Adam Scott believes the effects of LIV Golf may well have played a part in the chaotic crowd scenes at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last week.
The event is Arizona is notorious for its party atmosphere, but members of the crowd at this year's edition appeared to take things a step too far. Fans were seen throwing themselves down mud slides after a deluge of rain over the weekend, and one invaded the iconic 16th stadium hole, before jumping into a bunker.
While the atmosphere is usually embraced by those competing, a group of PGA Tour stars were left unimpressed with the scenes coming out of the galleries, most notably Zach Johnson.
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The United States Ryder Cup captain was seen telling one fan to 'shut up', whilst Billy Horschel also clashed with the crowd, after one spectator spoke in the backswing of his playing partner Nicolo Galletti. In the days since, Scott was questioned on the scenes in Arizona ahead of this week's event at the Genesis Invitational.
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“I think the Phoenix Open is sitting on its own as something like no other,” he said per Fox Sports. "I have only played it twice, two years ago and last week, and there are so many people it’s just noisy, and there are distractions and everyone has got to deal with it."
He does however believe the impact of the Tour's rivals at LIV may have played some role in the increase of atmosphere across professional golf, pointing towards the breakaway league's chaotic first trip to his home country of Australia last April. "I haven’t really seen different behaviour elsewhere on the PGA Tour," Scott added.
The crowds in Phoenix caused chaos last weekend (Getty Images)"Although I would say the fans in Australia at the back end of last year were enthusiastic and maybe you could attribute that to the event in Adelaide and LIV. But that might be drawing a long bow.” In total, Scottsdale Police have since confirmed 54 arrests were made at the Phoenix course.
A host of backlash has followed, with tournament organisers claiming changes will be made for the 2025 edition to stop a repeat of the unsavoury scenes, a call that was also made by Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega.
He said in a statement: "The Phoenix Open has an outstanding reputation and has successfully attracted millions of fans over the last 37 years to Scottsdale, without the unruly behaviour that we witnessed last week. I am confident that the Thunderbirds are committed to make necessary changes so the next Open is safe and enjoyable for all."
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