SCOTTSDALE: It's the most "unique" week on the PGA Tour calendar due to the wild crowds, but one of the stars of the show is welcoming another Phoenix Open.
Affectionately known as "The People's Open" for its relaxed atmosphere and raucous spectators, the yearly event in Scottsdale, Arizona is a highlight of the golf calendar.
While the crowd often takes centre stage, the golfers themselves relish the opportunity to play in front of a rowdy bunch of people from all parts of the world, creating an atmosphere less golf and more like a basketball or baseball type of level.
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Speaking at an event to launch the upcoming release of PGA Tour 2K25, cover athlete Max Homa admitted there were moments he gets "frustrated" among the excitement.
"It's oddly easier in a weird way, because you know it's gonna be crazy," he replied when asked by Wide World of Sports about the nature of the event.
Max Homa and the Phoenix Open crowds. Getty
"You kind of know what to expect and I do find this week the most fun week on tour all year – I absolutely love it.
"There are parts I'm sure that I get frustrated by, like when you're playing bad and people are yelling, but the net positive is way higher.
"We have nothing else like this and it feels like – especially at the 16th hole – that we're playing at a baseball stadium or basketball arena.
"It's just unique for us and it's really cool."
The wild Phoenix Open atmosphere is highlighted by the famed 16th "stadium hole" which sees hundreds of people create a colosseum, and throw their beers onto the green if a player scores a hole in one.
The fanfare in Scottsdale for the "greatest show on grass" has only ramped up leading into the tournament beginning Thursday night (AEDT).
But there will be extra measures in place to ensure fans don't go overboard.
A fan dressed in costume as William Wallace from Braveheart is apprehended at the WM Phoenix Open. Getty
"It's one of the things that concerns me the most," tournament boss Matt Mooney said.
"We're really making an emphasis this year again on our fan code of conduct.
"Our general admission fans will have to click on a code of conduct acknowledgment and we're going to have a zero-tolerance policy for people that cross those procedures.
"Unfortunately, there's a small segment of our society that wants to create these viral moments and it's to the detriment of the event, the detriment of the other fans and most importantly the athletes themselves."
Homa is chasing his first win at Scottsdale, as he starts the 2025 campaign still searching for an elusive major after a strong performance at The Masters last year.
While his focus remains on the course, the 34-year-old American admits it has been "surreal" to grace the cover of the video game with Tiger Woods and Matt Fitzpatrick.
"I feel like as a kid, when you make a player in a video game, you make it to look like yourself because you want to be in the game," Homa said.
"It's different now, I get to play the sport for a living so I'm used to seeing myself on TV.
"To actually be in the game and how accurate it is, is definitely surreal.
"The whole thing is crazy."
Liam O'Loughlin is in Arizona covering the Phoenix Open for Wide World of Sports. His trip has been funded by PGA Tour 2K25 – released on February 28.
