2025 WM Phoenix Open: Scenes from Day 1 at legendary 16th hole
In spite of changes meant to curb shenanigans, a boisterous crowd turned out at the Phoenix Open’s infamous, 20-seat 16th hole, know as “The Coliseum.”
The WM Phoenix Open isn’t for every pro on the PGA Tour, but some of the best golfers in the sport return to play in it often and bask in the cheers and support from an engaged gallery surrounding every hole on the TPC Scottsdale course.
Here’s a look at some of the more popular pros who have for years chosen to play in (mostly) sunny and warm early February in Scottsdale, and how they’ve fared as they make their way to Arizona early next week for the WM Open.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler picked up his 20th career win at the American Express in La Quinta, California, on Jan. 25. He has 14 PGA Tour titles in the past two years and is currently the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world.
Scheffler has two WM Open wins, five top-25 finishes at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, and isn’t even 30 years old. The second he walks through the tunnel at the 16th hole, the roar from the crowd will be heard throughout the course.
Scheffler is likely to enter the tournament as the favorite to win, as he was last year.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth is a 13-time PGA Tour winner who has represented the U.S. in five Ryder Cups and four Presidents Cups. This year marks his 10th career appearance at the WM Open, where he has never finished below the top 25.
Spieth last played at the Sony Hawaii Open, where he carded a 7-under par over four days to finish tied for 24th place.
Rickie Fowler
Another WM Open mainstay, Fowler is busy to start 2026 as a member of the New York Golf Club of TGL, the indoor golf venture with six teams that go head-to-head.
Fowler, 37, has six PGA Tour wins over a long career that started in 2009. He finished tied for 18th at 18-under at the American Express last week.
Fowler is set to take part in the WM Open for the 18th time in his career, with some mixed results. He’s missed six cuts and withdrew from last year’s event due to illness, and he missed the cut in three of his previous four appearances in Scottsdale before last year.
On the positive side, Fowler has five top-10 finishes, including a win in 2019 and two second-place results.
Tony Finau
Finau’s eagle at the American Express was maybe the best shot of the week on the PGA Tour. The lanky Utah native is another WM Phoenix Open fan favorite, joining three other Open participants, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Brooks Koepka, at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, Jan. 29-Feb. 1.
Finau, with six career wins, has missed the cut in both of his tournaments so far in 2026, but he did recently sign with Jordan Brand Golf and likes to have fun with the sport he plays.
Tony Finau casually topping 200 mph ball speed in a green ranger costume.
Hall of Fame Has-More-In-The-Tank guy. Backswing is like a foot longer, and notice how he loads his right leg so much that his left foot gets airborne on his takeaway.
Also, that sound 🚀🙌 pic.twitter.com/dQPx3wGhSy
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) November 1, 2023
Finau is hoping for better results in Scottsdale. History might not be on his side, as he has one second-place finish in the WM Open but has missed the cut five times in eight appearances.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele, Fowler’s New York Golf Club teammate, didn’t play at the WM Open in 2025, and went on to have a solid year of golf. He won the Baycurrent Classic in Yokohama, Japan, in October and had four top-10 finishes on Tour, including a tie for eighth place at The Masters.
Schaufele made the cut in every round in his 16 Tour appearances last year and is No. 6 in the world rankings. He has 10 career Tour wins and has finished in the top 10 69 times out of 200 appearances.
Schauffele hasn’t played at the WM Phoenix Open since 2023, but finished second in 2021 and third in 2022. At Torrey Pines, he’s be playing in his hometown near San Diego.
Max Homa
The native of Burbank, California, plays for Jupiter Links GC in the TGL, which is a combination of traditional golf play with elements of simulated indoor golf.
Homa has six career wins in the Tour. He’s set for his eighth appearance at the WM Open, where his best finish was sixth place in 2020.
Homa has missed the cut in each of the past two years. The Scottsdale resident will be playing close to home.
Brooks Koepka
Koepka makes his return to the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open, and he’s expected to be in Scottsdale for his second PGA event since leaving for LIV Golf in 2022.
Koepka told Golfweek that he was a little nervous about how fans would receive him after he bolted for a big contract and a competing golf promotion. It will be interesting to see how the crowds in La Jolla react to him, and that could set the tone for how the galleries at TPC Scottsdale react when they see Koepka again.
The crazies at the 16th hole do their homework, and they will be aware of Koepka having left for LIV and coming back. When he hits the stadium hole, it could make for must-see moments at the WM Open.
Koepka has two wins at the WM Open, in 2015 and 2019, among his nine career PGA Tour wins.
José M. Romero can be reached at jose.romero@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @RomeroJoseM or Instagram at @romerojosem.