Rare Northeast Winds Perplex Players in Opening Round at the WM Phoenix Open

The weather was the story Thursday in the desert, from a frost delay to windy conditions that allowed only five scores in the 60s from the early wave.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — There are already a lot of things to juggle at the WM Phoenix Open. The event is famous for bringing in some of the rowdiest fans on the PGA Tour and the 16th hole Coliseum doesn’t exactly make for a simple afternoon stroll back to the clubhouse. On Thursday, two more factors threw players for a loop on top of the rest—a frost delay and rare northeast winds.

Every golfer in the stacked field at TPC Scottsdale knows how to compete in the wind, but this particular direction tested players all day, as the majority of holes set up for tricky crosswinds and the firm greens were difficult to hold.

Nick Taylor, who sits atop the leaderboard at 5 under along with fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin, is a Scottsdale local who was just as perplexed as others when it came to the unpredictable conditions.

“It's usually out of the south. I don't see a whole lot of northeast winds here,” Taylor said. “I've seen a lot of wind conditions, but this was one of the toughest stretches I've played out here.”

That severity was particularly noticeable on the pressure-packed par-3 16th, where the wind was blowing into players' faces and off of the left. Club selection on the typically straightforward hole quickly became more of a process—players pulled out multiple irons and caddies slyly peered into the bags of the other group members.

The 16th normally demands just a short iron, but the group of Tommy Fleetwood, Charley Hoffman, and Davis Thompson all went with 6-iron according to Dan Fox, the Thunderbird who has been stationed at the hole for 15 years. Thompson subsequently caught one of the worst breaks of the day, when his tee shot ran into a strong gust and nearly ended up in the tunnel to the 17th hole. Keith Mitchell had a similar blip—his tee shot drifted so far right that it ricocheted off of the grandstands.

The wind is strong on the par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale.

This is from early co-leader Keith Mitchell:pic.twitter.com/7Ml5bNytVu

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) February 9, 2023

Players felt and observed what they could from the ground on 16, but the true gusts loomed above the grandstands. That’s why tournament organizers acted fast on Wednesday evening when the forecast became apparent—two large flags, one an American flag and one of the State of Arizona, were added to the top of the grandstands to give players a friendly assist.

Mackenzie Hughes, who said he decided to hit a knockdown to avoid some of the wind above the stadium, summed up the challenge perfectly: “The conditions force you to be locked in, because if you’re not, bad things can happen.”

Even the world No. 1 got swept up in a couple of complex decisions. Rory McIlroy finished at 2 over par, seven strokes back of the lead.

“When you've got that 90-degree wind the whole time, if it changes just slightly one way or another, it's a completely different shot, completely different club, and I got caught out by that a couple of times coming in, which wasn't ideal,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy points out a key mental hurdle that all players had to face today. In the wind, commitment to one’s shot is of the utmost importance, especially in an unfamiliar condition.

Mo Pickens, the Sea Island-based mental coach of Thompson, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson, and several other Tour players, echoed McIlroy’s comment.

“Just don’t miss the shot before you swing. Like when you miss a 4-footer and you knew you were going to miss it before you hit it,” Pickens said. “You could be in-between clubs, you don’t know if it’s a hard 7 or an easy 6. But guys can sleep well if they know they hit it just like they wanted to, even if the wind stops or they catch a gust.”

Pickens says strong ball strikers who have extensive course knowledge will thrive in such conditions, just like his student Bradley, who is currently 3 under through his first 12 holes.

Bradley and the rest of the golfers who were pulled off of the course on Thursday evening due to darkness will resume Round 1 at 7:45 a.m. on Friday morning. The gusty day began at 9 a.m. after a frost delay that lasted nearly two hours, and play was suspended at 6:07 p.m.