Waste Management Phoenix Open 2012

Affectionately called “The Greatest Show on Grass”, the PGA Tour tournament has been played at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Stadium Course in Scottsdale, Arizona since 1988.

The four rounds of golf played here, attracts the largest galleries of any tournament in the world. Record attendance was 538,000 in 2008. In the first day of attendance for 2012 on Thursday the count was over 77 thousand people.

Prior to 1988, this PGA Phoenix Open tournament was played each year at the Phoenix Country Club near downtown Phoenix beginning in 1932 with a winning purse of $2,500 of which $600 was paid to Ralph Guldahl, the winner for that year! It is one of the oldest PGA Tour competitions.

Through  the years, golf legends that have played this tournament include Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Gene Littler, Billy Casper, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Davis Love, Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to name just a few!

In 2012 the purse will be well over $6 Million Dollars with the winner taking over $1 Million Dollars of the total prize money.

The TPC Stadium Course is a Par 71, 7,216 yard, Jay Morrish/Tom Weiskopf designed Stadium Course. There are lush greens of manicured turf that are woven though natural desert washes, known as “arroyos” with Saguaro cacti and other beautiful desert landscape, with 72 strategically placed bunkers that create significant challenges for even the seasoned golfer!

The TPC course has been ranked by Golf Week as #6 of Top 30 Municipal Golf Courses in the US and by Golf Digest among the Top 75 Golf Resorts in North America. Beautiful Scottsdale real estate surrounds the TPC golf course that was designed to take advantage of the panoramic views and open spaces.

The Thunderbirds Charities organization has participated in this tournament for the last 77 years and donated millions of dollars to hundreds of Arizona charities. In 2011, the Thunderbirds donated over $4 Million dollars to over 100 deserving causes. Their donations range from $2,500 to $250,000 going toward a very wide range of programs and capital campaigns.

Not to be missed during the Phoenix Open, each evening during the tournament entertainment is provided at the Birds Nest- known as the “place to be” where you can “rock your socks off” to top names in the national music industry!

Whether you’re walking the course with the players or sipping on your beverage in the corporate areas there is fun for kids and adults alike at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona.