The struggle for the PGA Tour seemed to fade away with the second signature event of the season, i.e., the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But can it continue for long? The WM Phoenix Open schedule could share more clarity. Until now, the 2025 calendar year saw a huge drop in viewership, with prominent names missing out on the event. Initially, Scottie Scheffler, who confirmed his presence at the Sentry, later withdrew from the event due to an injury in his hand during the Christmas celebration. 

Even the world no. 2, Xander Schauffele also withdrew from the American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open because of his injury struggle, even after finishing T30 at The Sentry. With some top names missing and the event having a slow play issue, it was tough for the fans. The Sentry, which offered a record-breaking game from Hideki Matsuyama, saw a drop of 34% in viewership. Additionally, the American Express also saw a drop of 56%.  

Now, the second signature event featuring Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and other prominent names, saw a rise of 3.3 million viewers. A great news for the Tour. However, the WM Phoenix Open has not seen much of an attraction as round 1 is underway. A new rule introduction and McIlroy’s name missing from the list can be some of the probable reasons behind the event struggle after the first round. The new rule is the zero-tolerance one, considering the mishaps in the previous edition, which hampered the play. 

Comparing some stats with this year’s AT&T and the WM Phoenix final-round lead in 2024, Josh Carpenter, a golf journalist from SBJ on X has shared a post that read, “Some data from Golf Channel: The final round lead-in earned 1.06M viewers, the most-watched lead-in on the tour since Phoenix last year (1.2M). Overall for Pebble, it’s the second most-watched lead-in ever, behind the final round in 2021.” The AT&T final round lead-in has seen more than a million increase in viewers as compared to last year’s Phoenix Open for the same. This makes it the second most watched final-round lead-in for the PGA Tour. The 2025 WM Phoenix surely has some big shoes to fill and golf fans are having some high expectations.

The fan’s favorite event has been a substantial contributor to the success of the league. However, now McIlroy, the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach missing, can that be the biggest reason behind the drop in the league? The data will be revealed, once the event has concluded. The WM Phoenix Open also has a crucial job of living up to its name, The People’s Open. This makes it a particular favorite among the fans. But let us understand why it is so.

Why is Phoenix Open the top preference of fans?

Unlike the other PGA Tour events, the Phoenix Open is known as the biggest party on the PGA Tour. Despite being part of the league, the event has a different crowd along different rules. The event soars hundreds of thousands of fans at the course cheering for their favorite golfer, just like the typical sports event. Louder crowds, and a fun atmosphere with even beer vendors roaming in, are just some of the fun things that the event can offer.

Even though the Phoenix Open has not announced attendance figures since 2018. However, it is for sure that has been exceeding since 2018. With 4 days of pure golfing experience, Saturday is the busiest. In 2018, more than 200,000 fans were part of the event on Saturday, while the total attendance was over 570,000. 

Owing to its high attendance and party-like atmosphere as it also has a music concert, the event saw a mishap last year, which caused worry for the fans and even for the professionals. During the third round, the free-flowing beer was limited and the entry for the fans was also restricted after 2:00 PM ET. The stands looked like they belonged to a football game on that day. Considering that, in the 2025 edition, the beer per transaction is limited to two.

With the new changes in rules with zero tolerance introduction and top names like McIlroy missing from the field. It will be interesting to see how the viewership and attendance would be. Can the event start the upside trend in viewership, which was set by AT&T Pebble Beach? What are your thoughts on it? Share with us in the comments section below.