“The 16th green is covered with beer. All the spectators are in a state of excitement. You will not see this sight anywhere else in the world!”
This happened when Sam Ryder (USA) recorded a hole-in-one in the 16th hole in the third round of the WM Phoenix Open of the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour last year. As the 20,000 spectators gathered at the 16th hole all threw beer cans and soda bottles onto the course and became enthusiastic, a local broadcast commentator explained this. The game was stopped for about 15 minutes as the tournament officials cleaned up numerous beverage cans and beer bottles scattered on the green.
The Phoenix Open is called the loudest golf tournament in the world. This is because it is the only golf course where quietness and courtesy are the basics, and singing and dancing are possible. Its nickname is ‘Golf Liberation Area’. Thanks to this, it mobilizes more than 500,000 galleries every year and boasts the best box office success.
The world’s most raucous hole 16
In particular, the 16th hole (par 3) has a huge stand that can accommodate 20,000 people, reminiscent of the ‘Colosseum’, a Roman gladiator arena. The galleries chatter and drink to their heart’s content, and when a good shot comes out, they applaud with tremendous cheers. However, if a player makes a mistake, booing pours in unrelentingly.
Attention is focusing on whether a scene like this will happen at the Phoenix Open this year as well. The Phoenix Open will be held at Scottsdale TPC (par 71) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA for four days from the 10th (Korean time). World No. 1 to 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Scotty Scheffler (USA), and John Rahm (Spain) have all confirmed their participation, raising expectations even more. This year’s Phoenix Open is the first event in which the world’s top three players participate at once. 바카라
McIlroy will compete on the PGA Tour four months after winning The CJ Cup last October. McIlroy, who took a long break after finishing 4th at the Tour Championship, the final round of the DP World Tour season in November last year, won his 15th DP World Tour career by reaching the top at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the first tournament of the new year, a week ago. He is living up to his name to the extent that he has finished in the top 4 in all six tournaments he has participated in recently, including winning twice.
Schaeffler, world No. 2, won the first championship of his career at this event last year. He is aiming for a title defense this year. Ram, who took part in three PGA Tour events this year and won twice, is once again challenging for a third win this season.
In addition to the world rankings 1-3, 8 players within the world rankings 10 applied for participation. Only Cameron Smith (Australia, 4th place), who was banned from participating in PGA Tour tournaments after transferring to LIV golf, and Will Jaratoris (USA, 8th place), who decided to take a break from this tournament, were left out.
Korean signboard Kim Joo-hyung, Lim Seong-jae, Kim Si-woo, and Lee Kyung-hun also sortie
Korean players such as Kim Joo-hyung (21), Lim Seong-jae (25), Kim Si-woo (28), and Lee Gyeong-hoon (32), who prepared for this tournament after not participating in the AT&T Phoenix Open held last week, are also ready to compete. In particular, Kim Joo-hyung posted a photo on his social media (SNS) on the 4th of a practice round with Ram, swimming emperor Michael Phelps (USA), and American professional football (NFL) star JJ Watt (USA), and the Phoenix Open The appearance of preparing for was slightly revealed.
Lim Seong-jae also took a short break and focused on making up for small mistakes made at the beginning of the new year. At the Phoenix Open, I’m on the hunt for a win again. Kim Si-woo, who won 4 PGA Tour victories at the Sony Open last month, is also aiming for his 2nd win of the season, and Lee Kyung-hoon is also challenging to enter the upper ranks.
The reason why such a splendid list was possible is that the PGA Tour has promoted this tournament as a ‘special event’ since this year. In order to receive the Player Impact Index bonus implemented by the PGA Tour, players must participate in 16 out of 17 special tournaments designated by the PGA Tour, such as major tournaments and the Players Championship. In addition, as it has been upgraded to a special event, the total prize money of the Phoenix Open is expected to more than double from last year’s $8.7 million (about 10.8 billion won) to $20 million (about 24.9 billion won), making it a ‘money party’ competition.