WM Phoenix Open hasn't released attendance figures in seven years. Here's the explanation
The venue at TPC Scottsdale was tailor-made for fans, with the Stadium Course's grassy hillsides designed to create viewing angles all over the property. And the designs works, as the WM Phoenix Open continues to attract the biggest crowds on the PGA Tour.
The attendance figure just isn't a number that is publicly announced any more.
For years, there was a daily game played among media members in the basement of the clubhouse, which is turned into the media center for the week of the tournament. Late in the day, if someone asked: "What do you think the number is today?" it probably wasn't in regards to the day's best score. No, the number in question was that day's attendance figure, which would be written in marker on a large leaderboard along with all the names and scores, maintain by hand like it had been for years.
When did the Phoenix Open stop announcing attendance?
In 2018, attendance numbers soared to new heights with a single-day crowd of 216,818 for Saturday’s third round and an overall mark of 719,179 fans for the week. The Indy 500 is the only single-day sporting event in the U.S. that can routinely outdraw that Saturday number.
A few days before the 2019 event, however, the Thunderbirds, the organization that runs the Open, announced a decision to stop releasing attendance figures.
Then-tournament chairman Chance Cozby, now the executive director of the Thunderbirds, said: “The only number we really care about is charity. I’ve been in the group since 2010 and I can tell you that, internally, we never have any attendance goals."
Charity is a huge deal for the Thunderbirds and the WM Phoenix. The tournament last year raised $17.5 million, bringing the total raised since WM took over as title sponsor in 2010 to $142 million and $208 million since the inception of the tournament, entering its 90th playing in 2025.
As for attendance figures, tournament organizers are still keeping track for internal use. They're just sticking to their plan of not making too big a deal out of it.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Why doesn't the WM Phoenix Open release attendance figures anymore?
