The PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open is "making a concerted effort to increase the fan experience" across the grounds of TPC Scottsdale, according to John Davis of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Last week’s event set "another attendance record by drawing 655,434 fans, and it is a growing challenge to alleviate pedestrian gridlock." Big crowds "cause bottlenecks" near the popular 16th, 17th and 18th holes. Incoming Tournament Chair Carlos Sugich said, “Our goal is to try and get fans out to other areas and take some of the traffic away from the last three holes." To help the crowding issue, Thunderbirds, the group that organizes the Phoenix Open, two years ago created El Rancho, a Mexican ranch-themed venue "near the 12th hole, where fans also can see action on the eighth and 13th holes." Sugich: "It has grown a lot in popularity and there is even more I think we can do with it. I also want to take a look at adding more bleachers for (general admission) ticket holders and creating more open spaces for them on other parts of the front nine." Meanwhile, outgoing Chair Andy Markham was "particularly pleased that the event’s marketing campaign, encouraging fans to respect the game and players, seemed to have an impact." Markham: “Breaking the attendance records was great to see, especially when you look at fan behavior, which was awesome. The incidents were few and far between" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/7).
IDENTITY CRISIS? In San Jose, Carl Steward writes six of the PGA Tour’s "most familiar faces" will be competing in this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and golf really "could use one of those faces to come up a winner right about now." The sport is "going through a bit of an identity crisis" this season, with "most of the best golf being played by names who aren’t ringing many bells among casual golf fans." Justin Thomas (three wins this season) and Hideki Matsuyama (two wins) are "easily the best things going in the game, but unfortunately, neither player is entered in the AT&T." However, the event "still has five of the world’s 12 top-ranked players in the field, including No. 1 Jason Day." Getting top players to "contending positions on the weekend and maybe one into the winner’s circle on Sunday would be helpful" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/7).
