SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The much-anticipated golf tournament in Scottsdale, the WM Phoenix Open, is back this February!
Matt Mooney, the 2025 Tournament Chairman, shared with ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez the three “sizable changes” that’ll happen at the event as it aims to better the fan experience.
“Our mantra this year has been ‘better, not bigger.’ [The] event has grown exponentially, even in the last five years, and so, we've really taken this year to focus on the fan experience, the player experience, and make sure that all of these investments and changes that we're making on course improve the fan experience. We feel like we've really hit the nail on the head...," said Mooney. “This is the most successful event on the PGA Tour by a wide margin, where we're generating about half a billion dollars in annual economic impact to the Phoenix economy with this event each year, and so it is incredibly successful. People do love it.”
NEW ENTRANCE
“This year, we've added a new additional entrance to the golf course, which will be our third entrance. It's just off of Greenway Hayden Loop, north of the Frank Lloyd Wright intersection, and we're really excited about that,” said Mooney. “We have a lot of fans that access the golf tournament from the south along Frank Lloyd Wright right there, and now they'll be able to use this additional entrance, which will essentially drop them right at the 18th tee. So for people that are trying to get to those busy areas on 16, 17, 18, it gives them a new option.”
DIGITAL TICKETS
“We've […] moved all of our general admission tickets and our Bird's Nest tickets to be fully digital and electronic, and so we're excited about that. It'll make...moving tickets around a lot easier for fans, but also make our entrances a lot more efficient as people are entering and exiting the golf course,” Mooney expressed to ABC15.
FAN EXPERIENCES
The 2025 Tournament Chairman encourages fans to check out two specific areas on the golf course this year.
“We've made a really significant investment in the infrastructure of our Taylor Morrison Fairway House venue, which is along the 12th hole, and then our Desert Oasis venue, which is between the 5th, 6th, and 7th holes. Both of those areas are open to any fan who attends the golf tournament, and we've dramatically expanded both of those venues. There's a lot more room for fans to spread out. We've enhanced the viewing so that fans can see more of the golf from those venues,” explained Mooney. “Desert Oasis has Little Miss Barbecue, a craft beer garden, [and] we have some unique activations planned.”
THE WM PHOENIX OPEN
The multi-day event known as "the greatest show on grass” promises to be more than just a sporting event that takes place in our state.
“I think the thing that we're most passionate about as an organization, and getting to host this golf tournament is it's a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase the Valley and why we all live here and love it so much. But more importantly than that, the proceeds from this event go to charity, and those are almost all Arizona-based charities. We just surpassed $200 million in charitable giving since the inception of the tournament, $17.5 million last year,” Mooney shared with ABC15. “When people support the tournament, they're supporting those charities. And you know, we think that's the beauty of this event - the community supports the event, and the event then turns around and supports the community.”
Heading to the big event? From tickets and parking at the WM Phoenix Open to key activities like the Concert in the Coliseum and the Coors Light Birds Nest, check out the 2025 guide right here.
