The Golf Watch

FBR Open officially "sells out"

The FBR Open and the Thunderbirds had something great in the late 1990's.  They had a hole that fans could call their own.  A hole that was accessible for all spectators--even those without connections to the corporate sponsors.

But now, according to the Arizona Republic, the famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is on the receiving end of yet another corporate makeover, and will become the PGA Tour's "first-ever fully-enclosed 'stadium' golf hole."  The hole will be completely enclosed by bleachers and skyboxes, with an expected capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 spectators.  There will also be a video board display at the west side of the hole.

Over the years, the overriding sentiment among fans seems to be that the hole has lost its charm.  As one commenter writes on the azcentral.com site:

The 16th hole is not what is once was. For anyone that saw the hole in the early to mid 90's, there is no comparison today. The hole is now corporate and boring...

I have no doubt that the hole will still be loud and boisterous, but should a golf hole look like Jobing.com Arena?

Get ready for the 16th hole

Whenever I speak with friends about the most exciting holes in golf, the par-3 16th at the TPC Scottsdale comes first to mind.  Although there are several other holes on the PGA Tour where fans are known to get rowdy (17th at Warwick Hills for example), the 16th at the FBR Open is one of the greatest spectacles in all of golf.  After all, how many other holes on the PGA Tour have 20,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs before and after every shot?  Where else do fans boo a player off the tee box if he decides not to be aggressive and hit it toward the middle of the green? Dave Vest of The Arizona Republic writes,

The event's signature hole, No. 16, has been modified to accommodate the record crowds that are expected what with Super Bowl XLII being staged concurrently across the Valley in Glendale. Thirty additional sky boxes have been added to the notorious par-3 hole.

'I don't think it's a stretch to say there will be 20,000 people on that hole,' FBR Open chairman Tim Louis predicted. 'It will be a wild scene.'

PGATour.com will have extensive coverage of the 16th hole with their popular Live @ feature from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. ET on Thursday/Friday, and 12:30-5 p.m. on Saturday/Sunday.

FBR Open date to change in 2010

The FBR Open, the best attended golf event on the PGA Tour, will move to a later date in 2010, reports Peter Corbett of the Arizona Republic.  The event will be played from February 22-28 in 2010, but will go back to it's normal date, a month earlier, the following year.  The Thunderbirds, who help sponsor the event, say that the change was made for a number of reasons, including a new PGA Tour television contract, the 2010 Winter Olympics, and sponsor requirements.  For an event that already gets the largest galleries on tour, the move in 2010 should truly benefit the tournament, which typically falls out on Super Bowl weekend.  In addition, the FBR will be played after the Accenture Match Play Championship, which could attract more of the top players in the game.  "From a tournament and fans' perspective, there are many positives about this date change," said Thunderbirds Big Chief Pat McGinley. 

FBR Open faces dilemma with strong ASU presence on '08 tour

FBR Open tournament chairman Tim Louis can only give out five sponsors exemptions each year for his tournament.  And this year, Louis will face quite a dilemma.  In the past month, five Arizona State golfers--Todd Demsey, Jin Park, Alejandro Canizares, Chez Reavie, and Matt Jones--got their PGA Tour cards through the Nationwide Tour and Q-School.  Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic writes, "They survived, all five of them, and when the 2008 PGA Tour season gets under way in 25 days, it will have a serious Arizona State vibe."  Although this is good news for the Arizona State golf program, it creates a problem for the tournament chairman, whose tournament is a short drive from the Sun Devil campus.  The FBR Open has the biggest crowds of the year, and most of the spectators are ASU fans.  Louis told the East Valley Tribune, "From my perspective as tournament chairman, it’s one of the many exciting things about this job, and it’s also one of the toughest.  Lots of guys deserve it, but we have only a few exemptions."  Tribune staff writer Bill Huffman expects at least three of the ASU grads to get an exemption for the tournament. 

FBR continues sponsorship of tournament through 2012

According to the PGA Tour, FBR has extended its sponsorship of the FBR Open through 2012.  The FBR traditionally has the largest crowds in golf and ranks number one in charitable giving on the PGA Tour.  FBR and the Thunderbirds will contribute a record 7.8 million dollars this year that will be given to hundreds of charities. 

FBR Open pumps over 180 million dollars into Arizona economy

It has become widely known that the FBR Open at the TPC Scottsdale draws the largest crowds on tour, averaging around 500,000 fans each year.  John Davis of The Arizona Republic reports, "This year's FBR Open golf tournament, played at the TPC Scottsdale, pumped at least $180.4 million into the Arizona economy, and about one-third of the figure was generated from non-local sources, according to a new economic impact study."