Waste Management Open

Last week at Pebble Beach could not have had a worse ending. Due to inclement weather, the final round of the AT&T Pro Am was ultimately canceled and the event was shortened to 54 holes. The irony about the whole situation is in the efforts to differentiate themselves from LIV the PGAT first elevated consisted of a limited field, guaranteed, no cut, and 54 holes. Sound familiar? After this past week, the tour is visibly in trouble and now LIV and the PGAT are direct competitors in my opinion. Despite a shortened event we did get to witness a new course record at Pebble Beach. Wyndham Clark absolutely shattered the course record after firing a red hoot 12 under 60 capturing the new record. Clark was less than a foot away on 18 from shooting the ever so coveted 59. With Clark’s latest win, it now propels him to number sixth in the world, the best ranking of his career thus far. After Clark won the U.S. Open last summer many believed he was a one and done major winner and it was easy to believe that. However, with this start to the 2024 season, Clark seems like he not only has the confidence, but his game is trending in the right direction as well. Clark will most definitely be in the mix in at least two majors this year. Despite the tour having a questionable past week, the Waste Management Open couldn’t have come at a better time. 

This week the PGAT heads to Scottsdale, Arizona for the fan favorite and best party of the year at the Waste Management Open. The WMO is such a unique week for golf. For starters, tickets sell out in minutes and the grounds are flooded with hundreds of thousands of fans throughout the week. The WMO is also home to the 16th hole which is dubbed the loudest hole in golf. Finally, the event is filled with your not so average golf fan as well. This is the most important part of the event. This event brings the untraditional golf fan into the world of professional golf. This event truly helps grow the game of golf the right way. With that being said the event also features the heaviest of drinking on the PGAT as well. Fans get so intoxicated they basically have to be carried off the property, now that part of the event is the not so elegant part but nevertheless still a really awesome experience. Last year’s WMO was an elevated event and hosted one of the best fields in the event's history. This year however is not elevated and thus far a few top names have already withdrawn including Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele. Despite losing those two top names the field is still very solid featuring Jordan Spieth, Eric Cole, Wyndham Clark, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler, and Justin Thomas. This event being an elevated event last year forced the top guys to play which was extremely beneficial for the future of this event. These top guys saw how fun the event was and now will continue to come back and compete. With more and more top players moving over to LIV the PGAT needs weeks like this at the Waste Management Open. 

Speaking of LIV, Wyndham Clark has come out and said that he was at one point in negotiations with LIV Golf but ultimately turned them down because he chose a legacy over money. Personally, I appreciate that transparency. It’s a business decision and players should have the ability to explore their options and Clark did just that and still picked the PGAT over money. A decision like that deserves a lot of respect in my opinion. In other LIV news, Rahm has also come out and made statements regarding his hopes of one day being able to play in certain events on the PGAT again like the Amex, farmers, etc. These comments however are ridiculous. When these guys leave for LIV that's all well and good, take the money and enjoy, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too, just not quite yet. There will be a time when all the players are back together playing again but until then, these players have made their bed and they have to lie in it. Rahm took $600 million to play on LIV and he will have to accept that decision until the rules change. After blowing it down the stretch in his first LIV event Rahm was rather emotional, so it should be interesting how he responds in LIV’s next event. On a personal level after watching the final round of LIV’s event last week, I've realized the two main reasons why I don’t like LIV. For starters the constant music is annoying, I love music on the golf course when I'm playing a round with my buddies, but in competition it doesn’t belong. The second thing is the “hot mics.” Showing emotion is great and I do appreciate the guys that show their emotions because it lets us know how important it is. However, hearing Hatton and Rahm drop “F Bombs” every other shot is not the emotion we want. Every once and while if it slips out that fine, it happens but these guys will miss an 80-foot putt and scream and yell, frankly it’s ridiculous and childish. I can tell you this much, I've never heard Scheffler or Spieth use that kind of language on the golf course. Nevertheless, those are my two big hitches with LIV, and regardless of what any of us think LIV isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. (Mike)

Scottie Scheffler is the clear favorite to win this week. It is still surprising to me that he got his first PGA Tour win at this tournament just a few seasons ago. Scottie was the clear favorite before a few of the other big names dropped out, but now it seems destined for him to win. The field is relatively strong, but it is certainly not the field that last year’s event had with the elevated status. Scottie has been on a tear for some time now and I fully expect to see that continue this weekend. My only hope is that he does not run away and hide from the field, I enjoy seeing the final three holes at TPC Scottsdale with it all on the line.  A couple of other guys that I expect to play well this week are Eric Cole and Rickie Fowler. Both guys have their weeks but have struggled to find a ton of consistency. This is a course that shapes up well for both guys and a course that Rickie has won at before. I expect both guys to have solid top twenty-five finishes this week as they look to build momentum for the big events that are on the horizon.

I used to think the Waste Management was awesome, but that the atmosphere there should be unique to that specific tournament. As time has passed I would like to see more tournaments lean into the fan experience a bit more. We have seen the Canadian Open as an example turn things around and while the atmosphere is not replicated, it is more electric than the average tour stop. I do not want all tour stops to be as chaotic as the Waste Management is, but there is a happy medium that many events have yet to find. I am looking forward to all of the good content that comes out of Scottsdale this week and the interactions we will see between players and fans.

In a time where everything seems to be going wrong for the tour, Tiger Woods has once again come to the rescue. Just before posting this week’s blog; Tiger announced that he would be playing in The Genesis Invitational.  Not only is this field going to be one of the strongest of the year, but it is also at a great track. Tiger is the needle for the game of golf and as long as he is on Tour, they will have the slight upper hand in professional golf. The golf should be great this week in Arizona, but I am already looking forward to seeing Tiger back in action next week. (Tyler)