PGA TOUR WM Phoenix Open Golf Tournament

“Green” Goals Met at 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:35:42 +0000

Waste Management today announced that it has met its Zero Waste Challenge goals by diverting more than 90 percent and recovering more than 70 percent of the materials used at the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The initiative, aimed at educating vendors and patrons about the proper disposal of materials, employed the use of recycling and composting methods for all waste produced at the event. This was the first time in PGA TOUR history no trash cans were present on course. Additionally, Waste Management believes it will ultimately be able to recover even more than 70 percent of the total waste, either as recyclable paper, cardboard, plastics, aluminum or as compost material.

“The Zero Waste Challenge presented a lofty goal for Waste Management at this year’s tournament, 90 percent diversion and 70 percent recovery is quite the feat,” said Waste Management chief sales and marketing officer, David Aardsma. “Through careful partnership and education of vendors, Thunderbirds and the community, we achieved our goal of making the WMPO the greatest and greenest show on grass.”

As part of the Zero Waste campaign, Waste Management in conjunction with the Thunderbirds worked with all tournament vendors to ensure only recyclable and compostable materials were used throughout the week.

“The Thunderbirds were pleased to partner with Waste Management on this ambitious new program and it’s incredible what was accomplished in just the first year. This was a huge undertaking and we can all be proud of the results,” said Alex Clark, chairman of the recently completed tournament.

In addition to the Zero Waste campaign, Waste Management used many green initiatives at the 2012 Phoenix Open:

Recycling stations in high-traffic areas, staffed with 500 plus “recycling ambassadors” who answered any questions about using the recycling and composting bins.
Waste Management worked closely with WMPO vendors to monitor their use of water throughout the week in order to increase overall conservation.
Use of greywater, or wastewater generated from the concessionaire’s kitchens, were recycled for use in portable toilets.
Twelve Greenopolis kiosks, or reverse vending machines, offered various incentives or retailer discount coupons to patrons who used them throughout the week.
Sixty WM solar-powered compactors along the course allowed patrons to dispose of their food waste more efficiently.
Four compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks were used to transport the waste and recycled materials collected during the tournament. The fuel in these trucks burns cleaner than a standard diesel truck and therefore will reduce fleet emissions associated with transportation.
Waste Management’s hospitality tent was powered by electricity generated from a portable solar power unit.

Final results will be available in late March 2012 following the complete tear down and removal of all materials from the TPC Scottsdale.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit wm.com or thinkgreen.com.

“Green Out” Raises $50,000 for Keep Phoenix Beautiful

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:49:29 +0000

Wearing the Green

The Waste Management Phoenix Open’s GREEN OUT on Saturday, February 4th raised $50,000 for Keep Phoenix Beautiful. According to the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s ‘Green Squad’ nearly 1/3 of Saturday’s record crowd of 173,210 fans and nearly all PGA TOUR pros donned green gear.

“We’d like to thank all the fans, players, caddies and sponsors who wore green on Saturday,” said 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman Alex Clark. “Combined with last year’s $35,000 to Arizona Clean & Beautiful, we’ve contributed $85,000 to two deserving organizations.”

For every person who wore GREEN on Saturday, February 4th, the tournament host Thunderbirds will be donating ‘green’ to Keep Phoenix Beautiful – a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to preserving, maintaining and enhancing the beauty and environmental quality of Phoenix. The Thunderbirds began the Green Out in 2011 as a way for fans to honor and support the sustainability/green efforts of the tournament and title sponsor Waste Management.

Kyle Stanley Wins First Tour Victory at 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:38:26 +0000

Kyle Stanley wins With his first PGA TOUR victory in just his 44th career start at the age of 24 years, 2 months, 17 days. He also collects 500 FedExCup points to move to No. 1 in the standings with 846 points, leading Johnson Wagner by 49 points.

Kyle Stanley at WM Phoenix Open

PGA TOUR Career Victories

— 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

EXEMPT STATUS

— Extends fully-exempt status through the 2014 season.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN NOTES

Stanley becomes the first player to make the Waste Management Phoenix Open his first TOUR win since J.B. Holmes in 2006 and the 10th in tournament history. Also, he wins in his first start at the event, the first to do so since J.B. Holmes, also in 2006.

Scoring breakdown during the week:

par-3s (1-over)
par-4s (5-under)
par-5s (11-under)

He entered the finals today eight strokes behind Spencer Levin, marking the largest come-from-behind history in Waste Management Phoenix Open tournament history.

2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open Statistics

Driving Accuracy 34/56 T24
Greens in Regulation 57/72 3
Driving Distance 287.6 70
Total Putts 121 T63
Strokes Gained – Putting 4.577 11

2012 NOTES

First player in his 20s to win this season.

CAREER NOTES

Becomes the first player since David Toms (2011 PLAYERS Championship/Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial) to lose in a playoff and then win the following week.

Entered the day eight strokes behind Spencer Levin, equaling the third-largest come-from-behind win in PGA TOUR history (Paul Lawrie holds the distinction of making up the biggest deficit of 10 strokes at the 1999 British Open).

Tops career-best finish – runner-up finishes at the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open and 2011 John Deere Classic.

Posts sixth Top-10 and 13th Top-25 finish of his career.

The win is the 325th by a former Nationwide Tour member and the fifth of the season in as many starts (Stricker, Wagner, Wilson, Snedeker, Stanley).

2012 PGA TOUR SUMMARY

Tournaments Entered — 4
In Money — 3
Top-25s — 3
Top-10s — 2
Victories — 1

Fourth-Round Notes – Sunday, February 5, 2012

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:16:26 +0000

Sunday weather: Sunny skies. Overnight low of 40. Daytime high of 70. Winds E/SE 6-12 mph.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Kyle Stanley 69-66-69-65—269 (-15)
Ben Crane 69-67-68-66—270 (-14)
Spencer Levin 65-63-68-75—271 (-13)
D.J. Trahan 72-70-64-66—272 (-12)

Kyle Stanley — 2012 WM Phoenix Open Champion

KYLE STANLEY

Stanley held a five-stroke lead over John Rollins and John Huh after 54 holes at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open but shot a 74 and wound up losing in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker on the second extra hole. Snedeker began the final round at Torrey Pines seven strokes back of Stanley and was in the third-to-last group (threesomes) of the day. Stanley began today’s round eight shots back of leader Spencer Levin and was, ironically, also in the third-to-last group (threesomes) of the day.

Stanley becomes the first player since David Toms to lose a playoff one week and then win the following week on TOUR. Toms lost a playoff to K.J. Choi at THE PLAYERS Championship last May and rebounded the following week win a one-stroke victory over Charlie Wi at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

A comparison of Kyle Stanley’s final round the past two weeks:

— Farmers Insurance Open 2-over 74 5/14 fairways 10/18 greens 27 putts
— Waste Management Phoenix Open 6-under 65 6/14 fairways 16/18 greens 30 putts

Stanley hit only one of seven fairways on the back nine today but managed to hit eight of nine greens. He played the final nine holes in 3-under 33.

Stanley started the final round 8 strokes back of the leader, Spencer Levin. His comeback matches the third-largest in Tour history:

10 strokes Paul Lawrie 1999 British Open
9 strokes Stewart Cink 2004 MCI Heritage
8 strokes Jack Burke, Jr. 1956 Masters Tournament
8 strokes Ken Venturi 1959 Los Angeles Open
8 strokes Mark Lye 1983 Bank of Boston Classic
8 strokes Hal Sutton 1985 St. Jude Memphis Classic
8 strokes Chip Beck 1990 Buick Open
8 strokes Scott Simpson 1998 Buick Invitational
8 strokes Craig Stadler 2003 B.C. Open
8 strokes Kyle Stanley 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Stanley’s comeback is the largest in tournament history:

8 strokes Kyle Stanley 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open
7 strokes Sandy Lyle 1988 Phoenix Open

Stanley also becomes the first player to win this tournament in his first start at TPC Scottsdale since J.B. Holmes in 2006.

Stanley becomes the 10th player who to earn their first career title in this event:

1954 Ed Furgol
1965 Rod Funseth
1966 Dudley Wysong
1976 Bob Gilder
1980 Jeff Mitchell
1987 Paul Azinger
1990 Tommy Armour III
1998 Jesper Parnevik
2006 J.B. Holmes
2012 Kyle Stanley

Lowest final-round scores by a tournament winner at the Waste Management Phoenix Open:

63 Mark Calcavecchia 1992
63 Vijay Singh 2003
64 Aaron Baddeley 2007
65 Hunter Mahan 2010
65 Kyle Stanley 2012

Kyle Stanley’s 65 today is his lowest final-round score on Tour. Stanley has made 31 cuts in 44 total starts (including this week) and his previous best was 66 at the 2009 Travelers Championship (-4) and the 2011 John Deere Classic (-5).

SPENCER LEVIN

Levin fired a 4-over 75 to wind up solo third. Levin started the day with an six-stroke lead over his nearest challenger, Webb Simpson. This matches the largest lead lost on TOUR with 18 holes to play:

6 Bobby Cruickshank, 1928 Florida Open
Gay Brewer, 1969 Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
Hal Sutton, 1983 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
Greg Norman, 1996 Masters Tournament
Sergio Garcia, 2005 Wachovia Championship
Spencer Levin, 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open
Levin hit 7 of 14 fairways, 10 of 18 greens and had 32 putts on his round.

BEN CRANE

This was Crane’s seventh start at TPC Scottsdale and his second top-10 finish. He tied for fourth in 2008. Crane now has three top-10 finishes in four starts this year. He started the year with a T9 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and followed up with a T8 at the Humana Challenge. He missed the cut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.

BRENDAN STEELE

Steele matched his career-best score with a 7-under 64 today. The only other time he has carded a 64 (6-under) came in the second round of the 2011 Travelers Championship.

Steele seems to produce his best results on TPC courses. His bogey-free 64 today moved him up to a T5 finish, his fourth career top-10 in 31 starts. During his rookie season last year, he had three of his best finishes on TPC courses:

1st 2011 Valero Texas Open TPC San Antonio
T10 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship TPC Boston
T13 2011 Travelers Championship TPC River Highlands
T5 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open TPC Scottsdale

KEVIN NA

Na continued his impressive play at TPC Scottsdale with a 6-under 65 in the final round to move up to a T5 finish. This is the seventh start in this event for Na and his fourth top-10:

2005 T2
2008 T4
2009 3rd
2012 T5

GARY WOODLAND

Woodland had a pair of eagles today on the back nine. Woodland rolled in an eagle putt of 27 feet 6 inches on the par-5, 13th hole and then added another eagle putt of 7 feet, 1 inch at the 315-yard, par-4, 17th hole. Woodland shot a 5-under 66.

MARK WILSON

Defending champion Mark Wilson finished T19 in his attempt to become the first player to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open in back-to-back years since Johnny Miller in 1974-75.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

The last 12 champions of the Waste Management Phoenix Open (dating to 2001) have combined for just two bogeys on the par-3, 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale with Kyle Stanley playing the hole at even par (four pars). Phil Mickelson (1996) is the last tournament champion to play the 16th hole above par for the week (double-bogey, par, par, birdie).

There were seven past tournament champions in the field this week. Here is how they finished:

2011 Mark Wilson T19
2009 Kenny Perry T65
2008 J.B. Holmes (2006) T45
2007 Aaron Baddeley T65
2005 Phil Mickelson (1996) T26
2003 Vijay Singh (1995) W/D
2001 Mark Calcavecchia (1989, 1992) M/C

All six former Arizona State Sun Devils made the cut this week:

Pat Perez T19
Phil Mickelson T26
Jeff Quinney T26
Matt Jones T40
Chez Reavie T45
Billy Mayfair T55

Bogey-free rounds:

R1: Kevin Na (66), Jason Dufner (64), Bo Van Pelt (65), Chad Campbell (71 – 18 pars)
R2: Spencer Levin (63), Charles Howell III (68), Martin Flores (68)
R3: Ben Crane (68)l, Jeff Maggert (68), Sunghoon Kang (69),
R4: Kyle Stanley (65), Brendan Steele (64), George McNeill (68), Heath Slocum (68)

Scoring Averages at TPC Scottsdale:

Front 9&mdashBack 9&mdashTotal Cumulative

Round 1 35.030&mdash35.439&mdash70.470 –
Round 2 35.230&mdash35.984&mdash71.214
Round 3 34.872&mdash35.936&mdash70.878
Round 4 34.769&mdash35.692&mdash70.462

Over One-Half Million Fans Attend 2012 WM Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:51:28 +0000

Bird's Eye View — 16th Hole at TPC Scottsdale

With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s for most of the week, golf fans came out in droves to watch golfers such as Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar, as well as emerging tour stars such as Ryan Palmer, Spencer Levin and eventual winner Kyle Stanley.

Saturday’s 3^rd round attendance of 173,210 set an all-time single-day record in Waste Management Phoenix Open and professional golf history. The previous single-day attendance mark of 170,802 was set in 2008 also during the 3^rdround.

For the week, total attendance was 518,262 — 4th largest in tournament history.

Monday — 7,515

Tuesday — 36,003

Wednesday — 49,735

Thursday — 77,035

Friday — 116,299

Saturday — 173,210

Sunday — 58,447

“We can’t thank fans and sponsors enough for their incredible support of this tournament,” said 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman Alex Clark. “From the time the gates opened at 7 a.m. this morning, an unprecedented flow of fans walked through the gates. Our security staff, tournament volunteers and Scottsdale Police Department all did an outstanding job of handling this enormous crowd. I’ve been saying it would be ‘72 and sunny’ for months, I’m glad my mantra came true.”

The Waste Management Phoenix Open and host Thunderbirds have raised close to $75 million for local charities in the tournament’s 77 year history, with more than $45 million generated since 2004. Title sponsor Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.

For more information on Waste Management visit wm.com or thinkgreen.com.

For more information on the Waste Management Phoenix Open, visit wmphoenixopen.com

Interview with Kyle Stanley after Rd. 3 at WM Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:59:02 +0000

Green Out Day at the WM Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:50:58 +0000

Third-Round Notes – Saturday, February 4, 2012

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:45:40 +0000

Saturday: Sunny skies. High of 68, morning low of 48. Winds E 5-8 mph.

For the third-consecutive day, the beginning of play was delayed 15 minutes due to morning frost.

Third-Round Leaderboard

Spencer Levin 65-63-68—196 (-17)
Webb Simpson 65-69-68—202 (-11)
John Huh 68-66-69—203 (-10)
Bubba Watson 69-66-67—203 (-10)

Spencer Levin

Following his second-round, 8-under 63 in round two, Spencer Levin posted a third-round 3-under 68 to jump to 17-under 196 and a six-stroke lead over Webb Simpson at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. His 196 equals the fourth-best first 54-hole score in tournament history, behind Rocco Mediate and Mark Calcavecchia in 2001, and Steve Jones in 1997.

The last player to make the Waste Management Phoenix Open his first TOUR win was J.B. Holmes in 2006. Levin’s career-best finish is a playoff loss at the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Levin’s six-stroke lead is tied for third best in the category of largest 54-hole-lead in this tournament.

Byron Nelson held a 12-stroke lead after 54 holes in this event in 1939 at Phoenix Country Club. Johnny Miller led by seven in 1975, and at TPC Scottsdale. Mark Calcavecchia (2001) and Steve Jones (1999) each held a six-stroke lead after the third round.

Two of the previous 54-hole leads have held up so far this year:

Tournament 54-hole leader/margin Margin of victory
— Hyundai T of C Steve Stricker/+5 +3
— Sony Open in HI Mark Wilson/+3 +2

The largest 54-lead on TOUR outside of the majors in 2011 was a 5-strokes by Rory Sabbatini at The Honda Classic. Sabbatini won by one.

Levin has never previously held the lead/co-lead after 54 holes on TOUR. He finished T6 after starting the final round of last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in solo second place.

In three starts this season, Levin has finished T23 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, T64 at the Humana Challenge and T43 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Despite his position headed into the final round, Levin has not excelled off the tee. In rounds one and two, he respectively hit eight and seven of 14 fairways. In round three, he hit nine of 14 fairways.

Through three rounds, Levin has just two bogeys. Following his bogey at the 10th hole in the first round, Levin didn’t make another until the par-5 15th in round three, a span of 40 holes.

Webb Simpson

Simpson shot 70 with a 3-under 68 and is 11-under in second place.

Simpson, the highest- ranked player in the field this week (No. 6), is making his fourth start at TPC Scottsdale. In 2009, finished in 65th place, missed the cut in 2010 and tied for eighth place in 2011 (70-66-67-67—270/-14).

The 26-year-old Simpson, who finished second in the 2011 FedExCup, finished in the top 10 in six of his final seven events in 2011 (including two victories and a runner-up finish). With a T3 finish at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and a T38 at the Sony Open in Hawaii to open up the season, he is now seeking his eighth top-10 finish in his last 10 starts on TOUR.

Chris Stroud

A day after his 30th birthday, which drew quite the enthusiasm from the crowd surrounding the famed 16th hole yesterday, Chris Stroud turned in a 5-under 66 in round three. He trails the lead by eight.

Stroud is making his third start of the season this week. Following a T13 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he missed the cut at the Humana Challenge two weeks ago.

Stroud has missed the cut in each of his three previous starts at TPC Scottsdale (2008, 2010, 2011).

Still in search of his first PGA TOUR win, Stroud enjoyed a banner year in 2011, marked by eight top-10 finishes. His career-best finish is fourth-place honors at the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic.

John Huh

John Huh posted a 2-under 69 to move to 10-under 203. Currently T3, the PGA TOUR rookie has been positioned no worse than seventh after six of his last seven rounds. Last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, he was T4, T7, T2 and eventually T6. Through three rounds this he has held positions of T21, T3 and is now T3.

Prior to 2012, Huh had never played on either the PGA TOUR or Nationwide Tour. He earned his rookie berth onto the PGA TOUR by virtue of his T24 finish at the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament.

Huh is making his third start of the season. In addition to the T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open, he began his TOUR career two weeks earlier, finishing 53rd at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Bubba Watson

Bubba chipped in from 33 feet for an eagle-3 at the third hole en route to a 4-under 67. He will begin the final round seven strokes back of the leader.

Watson is making his sixth start in the event, with his best finish being a T8 in his first start of 2007.

Watson announced last week that PING will donate $300 to cancer research for each of his drives over 300 yards. Through three rounds this week, Watson has posted 32 such drives.

Kyle Stanley

At last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, it was re-affirmed that no lead is ever safe. With a three-stroke lead and one hole to play, Kyle Stanley succumbed in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker.

Stanley is back this week and in position to create another massive comeback scenario. At nine-under after rounds of 69-66-69, Stanley will begin the final round eight off the lead. Last week, he began the final round with a fivestroke lead. The second-year pro from Washington is making his first start in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Miscellaneous Notes

Mark Calcavecchia (MC) and Billy Mayfair (68-73-70) are playing this event for the 26th time. The 26 starts are tied for the second-most in tournament history – Gene Littler had 28 starts from 1955-1984.

Seven past tournament champions are in the field this week. Here is how they fared the first three days:

2005 Phil Mickelson (1996) 68-70-67—205
2007 Aaron Baddeley 72-67-74—213
2011 Mark Wilson 70-69-74—213
2008 J.B. Holmes (2006) 71-70-72—213
2009 Kenny Perry 70-72-72—214
2001 Mark Calcavecchia (1989, 1992) 75-76—151/MC
2003 Vijay Singh (1995) 76-WD

All Six former Arizona State Sun Devils made the cut this week:

Phil Mickelson 68-70-67—205
Matt Jones 67-72-67—206
Jeff Quinney 69-71-70—210
Billy Mayfair 68-73-70—211
Chez Reavie 66-76-72—214
Pat Perez 69-73-66—208

Bogey-free rounds:

R1: Kevin Na (66), Jason Dufner (64), Bo Van Pelt (65), Chad Campbell (71 – 18 pars)
R2: Spencer Levin (63), Charles Howell III (68), Martin Flores (68)
R3: Ben Crane (68), Jeff Maggert (68), Sunghoon Kang (69)

Scoring Averages at TPC Scottsdale: Front 9—Back 9—Total Cumulative

Round 1 35.030 —35.439 — 70.470
Round 2 35.230—35.984—71.214—70.833
Round 3 34.872—35.936—70.878—70.827

Waste Management Phoenix Open Sets Single-Day Attendance Record – 173,210

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:46:13 +0000

Saturday’s 3^rd round attendance of 173,210 set an all-time single-day record in Waste Management Phoenix Open and professional golf history. With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, golf fans came out in droves to watch golfers such as Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and 3^rd round tournament leader Spencer Levin.

The previous single-day attendance mark of 170,802 was set in 2008 also during the 3^rdround. Through six days of the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 459,815 golf fans have come through the tournament gates. If at least 78,542 fans attend Sunday’s final round, the tournament will surpass the previous tournament-week record of 538,356 set in 2008.

At 173,210 the TPC Scottsdale was Arizona’s 8^thmost populated “city” on Saturday. And, close to 11,500 people larger than the city of Tempe (161,719).

For more information on Waste Management visit wm.com or thinkgreen.com.

For more information on the Waste Management Phoenix Open, visit wmphoenixopen.com

Correspondents Enjoy Their 2nd Day at the WM Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:34:15 +0000

Avery Veitel
First Tee of Phoenix Correspondent
Friday, February 3, 2012

Friday, February 3, 2012, was our final day to be junior course reporters for the First Tee of Phoenix at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. After arriving at 7:30am and freezing my toes off, I wandered around the practice area hoping to see some of the best players warming up. Soon enough, I see Camilo Villegas putting on the practice green. However 8:00am came too soon and I had to report back to the Expo Tent to meet up with Miranda and First Tee Coach Pete.

We started off the day by having a little breakfast and then heading over to the famous sixteenth hole to watch a few groups come through, while we cheered for some and booed others. After that, Miranda and I stopped by the leaderboard crew to see how they keep up with all the scores. We met with Henry Rosenweig Jr., the Chairman of the Board for the Thunderbirds. He told us all about the board, like how it is all metal and how the numbers and letters are magnets. Also, he told us how hard it is to not fall behind with what’s happening out on the course. It takes a lot of man power, but they only have to worry about six to ten players, so it’s not too overwhelming.

After that, we rested for a little while on a hill overlooking the ninth green. We watched a few pairings come through, just enjoying a beautiful February morning. Next we interview a lady that has been volunteering for the Phoenix Open for twenty years. She says she loves all the chaos and “mess” that is brought to the TPC of Scottsdale. She loves meeting new people while on the job, and has to supervise five to nine volunteers at all times. She also volunteers at the Fiesta Bowl, and works at Chase Field.

We then headed out to the PGA Tour headquarters trailer and we find Wade Stettner, a Meteorologist for the PGA Tour. Wade lives in Minneapolis, and has been a meteorologist on tour for eight years. He tells us what he does during a tournament, saying that the job out here in Arizona is one of the easiest in the business, for its lack of weather issues. There are five meteorologists that work for the tour, and they all work about twenty tournaments a year. Mr. Stettner gets all his weather information from the internet, relaying important weather issues to the head of the tournament.

It was lunch time then, so we headed down to the media lunch area to have some grub, then Miranda and I walked over to the tournament merchandise tent. We interviewed two men from ASU’s ROTC. They told us that ASU contacted the Phoenix Open, offering their ROTC members to help volunteer the tournament. This was one man’s third year of volunteering, while the other has been volunteering for only two. They both told us they like to interact with people and that’s why they like volunteering at the Phoenix Open so much. Not knowing who else we could interview, we noticed that Rickie Fowler was going to tee off soon and that it would be nice to see him play a hole or two. We sped ahead to the fourth hole, a par three, and waited for Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to arrive. It was fun to be able to sit and watch players come through, for our day had been full of excitement and I was quite tired. When the time came for the featured group to come through, we had a prime position to watch them. After they had finished the hole and hit their next tee shots, it was time for us to get back and start blogging our experience of the day.

Today was a great way to conclude our time as Junior Course Reporters. We got the chance to go places I had never thought of going before and I even got to have a conversation with a caddie. These last two days will be with me for the rest of my life and I thank The First Tee of Phoenix and the Waste Management Phoenix Open for giving me this opportunity to see into the window of what a real course reporter actually does.

Miranda Reyes
First Tee of Phoenix Correspondent
Friday, February 3, 2012

The sun is finally out and the frost is fully melted off of the grass, it is time to play some golf. We scurried over to the sixteenth hole to watch Bubba and the stands were slowing beginning to fill up. The stands behind hole number 17 were empty, so we decided to watch Bubba and his fully pink driver make an attempt to drive the 332 par 4. After watching Bubba, we parked ourselves on a hill overseeing the driving range and number 9 green, playing through were crowd favorites Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas, and Mark Calcavavecchia.

Of course following the feature group of the afternoon was a must, so we watched Rickie, Phil, and Dustin play through number four in the afternoon. We were privileged to meet Harry Rosenweig. He is one of the Thunderbirds in charge of the manual metal scoreboard just above the 18th green. The recycled massive board has been around since 1995 and Mr. Rosenweig has found that the public prefers manual scoreboards versus electronic. One cool thing about the scoreboard is that they can display special messages, just yesterday they had congratulated Kenny Perry’s son on getting engaged.

Wade Stettner is the official PGA Tour meteorologist for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He attends almost every other tournament on the PGA Tour, which would be roughly twenty tournaments a year. The only piece of equipment that he travels with is a machine to track lightning. He has been on the PGA meteorologist team for about eight years now and he is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Weather was perfect here in Arizona and it made Mr. Stettner’s job very simple this week.

The Arizona State University ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program is volunteering at the merchandise tent for the tournament and we had the chance to talk to some members of the ROTC. The members have at least two pairs of combat boots one for the warm weather and one for the cold weather. Cold weather combat boots are insulated around the ankle, while the warmer weather boots have no insulation. One of the members told me their favorite drink is coke and if they could go anywhere in the world they would choose Germany.

Junior course reporting was one for the books; I will surely never forget the amazing interactions and places I got to see. I have made memories that I will never forget from visiting the Shotlink truck, meeting tons of fun Thunderbirds, and even nicknaming Rickie Fowler, Rickie Ricardo because of his mustache. I loved being able to meet tons of amazing people running the tournament, volunteering in the tents and even caddies who all work their tails off. Reporting and being in this atmosphere these last two days only influenced and helped strengthen me not only as a golfer, but as a person as well. Hanging out inside the ropes, listening in on interviews and seeing the behind-the-scenes of the whole tournament was truly a one of a kind experience.