The WM Phoenix Open paradigm shift

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Keegan Bradley (68, 6 under, six off the lead of Sahith Theegala) saw a guy dressed as Santa Claus on the rowdy, par-3 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open on Friday. It was a funny getup, Bradley said, but there’s a paradigm shift at this tournament that can be serious stuff for those who choose to embrace it.

Bradley said he almost goes to another place and time, invoking Fenway Park and his Boston Red Sox.

Talor Gooch (64, 8 under) mentioned Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers.

Two-time WM Phoenix Open champion Brooks Koepka, who once posed with the Wanamaker Trophy next to NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, was less specific but said he can feel like more than just a golfer here. And that’s a good thing.

“It almost feels like a real sport,” Koepka said of the rowdy, say-anything vibe that smacks golfers in the face at the WM at TPC Scottsdale. “Like football, basketball, things like that, soccer.”

As we anticipate the Super Bowl this weekend, and amid the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing, PGA TOUR pros are getting just what they expected at the WM Phoenix Open: a combination golf course/gladiator pit that can take them out of golf’s sometimes stuffy bubble and transport them to the goal line, free throw line, or into any other sports fantasy.

It doesn’t really matter what the sports fantasy is; what matters is that they go with it.

“I love it,” said Bradley, a four-time TOUR winner who is 91st in the FedExCup and 90th in the world. “The thing about this week I always tell people is, you're ready for it, this is the week. It's not that big of a deal when they boo you; people think it is, but I think, like Brooks says, it's kind of nice to feel that – like I always imagine that's what, that's my only time I get feel like what it might be in Fenway Park for me, you know, my life-long dream.

“So I try to enjoy my time in there,” he continued. “But over the years it's not just that hole anymore, I mean the whole back side is pretty loud and pretty fun.”

Is there anything like this week? Not really, Bradley said, although the legendary New York fans at their beloved muni Bethpage Black can provide a similar spice. Gooch, whose seven-birdie, no-bogey round left him four off the pace of early second-round leader Sahith Theegala (64), a sponsor’s exemption out of Pepperdine, cited the “fun energy” here.

Rickie Fowler, who won here in 2019, buys into that energy. In fact, he not only pumped the crowd up, he also booed himself after missing the 16th green Thursday, turning his thumb down as the catcalls rained down around him.

“I hit it a little heavy,” Fowler said before waiting to see if 1 under (71-70) would make the cut. “You kind of know what you need to do to get a positive reaction or not, and it’s all in good fun. I was hoping it was maybe going to catch the front and somehow move forward, but I messed up, so I had to give myself the thumbs down. Poor execution.”

Those who like this tournament’s crazy energy, Fowler continued, tend to come back. Those who love it thrive.

Patrick Cantlay (66, 9 under, three back) equated the noise at 16 to “a dull roar” that he tries to mostly ignore. Same for Theegala, 24 who is seeking his first win and said he didn’t make eye contact with anyone on the tournament’s rowdiest hole. You can hardly blame him, for Theegala was in the zone: After starting his round with four birdies on the first five holes, he birdied four of the last six on the back nine to grab the lead by himself, two over Brooks Koepka (66) and Xander Schauffele (65).

“We’ll see how it is this weekend,” Theegala said, noting he hadn’t yet played 16 late in the day, around cocktail hour.

Like Fowler and others, Theegala, even as a rookie, knows the week is a one-off. So does Gooch. And that knowledge somehow makes the whole thing easier to embrace.

“We all love it,” said Gooch, who won The RSM Classic last fall, “but we – I think we all love that it’s not a weekly thing because it’s draining. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of energy when you’re trying to calm your emotions, it’s just not the most conducive environment for that.”

Koepka, who intimated that the feisty crowd helps him stay focused, takes a more sanguine view.

“Well, first off, I think it brings a whole new group of fans to golf,” he said. “I think that's important. I think you look at – I mean, I don't know the numbers, I don't want to screw it up, but, I mean, it's pretty much the biggest tournament we have on the PGA TOUR as far as fans, people, the presence. The atmosphere is unbelievable. I love it.

“Look, I love when people get rowdy,” he added. “They're cheering you when you hit it tight and booing you when you hit it bad. If you do something wrong, you deserve to get heckled. If you do something right, they will cheer for you. That's what makes this event so cool.”