The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament was originally the Arizona Open, but was known for most of its history as the Phoenix Open until the investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey became the title sponsor in October 2003, and it was known as the FBR Open for the next six editions. Waste Management, Inc. began its sponsorship in 2010. The event's relaxed atmosphere, raucous by the standards of professional golf, has earned it the nickname "The Greatest Show on Grass" and made it one of the most popular events on the PGA Tour calendar. History The Phoenix Open began in 1932 but was discontinued after the 1935 tournament. The rebirth of the Phoenix Open came in 1939 when Bob Goldwater Sr. convinced fellow Thunderbirds to help run the event. The Thunderbirds, a prominent civic organization in Phoenix, were not as enthusiastic about running the event as he was, leaving Goldwater Sr. to do most of the work in getting a golf open started. The event was played at the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix both in its earlier incarnations and after Goldwater resuscitated it. Beginning in 1955, the Arizona Country Club (also in Phoenix) alternated as event host with Phoenix Country Club; this arrangement lasted until Phoenix Country Club took The Arizona Country Club's turn in 1975 and became the event's permanent home again. The tournament moved in 1987 to its current home, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, northeast of downtown Phoenix. The approximate average elevation of the course is above sea level. The purse was $8.2 million in 2022, then increased over 140% to $20 million for 2023, with a winner's share of $3.6 million. Popularity The five-day attendance of the tournament is usually around a half million, the best-attended event in golf. In 2016, it set a PGA Tour and Phoenix Open single day attendance record with 201,003 fans in attendance on Saturday, February 6 and set a tournament week attendance record of 618,365 fans. The most popular location for spectators is the par-3 16th hole, nicknamed "The Coliseum." One of the shortest holes on tour at , it is enclosed by a temporary 20,000-seat grandstand. The hole could be described as "one big party," with many students from the