Top Moments on Phoenix Open's Famed 16th Hole

Adoring fans call the Waste Management Phoenix Open the “Greatest Show on Grass.” We’re willing to bet it has something to do with the party-like atmosphere on the 16th hole. Surrounded on all sides by stadium seating, the 16th hole draws spectators who are there for a good time as much as they are to see pros like Phil Mickelson and J.B. Holmes duke it out. In honor of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament, we’re counting down the top five most memorable moments (to date!) on the 16th hole:


1988

Two years after winning the entire tournament, PGA TOUR professional Hal Sutton made the first hole-in-one on the 16th during the third round of the event. At that time, the tournament was known simply as the Phoenix Open.

1995

In a major step toward amplifying the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s party atmosphere, the tournament’s first corporate skyboxes made their appearance along the 16th hole’s southern embankment this year. Today, Skybox tickets on the 16th hole are the most in-demand of the entire golf event.

2009

The “coliseum” takes shape as the 16th hole is completely surrounded by stands, making it the first golf hole of its kind on the PGA TOUR. The grandstands seat between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators, and that’s not counting the corporate skyboxes.

2000

Arizona State University students and golf fans officially tag the 16th hole as “The House that Phil Built” after former Sun Devil and three-time Phoenix Open Champion Phil Mickelson. Mickelson won the tournament in 1996, 2005 and 2013.

1997

Tiger Woods hits the “shot heard ‘round the world” on the 16th hole when he sank an ace. The event exposed the world to the fun and rowdy atmosphere of the Phoenix Open as it was replayed on television over and over (and over – still, to this day!).


 

A look ahead to the upcoming 2024 Masters Tournament!