What was once brushed off as a timing hiccup now seems to have become a part of the WM Phoenix Open’s rhythm. For the fourth straight year, the tournament’s opening round failed to reach a clean finish before nightfall, leaving play suspended as daylight slipped away at TPC Scottsdale, with several golfers still on the course.

At 6:05 p.m. MT on Thursday, February 5, 2026, the horn sounded at TPC Scottsdale. Of the 132-player field, 125 completed their opening rounds before sunset, and seven golfers remained on the course, most standing on the 17th or 18th holes with their rounds unfinished.

Among those left waiting are Christo Lamprecht, Neal Shipley, and John Parry, all at 3-under through 16 holes. Adrien Saddier also stands at 3-under with two holes remaining. Li Haotong, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, and Jeffrey Kang were stranded at 1-under through 16. The suspension halted their momentum with the finish line in sight. Play will resume Friday at 7:30 a.m. local time.
But while some were left waiting in fading light, others made the most of the remaining daylight to set the early pace on the leaderboard.

Chris Gotterup leads at 8-under after a bogey-free 63 that included an eagle on the par-5 13th, where he rolled in a 27-foot putt from just off the green to jump-start his round. Matt Fitzpatrick sits two strokes back at 6-under, having matched the back-nine record with a 29 before closing with consecutive bogeys. Sam Stevens and a group of contenders followed closely after opening with rounds of 66, as more than two dozen players reached 4-under or better before darkness arrived.

Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and tournament favorite, struggled to a 2-over 73, his first over-par round since June 2025, marked by flubbed chip shots that twice rolled back to his feet. The four-time Player of the Year entered the week riding a streak of 33 consecutive sub-par rounds and now faces rare pressure heading into Friday.

Tournament officials remain confident the schedule will hold. The second round will begin as planned, featuring threesomes off split tees from 7:20 a.m. through early afternoon, meaning for a brief window two rounds will overlap on the same course. The remaining players will return to complete their final holes, sign their cards, and prepare for afternoon tee times with little rest between. The 36-hole cut is expected to proceed Friday evening as scheduled.

The logistics, however, only address the symptom. The cause runs deeper.

Why the WM Phoenix Open keeps losing daylight

Early February offers limited sunlight, with sunset arriving around 6:00–6:15 p.m. local time. A full field of 132 players stretches tee times deep into the afternoon—Thursday’s final group went off at 1:50 p.m. from the 10th tee. Frost delays, common in desert mornings, push start times back by 60 to 90 minutes. The margin for error disappears before the first ball is struck.

The 2024 edition proved even more chaotic—rain and hail forced a three-hour stoppage at 12:32 p.m. before darkness finished the job hours later, with officials also navigating flooded parking lots and mandatory shuttle reroutes. That tournament stretched into Monday.

In 2025, the first two rounds faced delays as well, with Wyndham Clark’s late-afternoon finish affecting his ability to perform. He conceded three bogeys in his final five holes while playing in fading light. The 2023 edition saw a frost delay of nearly two hours, compounded by afternoon winds gusting to 25 mph.

Five consecutive years of Round 1 suspensions—2022 through 2026—suggest the issue is embedded in the tournament’s calendar placement and field architecture. Early February daylight cannot accommodate 132 players when frost delays are probable, and weather disruptions are possible. The math refuses to cooperate.

Whether the PGA Tour views this as a problem worth solving or an accepted quirk of golf’s loudest week remains unclear. For now, the first round will finish on a different day than it started. Again.