come on they’re great A lot of them are great they’re

There to support the sport they’re the handful or the whatever that are going to do the bad things I think you just got to brush that off well I think it’s a strong point you make there because the fact is it’s Amplified and made louder by social media but the reality

Was for the many many their attendance we’re talking tens if not hundreds of thousands who attended over the four days 90% of them were perfectly drunk oh no I would say I’d say the 10% who got so drunk that we witnessed them falling downhills fighting stuff like that is

Only the 10 maximum percentage of the total attendance yeah you see it and it gets Amplified and it gets re-shared and re-shared we also live in a world now where like everything gets Amplified that way through social media so I do agree I think that it would be way wrong

To just broadly label all the fans there as being overly wild or overly crazy whatever it may be but what I’m coming back to saying is that I think there’s a certain responsibility that’s put on the players of saying you know you’re signing up for the event and all the fun that comes

With it players have fun too putting the jerseys on on 16 uh ring up the crowd you can’t have your cake and eat it too you got to understand for a certain degree of that there’s also going to be the other side there’s going to be some heckling I just I can’t one

Thing I can’t get board I can’t agree with like I said intentionally shouting or doing something loud and distracting in the back swing other people you guys let it let us know in the comments you may say hey that’s acceptable in other sports it’s fine by me get over it right

I would say there’s still a component of golf and but I like I like what you said before about each spot has that different vibe you’ve got the white glove Steakhouse experience at Augusta yeah and you got the Frat party in Phoenix you know like each stop you got

The uh the walk up music at the Zurich little Vibe here and there it’s a little different well that’s what I’m saying like ultimately we has as fans have a choice of what event we want to end and them as players have largely a choice now you can make the argument for sing

Your events as guys who have to be there as part of that whole thing but they they have a choice of whether they want to be in the field in an event I personally going back to my analogy earlier having young kids myself probably wouldn’t take them to that

Event I would pick maybe another event but if it was in my backyard then you know and it was my only real Choice then I would want to make sure that it was a safe environment you think Frank 20 years ago is going to the waste management yeah definitely no

Doubt full experience and and I think again there is nothing wrong with going there and having a good time I really had no problem with I know a lot of people got heated with it when the hole in one was made last year and the cups

Went on the field to me that’s no different than a hockey game yeah and and so you know it happens they take two minutes and they clean it up and we move on right don’t Ste the soul of this event by making it to a point where it’s

Just no fun at all yeah so that being said we have some ideas of how I think we can keep this event as being the ultimate party you know as being the people’s open but protect against a certain degree of a black eye that’s put

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Back to you even if you didn’t made no changes you’re going to have some players who truly thrive in that environment I I think there’s guys who just feed off of that energy sure and they’re going to whe whether it’s it’s heckling or it’s cheering they’re going

To be able to kind of like navigate through that and possibly even perform better sure yeah there’s going to be guys on the other side that it’s just it’s too much they’re not used to it whatever it may be and it might be ultimately their decision going forward

Of whether they attend the event or they don’t you know we saw others who set the event out this year I’m not saying that’s the reason why but guys like Victor havin and others um it was not a signature event this year oh it wasn’t no I don’t believe it was a signature

Event so as part of that like some of these guys did not have to um so there’s there’s that aspect of it but can this be something that can be kind of changed or maybe even dialed back and and when I say dial back I I want to say that in a

Way that’s saying like without stealing the soul of the event I still think that it should be a a part the party tone is what gives it its life sure and I think it’s what brings a different a audience to some of some events and I think it

Variety and diversity in the game is what’s so important sure right agree yeah now you can go to the obvious uh alcohol sales there were I know there were certain aspects of it now we weren’t physically in attendance just watching this from the outside and keeping an eye on social media I know

There was some that was like kind of like an all you can drink areas and things like that maybe that’s pushing it and going a little bit too far it’s also the length of the event I know that that I I whether this is kind of a an excuse

Or not there was a lot of being thrown around it was due to the weather and what do you do during there longer so there was more time to drink I get all that but this is not the first kind of event with drinking and rowdiness and

Crowd control it’s not like any of this would necessarily be a surprise delays or otherwise and I think if we can live in a world where you can have massive daylong parties that are these concerts like huge concerts think laala paloa or whatever which of course there’s going

To be drunkenness there’s going to be a little rowdiness but it largely comes out on scathed except for the rare occasion where it goes too far maybe there’s a riot you know there’s a way to control for this so can we learn from that and apply it to things like the wampo you

Know you have at these major you know um music festivals you have the same type of things you have guys pregaming you know you you know alcohol sales all that type of stuff sure if they can crowd control and get everyone in have a good time and get everyone out again safely

Why can’t we do that here is it just that we need to say let’s face it for what it is guys the the the culture here that we’ve created throughout the years and largely even to the tour and them their own kind of detriment like what

They share on social media what they put out there is that it’s it’s a party they share that stuff that’s what they label it as y exactly so this is what we created let’s just make sure it’s it it can be a safe party for everyone more

Security you know um when when if a fight looks like it’s going to break out and I understand it’s over it’s over a wide big area but so are these huge music festivals yeah right jump in there separate that get the get them out of there uh bartenders cutting people off

Individual off when they’ve had too much to drink you know going kind of through insecurity through the crowds if you see people stacking up cups and it seems like it’s going too far putting a t tamper that down a little bit am I being unreasonable I mean I don’t work in

Security am I being unreasonable by thinking that that’s possible no I think it’s absolutely right I mean you could definitely do things that can limit I mean do you think it’s necessary to have people line up for the 16th hole well you know that was the other idea I was

Thinking about we saw first of all I I don’t know if you caught this but um and I don’t know how even true it was but it was reported on that there were some seats on 16 actually on the T box that were going for $24,000 per seat yeah that’s nuts which

Is crazy when you think that’s about as expensive as any ticket went for the Super Bowl yeah right yep but I was thinking why not do a and and and I’m speaking with this a little bit being slightly naive in the fact that I’ve not attended the event so if I’m if there’s

Something in this that I I missing then let me know in the comments but sell your general admission tickets and then secondarily sell tickets for 16 and I mean individual seats like choose your seat like you would a concert right so you eliminate that everyone lining up

At 4 in the morning sprinting in and having nothing to do for hours but drink right if it’s open see that’s the other thing I don’t know when that starts when they open up that when they open that game people run and the alcohol is open

I don’t know or but listen let’s not be naive there’s probably pregaming there’s probably people put putting some flasks in I’m sure there’s people coming from the night before not sleeping who knows might be but like I don’t know exactly when the alcohol opens but if we just

Had an event like where it was just like you know gates open an hour before the first tea time or two hours before and then six the 16th hole where we have a stadium is ticketed per seat so there’s no yeah I think that’s a good move right

You have almost like limiting the amount of time to drink to a certain extent right so you’re limiting your your action to only 16 but for some people that’s probably all they want to hang out at well if I could buy a seat at 16 and still wander around and then go back

To my seat okay you know what I’m saying I like that but but but versus the idea of it being kind of a first come first serve environment and everyone sprinting to to grab a seat on 16 right yeah you know cuz now the way that at least all

The events that we’ve attended you get a general admission ticket and then you can bounce around and wherever there’s a seat you grab one like in certain Grand stands now separately of course there’s the private boxes and things like that that have their own whatever it may be but again I’m not

In crowd control I’m not in security but I just got to think there’s got to be a way that you can do this yeah I like that play just knock the knock a little bit of the excessive drinking and ress out while still allowing people to go in

There have drinks have F you know fun with their friends and let it be alloud still alloud enironment that’s what people do at other golf tournaments right they just go they have a couple drinks they walk around they follow their favorite golfers and they go home

Right but what I’m saying is if I wanted to attend this event and let’s say I you just have 12 Beers yeah right now me personally I I probably wouldn’t be able to get out of bed the next day if I did that but if I went there I said I’m

Going to have 12 Beers but I’m going to have a great time but I’m not going to you know get in a fight I’m not going to excessively to a certain extent Heckle a player but if I want to shout if I want to they to a certain extent like let

That happen that’s the to me that is distill down the soul of this event in a lot of ways now I’m not going to say 12 Beers is the soul of the event but you get what I’m saying going there having a good time having a party is the Sol of

The event so I say allow that and then like you were saying no other than any other you know event on the schedule if again there’s levels if it gets excessive if you’ve got one guy no different than Happy Gilmore is following another guy around all day just letting him have it

Heckling heckling heckling to the point where it’s it’s beyond a reasonable distraction and that player says to security please escort him out fine yeah right fine but as a general overall crowd I think there’s got to be some give and take where players got to be like I need to mentally prepare work

With my mental coach whatever you got to do mentally prepare that on this event there’s going to be some Screaming in your back swing and use it some may be unintentional you get that many people in one place we saw it multiple times we saw it on on one of tala’s Chip shots

That the scream was so loud from 16 because of something that I think Scotty Sheffer had done it like kind of distracted him a little bit Yeah unintentional totally they don’t know what he’s doing over there that happens at Majors right so what I’m saying is

Like to a certain extent as players you got to be like I get into this event I got to know it’s going to get loud I got to be in my zone I said use it to your advantage like you said yeah go in there

If you if you’re able to conquer it you might be able to get a leg up on this field but you there was one thing just side note that I did really like about the about the uh the event was Smiley and kizner on the 16th 17 16th mhm they

Were uh they had a little booth with a microphone as guys were coming up and then they would go down to them Dan Hicks would go down to Smiley over to you at 16 and and it was like Smiley was like the alter boy trying to keep kid

Like make sure you doesn’t say anything or doing anything bad yeah but like the two of them talking about how like when they used to play the whole like and every guy that comes up you know they’re friends with them so like they’re talking to each other he’s like oh this

Guy just told us that he’s going to hit a hole in one here so like I thought that was a different Dynamic for the game that was cool it was like on the Lo on the ground location of like firsthand experience commentary I thought that was

Great so I mean I’m like chalking one up as a win there and that’s why I’m saying like like we have to do a way that we don’t steal the soul of this event where that that fun aspect that that to a certain that wildness that we see on 16 is still

Allowed to proceed you know and and again it doesn’t get to that point where it’s just like where so many people are getting like I again I I I don’t because I wasn’t there I don’t want to place a label of blame but like I I I would go

To thinking like possibly was there people being over served yeah you know too much out there much Mone had to be yeah you know it makes me wonder like I don’t know I haven’t been to the event but like I think about the other events

We go to and it’s like1 12 a beer yeah I maybe some people would be like yo I’m dropping 300 bucks today on beer like I don’t between that and all the waste management like Pro Shop gear that people are loading up because they’re drunk spending they must spend at that

Event look the event makes money we know the event makes money and it gets a lot of eyeballs but but like I said I think that there there’s a way and I also think that there’s a certain degree of just understanding that the majority of the people who were there I think were

Safe they were good they were they you know they Rowdy is fine I don’t think that’s a bad thing necessarily it’s just for the few that crossed the line I think it got incredibly Amplified and I think that there are some some of the players the players who did allow

Frustrations either boil over or spoke out on social media after the fact I think to a certain extent they need to understand like this came as no Surpise it’s not like a rowdy crowd came in and overtook the Masters and it’s like what’s going on I was never expecting this guys you walked

Into that tunnel whatever it may be You full well knew what was going to happen sure you know and it it’s it’s at the end of the day players were all safe it was not like God forbid we n one of us would ever want to see this but it was

Not like there were people attacking a player anything like that sure you got the occasional Streaker you get that yeah you get that but the sand angels out there yes yeah but you get people out there you know I said heckling things like that we got to remember at

The end of day it’s a sport right and it happens in other sports and other you know athletes get through it yeah and I understand golf it’s there’s a lot of things to alike about the quietness to a certain extent and the tradition of golf in some aspects but it’s not like this

Is a Vibe that’s overtaking all of the tournaments and if you liked that aspect of golf you be like that’s that’s gone now you can get that go to the Masters go to the US Open go to whatever it may be the waste management is or now the WM

Has its own very special place and I don’t think it’s time to to kill that yeah I agree you know agree so you guys waiting in the comments let us know did it go too far or is it going just far enough and if so like what what are the

Changes that if anything you would make to Future versions of the wampo let us know in the comments we’ll see you in the next one