The PGA TOUR’s most iconic hole – the par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale – has its roots in fan experience and stadium-style viewing areas, but nothing like what it is today. The berms and hills throughout the course provided guests of the tournament high-standing viewing areas on which they could view multiple holes designed to combat the tight quarters of the old locations at Phoenix and Arizona Country Clubs. The area behind the 16th tee box was no exception, although it did have a TGIF tent where fans could have a few libations – the spark that built the eventual coliseum.
In 1997, a wide-eyed and fresh-faced Tiger Woods aced his third-round tee shot at 16. The result was a deafening roar heard ‘round the course as Woods, caught up in the excitement, missed a few high-fives and “raised the roof” as he walked down the forced carry to remove his ball from the cup.
Tiger wasn’t the first to ace the iconic 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, nor would he be the last, but his moment in 1997 was the catalyst for the creation what the short par-3 is today.
Now, the names of the lucky few who have aced the par-3 16th are forever enshrined at the iconic hole; their names etched into eternity on a monument dedicated to the new age of golf and the players who found glory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s most popular hole.
