SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Changes are coming to next year's WM Phoenix Open in the wake of a series of incidents involving fans and golfers, overcrowding on the course, and the suspensions of both admissions and alcohol sales on Saturday.
Chance Cozby, the executive director of the Thunderbirds, the civic organization that hosts the Phoenix Open, told the Golf Channel on Monday that the tournament is already looking at ways to fix the issues that plagued the largest tournament on the PGA Tour this year. «I think that you will see a complete operational change of how we manage, really, our Friday and Saturday, but the entire week,» Cozby said. «We're very proud of what we've built.
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.» Cozby said the Phoenix Open's leadership team spent «five or six hours» on Saturday afternoon as fans were starting to leave brainstorming what changes needed to happen.