Chris Gotterup won the 2026 Phoenix Open. Photo Courtesy of PGA TOUR.
JAMIE HEALY | STAFF REPORTER | jdhealy1@butler.edu
Overtime, or “OT,” is an opinion column series where The Collegian takes national sports headlines or polarizing topics and gives them a Butler-centric angle.
Through six events in the 2026 PGA TOUR season, there have been plenty of highlights and incredible moments. From world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler continuing his dominance with a win in The American Express, ageless wonder Justin Rose cruising at the Farmers Insurance Open and Collin Morikawa finally returning to the winner’s circle at Pebble Beach after a near three-year hiatus, the star power on Tour has stepped up its game.
However, the two biggest stories of the season aside from Brooks Koepka’s return came in the desert at the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open, which was contested from Feb. 5-8. One was the incredible play of rising star Chris Gotterup, who made six birdies in his final seven holes — including a 27-foot putt for birdie on the first playoff hole — to claim his second victory this season.
The other storyline came from spectators, who interfered with play down the stretch in Phoenix, disproportionately affecting Hideki Matsuyama.
Matsuyama was leading by one stroke on the final hole of regulation, where he faced a 25-foot par putt to outlast a crowded field. However, as he was about to stroke the putt, he was forced to step off because of a fan screaming.
Once he missed the putt and had to settle for bogey and a playoff, he was again forced to step off when he was teeing off on the first playoff hole due to a crowd distraction, which was later confirmed to be a volunteer’s chair falling.
This is far from the first instance of crowd control problems at the Phoenix Open during this year’s event.
During the second round on Friday, there was another disturbance from the crowd, this time directed at Mackenzie Hughes. While Hughes was going through his pre-shot routine after hitting his tee shot in a bunker, a fan heckled “jacka—” at him as a prank.
The prank came from controversial internet personality Jack Doherty, who paid $100 to the fan to yell at Hughes as he was getting ready to take his next shot.
PGA Tour staff and security promptly responded to the incident, and the Tour banned Doherty from attending any future events.
Sophomore entrepreneurship major Isabella DiVernieri agrees with the ban and believes the Tour set a good example of the punishment that comes with the disrespectful action.
“This was definitely a step in the right direction,” DiVernieri said. “If you are going to be disrespectful to players, you should and will not be able to come back.”
The Phoenix Open bills itself as “The Greatest Show on Grass”, and is renowned across the golf world for the party-like atmosphere on hole 16, which features an enclosed structure around the green and rowdy fans that cheer good shots and jeer bad shots.
While the players often embrace the challenge of dealing with rambunctious fans all week long, some avid golf fans believe that heckling and jeering negatively affect the golfers and as a result, the overall viewing experience.
Junior P1 pharmacy major Andrew Dial contends that the rowdy atmosphere at the Phoenix Open interferes with his overall enjoyment of the sport.
“I am not watching for the heckling,” Dial said. “I am here to watch some of the best golfers in the world, and I think the heckling prevents them from playing their best, which is frustrating to watch.”
The Phoenix Open is not the only golf tournament or event that fans have some role in determining. The Ryder Cup, the biennial team competition between the U.S. and Europe, is known for its noisy, yet relatively respectful atmosphere.
However, in the 2025 Ryder Cup, the restless American crowd made an egregious step in the wrong direction for the sport. Examples of poor sportsmanship from the fans included beer being thrown at Rory McIlroy’s wife, Erica, and an emcee leading a vulgar chant directed at McIlroy.
While both the Phoenix Open and Ryder Cup allow and at times, promote a lively atmosphere centered around the spectators having a good time — which includes making their presence known to the golfers — it is important for the PGA Tour and PGA of America to reemphasize the role of good sportsmanship from the fans. If the fans respect the players, the players will respect the fans and want to help them enjoy their time at a tournament.
JJ Thomas, a senior finance and business technology and analytics double major, asserts that while new fans getting into the sport is great for the game, there are some drawbacks to the atmosphere of these events.
“It is awesome that golf is getting a lot of hype and attention,” Thomas said. “But the [Phoenix Open] is definitely a place where it goes over the line, where it is affecting the players’ performance and not actually making the game better.”
If the PGA Tour wants to allow the rowdy atmosphere and behavior at the Phoenix Open, especially, that is fine within reason. If this behavior continues at other tournaments, though, then the Tour will need to act swiftly and potentially punish offenders with bans or even fines if the situation calls for it.
