Is another long-standing tradition in golf soon to end? For years, the WM Phoenix Open has been the same week as the Super Bowl, with the final round of the tournament serving as a strong pre-game event.
Even during the years when Arizona hosted a Super Bowl, the PGA Tour stop never missed a beat, with strong fields and big crowds.
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The Tour is undergoing changes, though, with some big ones expected not this year but perhaps as soon as 2027. Might the PGA Tour indeed cut back on the number of tournaments? Could the season’s kickoff event be the Phoenix Open? Would that finally move the event off Super Bowl weekend? Only time will tell, but trust the Thunderbirds, the Scottsdale-based charitable organization that runs the Phoenix Open, will be ready for any contingency.
A large WM sign near the 15th green at TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open.
“We’re having those conversations with the PGA (Tour) right now, and it’s a mutually beneficial relationship, said 2026 tournament chairman Jason Eisenberg. “They’re listening to what we have to say and we’re listening to what they have to say.”
The Phoenix Open stopped announcing attendance figures after the 2018 event. That year, a massive crowd of 216,818 people were there for Saturday’s third round. There as a weeklong total of 719,179 spectators. Super Bowl or not, fans showed out.
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But would it be better if the Greenest Show on Grass didn’t have the share the spotlight with the biggest sporting event in the U.S.?
San Francisco 49ers fans cheer at the 16th hole during the final round of the 2020 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
“We are the highest attended event on the PGA Tour,” Eisenberg said. “I don’t think it moves a needle for us one way or the other. I think if you’re a fan of PGA (Tour) golf, and I think if you’re a fan of a good time, you’re here. And, you know, and I think that we’ve done very well competing with the Super Bowl and it’s something we’d be proud to continue to do. If we were moved, we’d look at that as well.
“I think if you’re a fan of the Phoenix Open, you’d rather be here. I think that’s ultimately what it comes down to and I think, you know, it’s an event that has draws for everybody. If you like golf, it’s golf. If you like entertainment, it’s entertainment. If you like concert, it’s concerts. The Super Bowl is a great event. They quasi-compete with us even though we’re not really on when they’re on, but if you were actually going to attend it, I guess that’d be a problem. But we have no problem going ahead with it.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: WM Phoenix Open could move off Super Bowl weekend with PGA Tour changes
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