Waste Management Phoenix Open » HISTORY

Historical Fact Sheet

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:50:55 +0000

FATHER OF THE PHOENIX OPEN: Robert W. Goldwater
Served as Tournament Chairman from 1934-1951

FIRST TOURNAMENT: 1932

FIRST WINNER: Ralph Guldahl, won $600

FIRST FEMALE PARTICIPANT: Babe Zaharias (1945)

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PARTICIPANT: Charlie Sifford (1959)

FIRST TELEVISED TOURNAMENT: 1973

FIRST YEAR OF THE FAMED BIRDS NEST: 1972 at Phoenix Country Club

FIRST AND ONLY HOLE-IN-ONE
ON A PAR-4 IN PGA TOUR HISTORY: Andrew Magee, 17^th hole (1^st Round 2001)

FIRST CAREER VICTORY IN PHOENIX: Ed Furgol (1954)
Rod Funseth (1965)
Dudley Wysong (1966)
Bob Gilder (1976)
Jeff Mitchell (1980)
Paul Azinger (1987)
Tommy Armour III (1990)
Jesper Parnevik (1998)
J.B. Holmes (2006)

LARGEST SINGLE-DAY ATTENDANCE: 170,802 (3^rd Round 2008)

LARGEST WEEK-LONG ATTENDANCE: 538,356 (2008)

LARGEST WEEK-LONG
ATTENDANCE AT PHOENIX COUNTRY CLUB: 186,000 (1986)

LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: Johnny Miller over Jerry Heard (1975)

MOST TOURNAMENT WINS: Three-tied with three wins each

Mark Calcavecchia 1989, 1992, 2001

Gene Littler 1955, 1959, 1969

Arnold Palmer 1961, 1962, 1963

MOST YEARS PLAYED IN
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Gene Littler (28)

MOST ROUNDS PLAYED IN
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Gene Littler (105)

YOUNGEST CHAMPION: Jerry Pate, 1977
23 years, three months and three days

OLDEST CHAMPION: Kenny Perry, 2009
48 years, 3 months and 21 days

OLDEST NON-MAJOR GOLF EVENTS: BMW 1899
RBC Canadian 1904
Valero Texas 1922
Northern Trust 1926
Waste Management Phoenix Open 1932

NUMBER OF TOURNAMENT CHAIRMAN IN HISTORY: 60

NUMBER OF SUDDEN-DEATH PLAYOFFS IN HISTORY: 9

NUMBER 18-HOLE PLAYOFFS IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY: 5

Number of Phoenix Open tournaments played at Arizona Country Club: 9

Number of Phoenix Open tournaments played at Phoenix Country Club: 42

PGA TOUR ROOKIES TO WIN THE OPEN: 1 – J.B. Holmes (2006)

75 Years By The Numbers

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:48:45 +0000

BY THE NUMBERS

75 YEARS OF PHOENIX OPEN HISTORY

1 – Number of hole-in-ones on the par-4, 17^th hole in tournament history

2 – Total number of wins on the PGA TOUR by J.B. Holmes — both in Phoenix 2006 and 2008

3 – Number of 3-time tournament winners – Palmer, Littler and Calcavecchia

4 – Number of years, over the past 79, without a golf tournament (1936, 37, 38 and 43)

5 – The Phoenix Open is the 5^th oldest continuous running golf tournament on the PGA TOUR

6 – Number of times tournament attendance has topped 500,000 fans

7 – Number of holes-in-one on the par-3, 16^th hole in tournament history

8 – Number of times Byron Nelson played in the Phoenix Open ($3,255 total earnings)

9 – Number of Phoenix Open tournaments played at Arizona Country Club

10 – Number of Concession Stands at the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open

11 – Number of two-time winners of the Phoenix Open

12 – Shots Arnold Palmer beat Jack Nicklaus by in 1962 at Phoenix Country Club

13 – The hole where fans helped Tiger Woods move a boulder in 2001

14 – Total number of TOUR titles by Kenny Perry, 11 since turning 40

15 – Number of years Bob Goldwater served as Tournament Chairman

16 – The coolest, loudest and most enthusiastic par-3 on the PGA TOUR

17 – Age of child prodigy Ty Tryon when he made his pro debut in the 2002 Phoenix Open

18 – Times legendary golfer Johnny Bulla played in the Phoenix Open over six decades

19 – Total number of aces in tournament history at the TPC Scottsdale

20 – Number of times Phil Mickelson has played in the Phoenix Open (not including 2010)

21 – Consecutive years 3-time Phoenix Open Champion Gene Littler played in the tournament (1964 – 1984)

22 – Number of Phoenix Open tournament appearances it took Kenny Perry to claim his first Phoenix Open title.

23 – Age of the youngest Phoenix Open champion – Jerry Pate 1977 (23 yrs, 3 months, 3 days)

24 – Consecutive years (1987 – 2010) Billy Mayfair has played in the Phoenix Open

25 – Age of J.B. Holmes when he won his 2^nd FBR/Phoenix Open title

26 – Former Phoenix Open Champions have won 26 Masters championships

27– Age of Byron Nelson when he won his first Phoenix Open title in 1939

28 – Most years played in a Phoenix Open (Gene Littler)

29 – Lowest back 9 score at the TPC by J.J. Henry in 2006

30 – Former Phoenix Open Champions have won 30 US Open golf tournaments

31 – Age of both Arnold Palmer and Mark Calcavecchia when they won their first Phoenix Open

32 – The year of the first Phoenix Open (1932), won by Ralph Guldahl

33 – The first and only year that a gentlemen by the name of “Harry” won the Phoenix Open – Harry Cooper

34 – The year the tournament format was a two-man pro-am – won by Ky Laffoon and Barry Goldwater

35 – Year Ky Laffoon shoots 69, 73, 71, 68 to win his second straight Phoenix Open

36 – Number of Waste Management recycle locations at the 2010 WM Phoenix Open

37 – Due to lack of interest in the Phoenix Open, there was no golf tournament held in 1937, nor in 1936 and 38.

38 – Million dollars raised by the host Thunderbirds since 2004 for Arizona charities.

39 – Total number of golfers in the field of the 1932 Phoenix Open

40 – Age of Mark Calcavecchia when he won his 3^rd Phoenix Open in 2001

41 – Year Ed Oliver won his second of back-to-back Phoenix Open tournament wins

42 – Number of Phoenix Open tournaments played at Phoenix Country Club

43 – Number of golfers who have held the title of Phoenix Open champion over the tournament’s first 74 years

44 – The year War Bonds were used to pay the winner of the tournament (Harold McSpaden)

45 – Year female-athlete Babe Zaharias played in the Phoenix Open (finished 33^rd)

46 – Year Ben Hogan won his first Phoenix Open

47 – Year Ben Hogan won his second Phoenix Open

48 – 1948 was the first time in the tournament’s 13-year history that a Phoenix Open participant/winner shot in the 60s for all FOUR tournament rounds – Bobby Locke 65, 69, 67, 67

49 – Age of defending champion Kenny Perry – the oldest winner of the Phoenix Open (48 years, 3 months and 21 days)

50 – Year tournament was renamed the Ben Hogan Open after Hogan’s tragic car accident while returning to Texas from the Phoenix Open in 1949

51 – Number of Phoenix Opens held in the City of Phoenix

52 – Lloyd Mangrum wins his first of back-to-back Phoenix Opens

53 – Year former Tournament Chairman and “Father of the Phoenix Open” Bob Goldwater shoots 79, 79, 83, 75 and finishes 65^th in the 1953 Phoenix Open

54 – Year Ed Furgol defeated Cary Middlecoff in a one-hole playoff. Furgol went on to win the 1954 US Open.

55 – Number of Active Thunderbirds – hosts organization of the Waste Management Phoenix Open

56 – Year Cary Middlecoff won the Phoenix Open AND the US Open (1956)

57 – Arnold Palmer ties for fifth in 1957 Phoenix Open and earns $787.50. This marks the first time in three tries that Palmer collects a check. In 1955 he placed 10^th but was an amateur and in 1956 he missed the cut.

58 – Year longtime CBS golf announcer Ken Venturi won his one and only Phoenix Open title

59 – Year African-American golf legend Charlie Sifford played in his first Phoenix Open and tied for 32^nd.

60 – Lowest 18 hole score recorded at the TPC Scottsdale – Mickelson (05), Calcavecchia (01) and Waite (96)

61 – First year of 3 consecutive wins by Arnold Palmer at the Phoenix Open – 1961, 62 and 63

62 – Lowest 1^st round by a tournament winner – Steve Jones in 1997

63 – Lowest 4^th round by a tournament winner – Mark Calcavecchia in 1992

64 – Year Jack Nicklaus won his one and only Phoenix Open

65 – Lowest rounds shot by Tiger Woods at the Phoenix Open (2001 – Rounds 1 & 4)

66 – Million dollars raised for charity since the tournament began — $65.9 to be exact

67 – Year Julius Boros shoots final round 67 to claim won and only Phoenix Open title.

68 – First year tournament purse hit six figures ($100,000)

69 – Lowest four-round scoring average (69.13) at the TPC Scottsdale (2003)

70 – Number of rounds played in Phoenix Open history by Phil Mickelson

71 – Even par at the TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course)

72 – The year the famed Birds Nest was born at the swimming pool area at Phoenix CC

73 – The year the Phoenix Open was first televised

74 – Highest 1^st round by a winner, Harold McSpaden (1944 – Phoenix Country Club)

75 –Years of the Greatest Show on Grass

The Greatest Champion of All Time?

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:20:00 +0000

By BILL HUFFMAN

Johnny Miller captured two Phoenix Opens in record fashion during the prime of his career, including a then record-setting 14-shot victory over Jerry Heard at Phoenix Country Club in 1975.

“I was coming off the biggest year of my career (1974, when he won eight times), and yet that Phoenix Open in ’75 was probably the best I ever played on Tour,’’ he said of his effort that produced rounds of 67-61-68-64 for a 24-under-par 260 total.

“I was at the bullet-proof stage in my career, and I remember the greens at Phoenix Country Club were grainy and not in very good shape, yet I kept holing putt after putt. And it was cold, really cold, but that’s when I always seemed to post my lowest numbers. . . .

“So I won by 14 (shots) with a ball in the water on my last hole, and shortly after told a bunch of reporters that I was going to Tucson the next week, and that I was playing so well I’d win there, too. The jaws dropped, but that was just typical Johnny Miller. I’d say what most people tend to keep to themselves. I’ve always been forthright.’’

For the record, Miller backed it up big-time. He smoked John Mahaffey at the Dean Martin-Tucson Open by nine shots, winning with an amazing aggregate of 25-under-par 263. That back-to-back effort – 49-under in two consecutive weeks – remains a PGA Tour record.

Not surprisingly, Miller’s 14-shot margin of victory at Phoenix also remains a tournament standard, the third-largest margin in Tour history. And while it’s a source of pride, the first 61 he shot at Phoenix Country Club in 1970 in just his second year on Tour might have been a bigger deal, he said.

“In 1970, with the equipment we used back then, a 61, well, that was a fairly historical round of golf,’’ Miller recalled. “It certainly got a lot of press at the time, and people started asking, ‘Who is this young player?’ As a pro, that 61 really put me on the map.’’

In a sense, Miller time on the PGA Tour was meteoric. His star took off in the early 1970s and was all but fizzled out by the end of the decade. He won 25 times in 22 years, but 15 of those victories came from 1974-76.

Along the way, Miller posted a major championship-best 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, and blew past Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros to claim the ’76 British Open by six shots at Royal Birkdale. He also posted three runner-up finishes in the Masters.

“Shortly after that I did a David Duval,’’ said Miller when asked how it all ended. “I guess the physical part did me in, as I gained 20 pounds, didn’t know about stretching or staying fit, and I just couldn’t drive the ball with any accuracy like I once did. . . .

“For years, I was like Fred Couples, in that I dropped the club in the slot beautifully. Suddenly, I couldn’t get it in the slot.’’ So, at age 41, Miller hung up the spikes even though he decided to play in one PGA Tour event every year. Unbelievably, one of those cameos led to his last victory, as he captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for a third time in 1994 at the age of 46.

“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty proud of that one,’’ he said of the final visit to the winner’s circle. “And I’m pretty proud of that fact that, as a member of the Hall of Fame, only Byron Nelson retired earlier than I did (age 34).’’

Miller, a devout Mormon who grew up in “a tough neighborhood’’ of San Francisco, said he quit playing to spend more time with his family. “People don’t realize it, but I had a very short career,’’ he said. “I played 300 tournaments, which is nothing. By comparison, Tom Kite has played in over 1,000 tournaments.
“So when it came time to choose between the senior tour and my spending more time with my family and friends, it was an easy choice based on a saying we had when I was growing up: ‘No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home.’

“I’m so lucky the way it’s all worked out. I have a wonderful wife, six great kids, and 15 really good grandkids. I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted, and I truly feel blessed.’’

In 1990, Miller turned to broadcasting, becoming the Howard Cosell of golf. But not everybody liked Johnny’s tell-it-like-it-is style of delivery, particularly the players he critiqued.

“I never agree with anything Johnny writes or says,’’ Chris DiMarco said while blasting Miller at the Ryder Cup last summer.

Added Phil Mickelson: “I respect (Miller) because he’s been there. But sometimes he goes over the line.’’ Dan Hicks, Miller’s cohort at NBC for the past 12 years, told USA Today that Miller’s magic is his willingness to take the players’ heat. “Johnny says things that make everybody go, ‘Whoa!’ Then we all laugh about it during the commercial. Johnny’s willing to take the double bogeys to produce eagles and birdies.’’

Miller sees it in much simpler terms: “The way I announce is the way that I played. I go for the flag.’’ Occasionally, however, Miller’s verbal shots have come up on the short side of the green. Either that or they misinterpret his intent. One of those misunderstandings came in his very first tournament as a broadcaster, the 1990 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

“(Eventual champ) Peter Jacobsen, one of my best friends, had a really tough shot – a downhill lie, over water, with a 3-iron he had to hit high, so it was impossible – and I happened to mention that it was the type of shot that might make him look like he choked,’’ Miller recalled. “It was the first time any one on television had used the word ‘choke,’ and everybody went, ‘What?’

“Well, it got back to Peter, and he wouldn’t speak to me for the next six months. But he finally watched the tape and understood that I didn’t say he choked. That’s usually the way it happens, because players don’t watch TV but they get their information from others. And usually it’s a wife or a friend who tells them, ‘Johnny said this, or Johnny said that,’ and oftentimes it gets misinterpreted.’’

Still, there have been some well-chronicled hiccups, like when Miller said U.S. Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw should have left Justin Leonard “at home’’ prior to Leonard holing the clinching putt in the 1999 Ryder Cup.

Another Miller on-air snafu came when he said Craig Parry’s swing would make Ben Hogan “puke’’ shortly before Parry holed out from the fairway to win the 2004 Ford Championship. Asked if he regrets being perhaps the one and only broadcaster in golf who constantly refers to the choke factor, the man who has been called “the Simon Cowell of golf’’ laughed. “Not at all,’’ Miller said. “To me, the beauty of golf is it’s designed to have the biggest choke factor of any game ever designed in the world. In fact, the most compelling part is how you handle your choke factor.

“Really, (the choke factor) is the ultimate secret to a player’s success. For some, it’s just about winning the tournament, whereas for others like Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods, it might be about winning two or three majors in a row.

“But every player has a choke factor, it’s just to what degree.’’ According to Miller, “I did my thesis on the choke factor.’’ And, yes, a lot of it comes from his own personal experiences as a player. “I was always hard on my own game,’’ he recalled. “But just like I would tell you how bad I was, I’d always tell you how good I was, too. So I hope that people when they listen to me (on air) know I’m sincere.’’

As for choking, Miller uses this example from his own career. “In ’74, back when I’d have a two-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round, there would be no pressure. None,’’ he explained. “I’d go to the first tee with the attitude, ‘I’m going to kick their butts,’ and I’d do it no matter if it was Nicklaus, Trevino or whomever, because I knew I was going to shoot the lowest score that day. “By ’77 or ’78, I saw every OB (out of bounds) stake there was. It had all changed, and I finally understood both sides of the choke factor.’’

Despite the heat he still takes from many of the top players, Miller continues to do it his way. And while he’s been called “overly critical,’’ “harsh’’ and “over-reactive,’’ along with “honest,’’ Miller views his reputation as his calling card rather than a distraction.

“My job is to keep (viewers) from taking an afternoon nap,’’ he said. “And in that regard, the hardest part of my job is not saying something that’s obvious. So I zig and zag from left to right in an attempt to make it interesting, because it’s all about entertaining people and trying to grow the game.’’ Even though Miller has had a lot of success as a golf course architect, having designed or co-designed over 30 projects, being an outspoken broadcaster remains his chief livelihood. And, no, he has no desire to play age-group golf.

“The reason I didn’t play the Champions Tour was for two reasons: I hated the long weeks of pro-ams and practicing and being away from my family, and I had so many injuries during my career – pick a spot, any spot on my body! — I wasn’t able to play without pain,’’ he said. “Plus, I was getting better and better as an announcer – I had numerous Emmy and other broadcasting award nominations and honors – and I just liked what I was doing.

“Seriously, I felt bad I didn’t do anything to help the Champions Tour. So in a way, my (broadcasting career) is my way of giving something back to the game.’’
Today, Miller spends his time globe-trotting while maintaining his family’s three homes — two in California (Napa and Pacific Grove) and one in Utah (Park City).

“All I can say is: That’s a wild place!’’ he said of the TPC Scottsdale during FBR Open week. “It’s like NASCAR, the biggest social event of the year. “And you’ve got that 16th hole, where there’s 9 billion people stuffed in there on that little par-3.’’

Father of the Phoenix Open

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:38:27 +0000

Robert W. “Bob” Goldwater, Sr., The Father of the Phoenix Open, passed away on November 4, 2006. As Arizona golf heroes go, Bob Goldwater is a combination of King Arthur, John Wayne and George Washington all rolled into one. In other words, he has no superiors and no equals.

“Bob Goldwater is the reason the Phoenix Open is what it is today – the largest-attended and one of the most successful golf tournaments in the world,” said Thunderbird Big Chief Mike Haenel. “Throughout the years, the Thunderbirds have raised more than $43 million dollars for Arizona charities from the playing of HIS golf tournament. None of it would be possible if not for his vision and incredible work ethic. This past November, we lost the head of our family and a great guy.”

The Phoenix Open began life as the Arizona Open in 1932, but was discontinued after the 1935 event. In 1939, Mr. Goldwater, a passionate and accomplished golfer, single-handedly revived the tournament.

Upon becoming a Thunderbird, Goldwater suggested to then Big Chief Ken Barton that the group resurrect the discontinued Phoenix Open golf tournament instead of hosting the Fiesta del Sol to produce more revenues. After some argument from the Big Chief and other Thunderbirds, a committee was appointed that included Mr. Goldwater to meet with the Chamber of Commerce and make suggestions on other events the group could host.

“None of us on the Thunderbirds wanted to do anything in the sports line,” said one of the original five Thunderbirds, Milt Sanders, in a 1950 interview. “So we said that when the committee went before the Chamber, we’d agree to anything but a sports event.”

Bob Goldwater was the only Thunderbird who showed up for the meeting with the Chamber. He spoke so aggressively and persuasively for a golf tournament, and with no other Thunderbird present to argue against him, the tournament was approved by the Chamber.

“When he reported back, we were so peeved we made him do all the work,” said Sanders. “He printed the tickets, sold sponsorships and obtained the use of the Phoenix Country Club. Bob also brought in friends like Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan and the tournament succeeded.”

Nelson, in fact, went on to win the 1939 tournament over Hogan by 12 shots and took home $700 of the $3,000 purse and the modern-day Phoenix Open was born. Mr. Goldwater went on to serve as Phoenix Open Golf Tournament Chairman from 1934 through 1951 and served as The Thunderbirds Big Chief (President) in 1943. “I loved those early years,” said Goldwater in a 1984 interview. “I look back on those days with a sense of pride mixed with wonderment. We weren’t necessarily organized, but we always seemed to accomplish whatever was necessary to present a golf tournament.”

Mr. Bob Goldwater, a legend, a friend, a mentor…and the Father of the Phoenix Open.

Did You Know…
Bob Goldwater was a boy golf phenom. At the age of 14, he was runner-up in the 1925 Arizona State Amateur Championship. He would go on to win that title, along with the Southwest Amateur tournament, three times apiece. In 1951, he beat the nation’s number one amateur, Charlie Coe, to capture the Broadmoor Invitational in Colorado Springs. He represented Arizona admirably in the U.S. Amateur. He played in more than 40 Bing Crosby Pro-Ams at Pebble Beach. He founded the state’s top team event pitting Arizona’s best amateurs against their professional counterparts in the Goldwater Cup.

More Goldwater Facts..
Before becoming a Thunderbird, Mr. Goldwater served as the Tournament Chairman and participated in the 1934 Phoenix Pro-Am, a two-man best ball golf tournament won by professional Ky Laffoon and amateur golfer and Bob’s brother Barry Goldwater (Bob Goldwater finished in 4th place in the Pro-Am). One year later, Goldwater again served as the Tournament Chairman of the 1935 Phoenix Open (a 72-hole event won by Ky Laffoon). In his role as Tournament Chairman for those events, Goldwater secured the venue – Phoenix Country Club – invited players and worked with tournament sponsor the 20/30 Club.

The Thunderbirds – 75 Years of Memories

WM Phoenix Open Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:00:55 +0000

By JEFF SIMON

Has it really been this long? Something this good, this positive, this fresh can’t last this long can it?

But the Phoenix Open has survived. No, the Phoenix Open has thrived here in the desert since 1932. The last two years, in these the most difficult of economic conditions, we’ve all seen what it takes to keep a professional golf tournament going. In fact, throughout the last 60 years golf tournaments have come on gone on the PGA TOUR. One of the constants, however, has always been the Phoenix TOUR stop.

There is a good reason for the tremendous success of the biggest golf tournament in the world. One group has consistently been able to deliver one big tournament, one big party after another. It is the Thunderbirds who have perfected the art of making golf can’t miss action in the Valley of the Sun. They have a way of attracting a crowd. And the Thunderbirds have done it again in this their 75th year. In this anniversary year you would expect the Thunderbirds to make the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open a special experience and it is.

Arnold Palmer

Having run this tournament for so long there have been a lot of special moments, some of which few people have ever known. Like the time Arnold Palmer wasn’t coming to play golf in Phoenix. Thunderbird Jerry Lewkowitz was tournament director in 1971 and was willing to do about anything to get the most famous golfer in the world to play at Arizona Country Club. Lewkowitz had traveled to the other stops on the West Coast, to San Diego, to Palm Springs and to Pebble Beach trying to convince Palmer and others Phoenix needed them and they needed Phoenix. “I did everything including sending roses to Palmer’s wife,” Lewkowitz said. “But he couldn’t make a commitment.”

Apparently, Lewkowitz did enough because Palmer ended up committing the week before the tournament when he wanted to continue his outstanding play. But that created another problem for Lewkowitz. Palmer wanted to play in the Wednesday Pro-Am and his requested foursome included Del Webb, Bob Goldwater and Bob Hope. Now, getting Webb and Goldwater was no problem. Both were well-known local golfers and businessmen. Heck Goldwater started the Phoenix Open.

But getting Hope to the desert wouldn’t be as easy. In his position as tournament director, Lewkowitz knew a lot of people. But not enough to track down Hope whose whereabouts were unknown. “I tried to get a hold of him and track him down, but couldn’t,” Lewkowitz said. Not to worry. A call back to Palmer resulted in the “King” finding Hope and getting him to Phoenix. Just another day at the office for Lewkowitz in 1971. “My guess was that attendance increased by 25,000 fans,” Lewkowitz said. “People wanted to see Palmer. He made people conscientious of golf.”

Kind of the way the Thunderbirds have made people stop and take a hard look at what golf has meant to the Valley of the Sun for the last 75 years. The Phoenix area wasn’t always a golf destination. Much of the credit for creating one of the most soft-after golfing Mecca’s goes to the Thunderbirds. To understand the Thunderbirds you must know where they came from. The group of 55 active members was formed in 1937 by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce as it tried to created more tourism in the area. In creating a name for this new group there was no formal ceremony or no secret initiation. The Chamber of Commerce official emblem was and still is a Thunderbird and that to became the name of the new committee.

Bob Goldwater

Of course one of those first members was Goldwater and his idea was to form a professional golf tournament. It was an idea that was met with little enthusiasm and if not for his tireless effort, it might have been one and done when it came to running a tournament. Because he thought the cause worthwhile, Goldwater became the “Father of the Phoenix Open.”

The folks in the Midwest, stuck in the middle of a cold and dreary winter, saw first hand what the desert can look like in the winter when the Phoenix Open was first televised in 1973. The Thunderbirds ability to get the tournament on national television resulted in immediate tourism results. Lewkowitz says it is customary for the newest active Thunderbirds to manage the parking at each year’s event. In 1973 a member was manning the parking lot when a car pulled up and asked if this was the location of the golf tournament. He responded to them that is was and then inquired where they were coming from. The group had seen the tournament the day before on the television and couldn’t resist the sunshine. They got in the car and drove straight through to Arizona. The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce idea was obviously working.

Of course things started to change for the Thunderbirds in the 1980’s. The Phoenix Open was not only fully grown; it was now bulging at the seams at the Phoenix Country Club. Parking and gallery size were a nightmare at the club in downtown Phoenix. After years of working with developers and the PGA TOUR, it was decided the tournament would move to a new facility, the TPC Scottsdale in 1987.

Some of the Thunderbirds, including Lewkowitz, thought the move to the north part of Scottsdale was a bad idea. It was thought to be the beginning of the end for the Phoenix Open. “Even some of my friends told me nobody was going to go way out there to watch golf,” said 1987 tournament chairman Pete Scardello. People realize now that the move was a good one with over 500,000 fans regularly gracing the TPC Scottsdale during tournament week.

It is an event unlike any other in golf and maybe in all of sports. Yes it is called the “Greatest show on grass” but even some people who attend don’t see the advertised show. And that’s OK with the Thunderbirds. “Some people never see a golf shot,” Scardello said. “It appeals to all people.”

As tournament director in 1987, Scardello had to organize what was essentially a new tournament and he admits it wasn’t easy. If there was any comfort it came from his fellow Thunderbirds, both active and life Thunderbirds. Remember this group had many years of experience running a golf tournament.

1987 Phoenix Open

But that doesn’t mean they haven’t had their fair share of anxious moments. In 1987, the carpet in the TPC Scottsdale’s clubhouse wasn’t completely installed until the Sunday prior to the tournament. And then there was the issue with the port-o-johns. It was the middle of tournament week and Scardello got a call on his walkie-talkie (remember there weren’t cell phones back then). It was his wife who was watching the pro-am out on the 15th hole. She informed the tournament director that the lines forming at the port-o-johns locations were getting out of control. “We just didn’t know where to place them and didn’t know exactly how many people were going to come,” Scardello said. “At the end of that first week we knew we had done the right thing. We just weren’t quite as prepared because of the size.”

Under the Thunderbirds’ direction the tournament got so big so fast even the famed Birds Nest with its live entertainment and libations wasn’t immune. The second night it was open at the TPC Scottsdale the local fire marshall arrived and had to limit the number of people allowed in the big tent.

When the PGA TOUR has needed a group to come to its rescue it has been the Thunderbirds. When Tiger Woods was ready to host his own tournament who organized it at the Grayhawk Golf Club? The Thunderbirds. They didn’t have a whole lot of time to get the event up and going, but they did it. There may have been a few glitches along the way, but the great thing about the Thunderbirds was no one would ever know it.

When the PGA TOUR stop scheduled for Northern California had to be moved because the golf course wasn’t quite ready, the Thunderbirds were there again. For the last three years they’ve helped run the Frys.com Open at Grayhawk, a tournament that has been part of the TOUR’s Fall Series.

The Thunderbirds’ efforts on the golf course have resulted in a list of champions that is a who’s who of professional golf.Off the course, where the least amount of noise occurs when the Thunderbirds are involved, is where the group makes more of a difference than most people could ever imagine. The list of charities the Thunderbirds have helped over the last 75 years is considerably longer than the list of champions in the history of the tournament. “We’ve always given as much as we could,” Scardello said. “Some year’s we’ve been able to do more than others.” Well over 150 charities have benefitted from the Open which has given over $65 million to various charities.

That’s one of many reasons Lewkowitz keeps coming back to the tournament. It’s been a long time since he was an active Thunderbird. But he’s at the Open every year doing what he still can to make the tournament a success. “I wouldn’t miss it,” Lewkowitz said. “There are life birds all over the place helping because being a Thunderbird instills an appreciation for the community.”