Raucous golf fans urinate in public as WM Phoenix Open descends into chaos
Unsavoury scenes marred the Waste Management Phoenix Open - as fans urinating in public at TPC Scottsdale was just one of the issues at the PGA Tour event.
Fights between spectators broke out around the course, and one fan invaded the green on the 16th, forcing security to intervene. Another fell from one of the grandstands at the same hole on Friday, suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Several pros, including Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, also had verbal exchanges with the gallery during rounds in response to heckles from the crowds. Saturday saw the sale of alcohol suspended, and the event's organisers, the Thunderbirds, closed the gates mid-afternoon, as they explained in a statement.
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"As an organisation, our fans and their safety is our top priority," it began. "Due to steady rainfall in Scottsdale this week that created deteriorating course conditions, we unfortunately had to close the gates at the tournament entrance and stop allowing fans to enter the golf course on Saturday afternoon.
"The stadium-style course layout at TPC Scottsdale, which features large banks for crowds to stand and sit, were soggy and unusable. This pushed patrons who would normally congregate in those areas into high-foot-traffic areas, causing severe congestion at key points on event grounds, including the entrance and exit.
"After consulting with event partners and officials, we made the decision to temporarily close the tournament entrance to alleviate crowding in those areas in the interest of public safety.
Multiple fans relieved themselves around TPC Scottsdale over the weekend
Nick Taylor went on to win the tournament (Getty Images)"We know that fans with Saturday tickets were turned away. The Thunderbirds as an organization are gathering more details and discussing options on how to remedy their concerns. To the greatest fans in golf, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused as we always strive to create the best event possible."
It is said to be the first time that a pro golf event has stopped admitting spectators early. Spieth recalled a conversation with a police officer on Saturday night. “When I went home and came back, I couldn’t come the same direction,” he told reporters. “[A police officer] said, ‘We’re over capacity. It’s hazardous, so we’ve got to go through a different entry.’
"Once he said that I thought maybe we were in a little bit of trouble this afternoon, but we were on the front nine, so it was a little less rowdy, and I heard they stopped alcohol sales."
Scenes of fans slipping over around the saturated course flooded social media. Several other spectators took the opportunity to slide down the banks on their stomachs.
Byeong Hun An called it a "s***show" on X, adding that it was "totally out of control on every hole". In reply to one user, he addressed the heckles players were receiving. "Booing after shots is fine," he said. "There are lots of people yelling before hitting it."
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