Phoenix Open: Jordan Spieth reacts to rabid crowds causing chaos

The WM Phoenix Open is notoriously wild, with thousands of golf fans flocking to the desert to enjoy the most raucous PGA Tour tournament of the year, or as some like to call it, “The Greatest Show on Grass.”

The copious alcohol use, party atmosphere, and sheer number of attendees come at a price, though, and Jordan Spieth explained to Sports Illustrated how the huge crowds have affected him during the tournament.

“When I went home and when I came back, I couldn’t come the same direction,” Spieth said. “The police officers had blocked it off, so I drove up and I said, ‘How am I supposed to get back to the course?’ He said, ‘We’re over capacity. It’s hazardous, so we’ve got to go through a different [entrance].’ Once he said that, I thought maybe we were in a little bit of trouble this afternoon, but we were on the front nine so it was a little less rowdy, and I heard they stopped alcohol sales.”

Due to the size of the crowds, TPC Scottsdale closed its gates at 11 a.m. local time Saturday, citing safety concerns. On-site bars also limited alcohol sales as the number of fans and incidents continued to rise, including fights and people running onto the course.

Spieth is still a fan of the boisterous crowds, even if it affected his daily commute.

“It was really cool actually to see that many people on the front nine,” Spieth said. “You typically just see them on the back nine here and then occasionally on 9 and a couple other spots. They were fantastic. Saturday is normally the big day, but I think with 27 holes tomorrow, we might see some more people come out than usual on Sunday anyway.”

At the time of writing, Spieth is -2 on the day through 12 holes and -10 for the PGA Tour tournament, sitting in a tie for fourth place two strokes behind co-leaders Sahith Theegala and Nick Taylor.