Why The WM Phoenix Open Is An Example Of A Problem Brian Rolapp Is Trying To Fix

The 16th 'Stadium' hole at the WM Phoenix Open

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The WM Phoenix Open is the best-attended tournament on the PGA Tour with hundreds of thousands of fans stepping foot on TPC Scottsdale each year in hopes of securing their spot at the iconic 'stadium' 16th hole.

It's an historic tournament that has witnessed some memorable moments like Tiger Woods' hole-in-one on the 16th in 1997 and Scottie Scheffler's maiden PGA Tour victory, yet it currently showcases an example of a problem Brian Rolapp is trying to fix.

Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas with a WM Phoenix Open flag centered — A number of big names are missing this week's tournament, for various reasons

World No.5 Russell Henley has also opted out of the tournament, with just four of the world's top-10 committed. That doesn't sound like too big of a problem, but the upcoming tournaments will likely have eight or nine of them.

The current PGA Tour schedule is the reason for this, as the event finds itself in a tricky spot right before two big $20m Signature Events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

Scheffler clearly loves the Phoenix Open and has the right, and bank balance, to build his schedule however he sees fit, but the majority of star names will automatically give these full-field events a miss when there's back-to-back lucrative Signature tournaments on the horizon.

The total purse this week is a healthy $9.6m but that pales in comparison to the $20m up for grabs in each west coast event over the next fortnight.

The schedule is the big thing Rolapp is working on along with the Future Competitions Committee that Tiger Woods chairs, with unconfirmed reports of a shorter, streamlined PGA Tour season on the horizon where all tournaments would carry the same purse and points.

It would eliminate Signature Events, which are proving successful but not universally popular among fans - as I have written in the past.

A number of pros have spoken out against them, too, including Erik Van Rooyen and Lucas Glover.

“I hate it. I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them. The guys on the PGA Tour are so good. It's so deep," Van Rooyen said last year, while Glover has aired his views on them multiple times.

"I've been on record as saying I was not a fan of these when they hatched the idea of them," the 2009 US Open champion told the Golf Channel last year.

"I didn't like them then and I have been in most of them since they started and I still don't like them."

The big money tournaments feature smaller, stronger fields and a number of them have no cuts, which takes away a huge draw for fans and ensures all players receive a guaranteed payday no matter what score they shoot.

Back to Phoenix, and there's the small case of the Super Bowl this weekend, which should kick off after the final putt has dropped at TPC Scottsdale.

A shot of the Stadium Hole at TPC Scottsdale from behind the galleries — The WM Phoenix Open is arguably the Tour's most unique event

It could be argued that the NFL finale helps this event as people will be by their TVs already, but I'd think most people will be running errands, travelling or preparing for guests pre-Super Bowl instead of tuning into the golf.

This new 2027 schedule is reportedly aiming for a post-Super Bowl start due to the Tour struggling in this part of the year when the NFL season is taking place. A mid-February start, perhaps even at TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open, is a way to countering that.

There are reports of Torrey Pines and the San Diego Open moving to the Playoffs and the Hawaii swing disappearing, despite hardcore fans' love for the stunning vistas at Kapalua and Waialae we get to see at the start of the year.

Kapalua 18th hole pictured — The Tour's Hawaii swing is widely reported to be disappearing from the schedule

There are clearly big changes being planned behind the scenes and it's easy to see why.

The WM Phoenix Open is one of the PGA Tour's, and the entire sport's, greatest events that offers up something a little bit unique and different to what we usually see week-in, week-out.

It proved in 2023 when it was a Signature Event that it could attract the biggest stars with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood playing, but without a $20m purse and its spot in the calendar it struggles to attract the kind of field it really deserves.

Add that to its positioning in the schedule up against the most-viewed sports event in the entire US and it's fighting a losing battle.

Another problem facing the Phoenix Open is that of Jon Rahm. The two-time Major winner and former World No.1 attended Arizona State University, as did a number of other LIV Golfers like Phil Mickelson, David Puig and Josele Ballester.

Jon Rahm wearing an Arizona State jersey and Phil Mickelson at the 2018 Phoenix Open

All of these players have ties to the area and would love to play the tournament but are currently suspended and teeing it up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the LIV Golf League season opener this week.

Jon Rahm is the biggest draw and Rolapp tried to poach him back with the Returning Member Program. Reports state Rahm's huge contract has multiple years remaining so a return for the Spaniard won't be coming until next year at the earliest, and for now it's a problem out of Rolapp's hands.

The WM Phoenix Open is not the tournament it should be, and it's a clear example of one of the many PGA Tour problems the CEO is trying to fix.

If a post-Super Bowl start does come to fruition, it gives the green light for the event to return to its former glory as one of the Tour's true showpiece tournaments.

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.

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