Veteran PGA Tour pro on chaotic WM Phoenix Open? "You better not go against it"
Veteran professional golfer Jerry Kelly has given GolfMagic an exclusive insight into the PGA Tour's biggest party at TPC Scottsdale.
Absolute chaos marred the weekend, with the Thunderbirds being forced to shut the gates despite punters having tickets and alcohol sales temporarily halted.
Former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Johnson was one of several players that was verbally abused and so it is no surprise to see has decided to skip this year's best-attended event in the sport.
Kelly said the WM Phoenix Open was his most and least favourite event.
"Zach comes from the same Midwestern roots that I do and we expect a certain respect out of the people who are watching," Kelly, 58, told GolfMagic as part of the latest episode of Beyond the Clubhouse.
"We just have to realise that this is a sporting event, this isn't just a normal golf tournament. This is one week out of the year where it is different."
One of the 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩 eagles you’ll ever see!
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 14, 2025
Jerry Kelly got lucky on this one.
#TOURVault | @MEC_Golf pic.twitter.com/cWrY3yfM4z
But Kelly reckons part of the chaos is down to 'this generation'.
"They like to have fun," he said. "They're not going to be held to that buttoned up situation that we normally expect, as much as we'd like them to be.
"You can either show up and embrace it or you better not go against it. Once you show up there, if you don't embrace it, that's like swimming against the tide, you'll be pushed out to sea."
Despite being supportive of the changes, Kelly does not want the WM Phoenix Open to change too much.
"It's still a bucket list tournament to go to, if you want to go to one, it's crazy and it's a show," he said.
Since the WM Phoenix Open began in 1987, 11 players have made an ace at the aforementioned 16th.
Sam Ryder sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy with his in 2022 but we haven't had one since.
Kelly said the tee shot always filled him with anxiety.
But things changed when he altered his approach in 2021, which was also the final time he played there.
SAM RYDER! ACE ON 16!
— Golf on CBS (@GolfonCBS) February 12, 2022
WHAT A MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/bY3oSFM4nx
"I thought, 'I'm not going to let these guys be quiet', I gave them the hand in the air to be loud. Unfortunately, I think that was Friday afternoon ... not Saturday or Sunday.
"I was shaking in my boots, and hit a really good shot, made birdie and got out of there.
"It's fun to interact and being inside that kind of stadium is really cool. You just have to embrace that it's different than what we're used to."
The 2025 WM Phoenix Open begins tomorrow.
