The WM Phoenix Open had a thrilling finale as Nick Taylor secured his fourth PGA Tour title in a playoff win against Charley Hoffman.
As tends to be the case at The People’s Open, though, incidents away from the play were among the biggest talking points, with a string of events ranging from the off-putting to the dangerous causing things to frequently spiral out of control.
That has led to questions over whether the WM Phoenix Open has run its course, with PGA Tour pro Ben An sharing his thoughts on the scenes on social media, declaring them as “totally out of control.” That was followed by caddie Willy Wilcox saying the event is "descending into an all-out heckle fest frat party."
With the fallout from one of the most chaotic editions of the tournament continuing, here are 10 of the most controversial moments from the 2024 WM Phoenix Open.
Zach Johnson Argues With Fans About Ryder Cup Captaincy
To say Zach Johnson had an unhappy time of it as captain of the 2023 US Ryder Cup team would be an understatement, with his players comprehensively beaten on the Marco Simone course and reports of a locker room split off it.
Following the three days of action, he would probably have been keen to put the unsuccessful chapter of his career behind him as soon as possible. However, over four months on, he is still being reminded of the defeat, and by the time the WM Phoenix Open came around, he was clearly at his wits’ end.
Footage shows Johnson snapping over comments made to him by fans at TPC Scottsdale, with the fed up 47-year-old saying: “Don’t sir me. Somebody said it. I’m just sick of it. Just shut up!”
🚨🗣️🫨 #WATCH: Zach Johnson has had enough of the gallery at the WMPO - ‘SHUT UP’ pic.twitter.com/dJHJ5Kjax6February 11, 2024
Billy Horschel Shouts At Fan
Johnson wasn’t the only player to confront fans, with Billy Horschel giving a mouthful to one member of the crowd for potentially putting off Nicola Galletti as he took a shot. Horschel shouted: “Buddy, when he's over the shot, shut the hell up, man. Come on, he's trying to hit a damn golf shot here. It's our f****** job."
Billy Ho pic.twitter.com/8tjHPUhKc6February 11, 2024
Fans Reportedly Trampled
One of the problems was the sheer number of people who attended on Saturday combined with poor weather, which led to a decision to temporarily shut the gates and stop alcohol sales after the grassy hills and walkways became unusable. That led to severe congestion elsewhere. with Claire Rogers of Golf.com reporting that “people were getting trampled in the crowded areas.”
Fans Slide Down Muddy Hills
The muddy conditions may have led to overcrowding elsewhere, but they provided an opportunity not to be missed for some fans, who opted to slide down them, with varying degrees of success.
Before you see it on barstool, kid waterfalls 5 beers and proceeds to get arrested😂 #wastemanagement pic.twitter.com/i7V4sWGHXZFebruary 11, 2024
🚨🫨💀 TARPS OFF DOWN THE HILL (via addisonbare / TikTok) pic.twitter.com/Q7g6bQckuBFebruary 11, 2024
Jordan Spieth Put Off During Backswing
The three-time Major winner was another player to have in issue with a member of the crowd. He responded to a fan who shouted during his backswing by mouthing, “What the f***?”
#wastemanagement #PhoenixOpen #JordanSpieth @JordanSpieth 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xwnmx1N9yoFebruary 11, 2024
That wasn’t the only problem Spieth faced. Because of the decision to close the gates, Spieth faced difficulties entering the course for the start of his third round on Saturday afternoon.
He told Sports Illustrated: “When I went home and when I came back, I couldn’t come the same direction. The police officers had blocked it off, so I drove up and I said, ‘How am I supposed to get back to the course?’ He said, ‘We’re over capacity. It’s hazardous, so we’ve got to go through a different [entrance].’”
Invader Makes Sand Angels In Bunker
The WM Phoenix Open has been no stranger to course invaders among some of its wild scenes over the years, with a streaker at the 2018 pro-am followed by a fan running onto the 16th hole in 2023 before going for a dip in the water by the green.
Another was added to the list in 2024 when, at the same hole, a fan got onto the fairway and headed straight for the bunker, somehow landing on his neck in it before proceeding to make sand angels.
I would say he did not stick the landing pic.twitter.com/Y8bI8Eu9IKFebruary 10, 2024
Unruly Fans Wrestle Each Other
Amid the chaos, two fans even began wrestling each other at one point, dragging each other to the floor before finally being separated.
Brawl at #wastemanagement #WMPhoenixOpen pic.twitter.com/x5AqekgGf9February 11, 2024
Fan Urinates In Public
One fan couldn’t even wait for his turn in the bathroom, and instead chose to urinate in full view of other members of the crowd – and largely to their amusement.
'We Want Beer' Chant
The WM Phoenix Open and alcohol go hand-in-hand, so the decision to temporarily turn the taps off didn’t go down particularly well with many fans at the iconic 16th hole. After a while, chants of “We want beer” swept around the Stadium Hole. At another point, fans put their empty beer cups to good use with an impressively long beer snake.
“We want beer” chants breaking out as the WMPO has apparently stopped serving alcohol 💀(via eric_gliebe IG) pic.twitter.com/1SwJJ8Q8kMFebruary 10, 2024
🚨CUP SNAKE ON 16🚨 pic.twitter.com/vxCujCmcUkFebruary 11, 2024
Alcohol Being Thrown On Fans
We’ve had incidences of beer cups being thrown onto the 16th green before, but you would expect most of them to be empty before being discarded. However, this year’s event saw beverages being emptied from the stands onto fans below as the chaos of one of the most controversial editions of the tournament continued.
What a waste of perfectly good beers 🤦♀️🤣 pic.twitter.com/gpJMggb0C2February 11, 2024
