Phoenix Open refunds 2,800 fans as data shows police were called every 3 minutes at peak

Sam Kmack, Arizona Republic
·4 min read
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Scottsdale police were called to disturbances every three minutes on average at the peak of trouble on the weekend of the WM Phoenix Open.

Police reports document dozens of medical emergencies and disturbances, along with three reports of assaults. The 16th hole, the famous party spot, was the focus of most of the calls.

Such problems, especially overcrowding, prompted organizers to temporarily deny entry to the tournament. The WM Phoenix Open has refunded nearly 2,800 tickets to affected fans.

The 2024 WM Phoenix Open ended with a record-high number of arrests, was overly crowded, and became so disorganized that it infuriated professional golfers and longtime fans alike ― some of whom questioned whether they would return next year.

Beer cans and drinks sit ontop of the Waste Management trash and recycle bins during the second round at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 9, 2024.
Beer cans and drinks sit ontop of the Waste Management trash and recycle bins during the second round at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 9, 2024.

The chaos reached its peak on Saturday, Feb. 10 when tournament security decided to let people into the course without scanning their tickets because so many had shown up. Tournament organizers cut off alcohol sales later that day when the massive crowd inside the gates proved too much for security and began wreaking drunken havoc.

The Open began giving refunds on March 7 to ticketholders who were turned away during the event. As of Saturday, 2,770 fans have received refunds. That total is expected to grow as fans can request refunds until the end of March.

Under a state public records request, the Arizona Republic obtained call-for-service records from the Scottsdale Police Department. They show the dates and times of each call to the Open, the specific location of the incident, and the general type of call, but few details.

Still, the records offer the most detailed glimpse to date into how the chaos evolved at this year's event. Here are some of the key findings:

  • Scottsdale received 224 calls for service on Friday and Saturday, combined. That's nearly 60% of the total 395 calls for service the department received during the Phoenix Open week.

  • The majority of calls for service to Scottsdale during tournament week had to do with suspicious individuals whom fans wanted police to check into. Some of the other biggest categories include 48 medical emergencies, 39 about people causing a disturbance and 28 welfare checks on individuals.

  • Of the 184 calls that have a location attached to them in the city data, 101 were about incidents occurring at the 16th hole, which is a major draw for fans because it's the only hole with a full stadium around it. The 16th hole had nearly seven times more calls for service than the next most problematic location on the course.

  • Things had already gotten out of hand on that Friday, with Scottdale police responding to 97 calls for service. That's more than double the daily call count for any other day earlier that week. Calls surged between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, when Scottsdale received one call every four minutes on average.

  • Saturday's call surge began far earlier. The rate of calls surpassed one every ten minutes beginning at 8 a.m. Like on Friday, calls fell below that rate by 5 p.m. There were 127 calls for service on Saturday overall.

  • On both Friday and Saturday the peak hour for calls was between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Scottsdale police received 20 calls during that hour timeframe on both days, which equates to one call every three minutes.

  • The most serious incidents took place on Friday and Saturday, as well. There were 29 disturbances and 24 medical emergencies those days, including one where the injured person was not breathing. There were also three assaults, which were the only assault calls to the police during the entire tournament.

Chance Cozby, the executive director of The Thunderbirds, the nonprofit group that runs the Phoenix Open, has promised the tournament runners will make changes in order to prevent future events from getting so out of hand.

Anyone who used the WM Phoenix Open web page to buy a ticket and was denied entry is still eligible for a refund. They have until March 31 to submit a refund request by emailing orders@wmphoenixopen.com.

Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Open has refunded 2,800 tickets, as police data detail chaos