First a quick glance at last week’s results in San Diego, likely the last time that tourney is sponsored by Farmer’s Insurance (We are apparently not Farmer’s. Bum ba-dum bum bum bum bum.) Davis Thompson started hot but cooled off quickly in the back half of his opening round, and really didn’t get anything going en route to a T43. Harris English started off cold, but slowly warmed up and ended up T22 at 10 under par. Keith Mitchell fell back to the pack after his 2nd round, and had spectacular front 9’s both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately he also had to play the back 9 both days, and those tougher holes spoiled otherwise really good rounds. He still finished at 12 under par, and got a T11 for his efforts. Now onto this week’s event:
Tournament: WM Phoenix Open, February 5-8, 2026
Course: TPC Scottsdale, par 71, 7,261 yards (Scottsdale, AZ)
Purse: $9.6 million total, $1,728,000 to the winner.
Defending Champ: Thomas Detry turned this mostly into a runaway at the end of Round 3, and even though some other players made noise Sunday, the Belgian kept his foot on the accelerator and cruised to a 7 shot victory. And also became the first Belgian to win on the PGA Tour. For the Red & Black contingent, Sepp Straka finished 15th, Mitchell & Harman tied for 25th, Greyson Sigg T32, Davis Thompson T36, while Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd missed the cut.
Fun Fact: Almost every tournament has an outdoor concert on the grounds at some point, but these guys do it up more than anyone else. The “Birds Nest”, an area cordoned off specifically for concerts (and a 360 degree stage no less) will feature Bailey Zimmerman/Chase Matthew on Wednesday; Zach Top with Ernest Thursday; Nelly/Ludacris/Ja Rule Friday; and John Summit with BUNT Saturday. I guess this will appeal to people.
TV Times: Thurs-Fri 3:30 – 7:30 pm ET on Golf Channel, Sat-Sun 12-3:00 pm ET Golf Channel and 3-6:30 pm ET on CBS (NBC picks up this tourney when CBS has the Super Bowl).
‘Dawgs in the Field: 6. Harris English, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Keith Mitchell, Sepp Straka, Davis Thompson.
Welcome to Spin City. No, not a mid-week Michael J. Fox sitcom vehicle, but an allusion to what branding and marketing departments are good at.
The Phoenix Open has been around since the 1930s, and followed suit in the early 2000’s with corporate sponsorship naming rights. The FBR Open (Friedman Billings Ramsey, I kid you not) lasted a few years before Waste Management took over. Waste Management was a mainstay in business school ethics courses, along with its founder Wayne Huizenga (yes, that Wayne Huizenga). The iteration of Waste Management that sponsors the tournament had severed all ties to that distasteful regime, and they saw sponsoring a golf tournament popular with the young crowd as a wonderful opportunity to sportswash. Or at least get the public thinking about things other than corporate malfeasance and market fraud.
Along with the large local philantrophic Thunderbirds organization which mans and manages the operations, they leaned into big crowds, rowdy crowds, and a unique atmosphere for heretofore stuffy professional golf. They increased ticket supply, drew in local Arizona State students, pumped up fan experience kiosks/events, and basically turned the tournament into a Coachella for the country club adjacent. The decidedly young crowd in the tens of thousands can’t be contained, so quickly the Waste Management Open became the “Wasted” Management, and for good reason. Just search for “waste management drunk fans” and you’ll have plenty of entertainment.
“Waste” and “Wasted” may be accurately descriptive monikers, but it isn’t necessarily a feel good connection. So the Mad Men of Trash rebranded the company “WM”, and the tournament is now the “WM Phoenix Open”, trying to nip the projection of drunk frat bros. They’re moving from “The Greatest Show on Grass” to “The People’s Open”. The tournament website now more prominently displays a Fan Code of Conduct and a banner pleading visitors to “respect the game”.
This is a tournament that encouraged caddy races (literally caddies running races), schleps more beer than a Sigma Nu rush party, told players to engage with fans by throwing out swag/merch on certain holes, built a Colosseum around a par 3, allowed fans to construct a 30 foot+ “beer snake” out of beer cups, and let players take off their shirts and dance during play. Yeah, good luck with that.
Our Beloved Boys in Red and Black haven’t fared that great here in the desert. Bubba Watson had a 2nd place back in 2012 and a T3 a few years later, and Harris English tied for 3rd 10 years ago. To be honest I don’t think there has been anything else other than some top 15s through their collective efforts. It is one of only a handful of PGA Tour events that does not list a former Bulldog as a past champion. But as a lifelong Braves fan, just wait ‘til next year. Enjoy this instead of 4 hours of Super Bowl preview drivel. And as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
