How Many Fans Does The WM Phoenix Open 16th Hole Stadium Hold?

The WM Phoenix Open is home to professional golf’s rowdiest atmosphere and is by far the best-attended event in the sport, with around 500,000 fans expected across the four days of action each year. 

The tournament, held at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, is dubbed the "greatest show on grass" and is well known for its raucous scenes at the famous stadium hole 16th, known as The Coliseum. There, players are greeted by a wall of noise from "the loudest hole in golf."

The par 3 hole is completely surrounded by the stadium complex, with fans packed into stands on either side of the tee box and all the way up to and around the green. But how many does it hold? 

Well, that's not officially confirmed, but reports put it at anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000 people - far more than a similar party hole constructed for LIV Golf's maiden event in Las Vegas in 2024, taking place over the same weekend, which comes in at around 3.000.

The 2022 event stands out for some particularly wild scenes at the 16th. That's because the over-exuberance of fans in the stands led to the frequent showering of beer cans onto the green, while two of the players even got caught up in the moment, with Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen going topless at the hole - a decision Higgs later admitted he regretted "almost immediately." 

To help ensure there wasn't a repeat of the scenes in 2023, the PGA Tour came up with a genius idea of serving beer in commemorative plastic cups, and it had the desired effect, with fans still creating a truly special atmosphere, without it spilling over onto the course.