The WM Phoenix Open has been able to capture the wonder and amazement embodied by the great game of golf for the better part of a century. Take one step onto the course at TPC Scottsdale and you can feel the presence of the world’s greatest golfers from the past century like Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer. Their great achievements live on through the ambiance created by thousands of cheering fans eager to see hungry new athletes leave their own mark on history. The green grass, the beautiful February weather, the iconic saguaro cacti and the remarkable level of play are all reminders of where the game of golf has been and the great things the game has done for people around the globe. For more information visit wmphoenixopen.com
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 I got to put you in the middle here.
00:02 We have the assistant chairman here with us, Matt Mooney.
00:06 And this is the big thing here.
00:07 This is where you literally don't sleep now for another year.
00:12 Am I right?
00:13 That's exactly right.
00:14 Yeah.
00:15 Starts on Sunday.
00:16 No sleep for about 12 months.
00:17 All right.
00:18 This is Lexi's first one.
00:19 So I know she's got some questions for you.
00:20 Definitely.
00:21 Absolutely.
00:22 So just tell me what you do as the assistant chairman.
00:23 I mean, I want to know the nuts and bolts.
00:25 Yeah.
00:26 So it's a volunteer position.
00:30 Phoenix Thunderbirds are a charitable organization that was started in the 1930s.
00:33 And so this is our 89th open.
00:35 And the mission of the Thunderbirds is really to promote the valley through sports.
00:39 Obviously the Phoenix open is far and away the biggest thing that we do.
00:42 The biggest thing, really, sporting event in the country now.
00:45 And it's really all about giving back to local charities.
00:48 That's at the core of our mission.
00:51 And so every day is a little bit different, but it's a wonderful opportunity.
00:54 OK, and I have to ask this, because Brad told me this before, that the chairman every year
00:59 puts his own kind of spin on it here, right?
01:02 Yeah.
01:03 That's right.
01:04 So what was kind of the unique thing this year?
01:05 And then we want to know what you're going to do for next year.
01:07 OK.
01:08 Yeah.
01:09 So George Thompson is our chairman this year.
01:10 And George's mantra has been, we are the people's open.
01:14 And that's really what separates this tournament from all the golf tournaments.
01:17 We really want to cater to the fans and make their experience fantastic every day.
01:23 And obviously, we see that in the crowds that we draw each and every year.
01:27 And so we've really tried to focus on that mission each and every day.
01:31 We are the people's open.
01:32 Another thing George did is create a new venue on the ninth hole.
01:35 The Palm Tree Crew, which is Kygo and Ricky Fowler, are out there every day.
01:40 Live DJs and a lot of really cool activity.
01:43 And so he's done a really, really great job of not only continuing to enhance our hospitality,
01:48 but the experience for each of the fans each day.
01:50 Really cool.
01:51 And that's what we're talking about right there.
01:53 The fans.
01:54 And OK, I know there's golf going on, but it's also a party.
01:57 Come on.
01:58 It really is.
01:59 Matt, we know that.
02:00 And that's one thing that we want people to come out here and be careful, be safe.
02:02 We know the 16th hole is the big thing here, right?
02:05 That's right.
02:06 Yeah.
02:07 You come out Saturday morning, and you guys cover this.
02:09 I know there will be people lining up 2, 3 in the morning to run half a mile to get a
02:14 spot on 16 and not see a golf shot for four or five hours.
02:17 Oh my gosh.
02:18 And so that's unique to anywhere in the world of golf.
02:20 How do you love that you actually have the US Open player, William Clark, who is actually
02:25 a Scottsdale guy here playing to finish off the AT&T and all the other pros that have
02:29 lined this field amazingly?
02:30 Yeah, we're really proud of our field this year.
02:33 We draw a great field each and every year.
02:34 But we're really fortunate because we do have so many local pros that are fantastic players.
02:40 Wyndham Clark, reigning US Open champion, won last week.
02:43 Max Homa, another incredible local name that's in the field.
02:47 And so it's cool for us that we get to have relationships with these guys year in and
02:50 year out, and then they really show up and support us.
02:52 All right.
02:53 Well, I want to know, who do you think is going to take the whole thing?
02:56 Great question.
02:57 Well, we can't pick favorites, but I will tell you a really cool story.
03:01 Scotty Scheffler is our back-to-back champion, number one player in the world right now.
03:05 He's trying to become the first player since Arnold Palmer in the 1960s to win back-to-back-to-back.
03:11 So any time in the game of golf or really in sports in general, you're mentioned next
03:15 to Arnold Palmer.
03:16 Pretty cool.
03:17 He needs his own drink then.
03:18 We got to come up with some sort of lemonade, iced tea.
03:20 We got to get a drink for him.
03:21 That'd be awesome.
03:22 The Scheffler.
03:23 All right.
03:24 We're finishing up with you.
03:25 One thing I want to mention that you're very excited to have DraftKings here as one of
03:27 your, of course, 19 holes.
03:29 And then the other part too, she's going to be talking about fashion later on, but I'm
03:32 dressing the green.
03:33 And that's one thing that you guys say, dressing the green, because we want to support, of
03:37 course, the green scene with waste management.
03:39 Yeah, absolutely.
03:40 Saturday's our green out day.
03:41 So wear your green.
03:42 And then to your point on DraftKings, we have a first of its kind facility in the DraftKings
03:47 Sportsbook at the entrance.
03:48 When people come to the tournament, they're going to see a completely different entrance
03:51 experience.
03:52 And that's a unique partnership that the tour and DraftKings have.
03:56 And we're excited to have the first of its kind.
03:59 One last question.
04:00 Wrap it up.
04:01 Oh, I don't know.
04:02 I don't have any more questions.
04:03 I'm just excited to be here and experience this whole thing.
04:05 Now, this is so fun.
04:06 All right.
04:07 There we go.
04:08 We'll get her going through a little more things.
04:09 Right, Matt?
04:10 As we're finished up with him.
04:12 Come on back.
04:13 We've got more for you from the WN Phoenix Open.
04:16 And it's Arizona Daily Mix on the CW7.
04:19 Woo!
04:20 [END]
04:21 DraftKings Sportsbook 2016
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