WM Phoenix Open: Travelers from around the world get ready for fun times at TPC Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - One of golf's biggest event is just weeks away, and it will take place in the Phoenix area.

For 2023, the WM Phoenix Open will have less premier players, and it is not one of the PGA's signature events. However, that doesn't mean we will see a drop off in the event's economic impact.

"I think people said they enjoyed the Phoenix Open more than the Super Bowl," said Michael Mosher.

Mosher spoke with us from Sydney, Australia. His tour group, Teed Up Golf, gives travel experiences across the world.

"We took 84 people to the Phoenix Open and Super Bowl," said Mosher. "84 Australians came and sat on the stadium hole on Saturday in three boxes we had. It was great."

Mosher said there's no tournament in the world like the WM Phoenix Open, and they are returning for 2024.

"We firmly believe Phoenix is going to be that next big ticket event that everyone in the world wants to go to," said Adrian Beunder with Absolut Sport.

Absolut Sport organizes sports trip travel, and they bring clients to various destinations, including Phoenix, from all over.

"Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico," said Beunder. "A few big groups coming from there. It’s all over Latin America."

When people come, they will, of course, watch some incredible golf, but they also get to play incredible golf at many Phoenix area courses. That will result in money bring pumped into the state's economy.

According to Mosher, members of his tour group made sure to play TPC Scottsdale the week after the tournament, using friends to recreate the crowd.

"He came out that day and sat in the grandstands, and booing at all of our players like the tournament. It was hilarious," said Mosher.

According to Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, the golf tournament leads to $400 million every year.

"We had a ton of clients that not only spend money in the hotels, but spending money in the restaurants, tours of the city," said Beunder. "A majority of them were probably pub crawls, given the nature of the event."

People in the Phoenix area will probably start seeing some of these international tour groups arriving soon, because they often will play a lot of rounds of golf in the weeks leading up to the tournament.