The PGA Tour markets the WM Phoenix Open as golf’s loudest party. And the party needed its life to be on prime time TV, but the broadcasters had a different idea. Rickie Fowler, Si Woo Kim, and Min Woo Lee tee off after Max Homa, Joel Dahmen, and Keith Mitchell. While both tee off in a prime time window on ESPN, one group will take precedence over the other, and it’s not Fowler’s.

ESPN decided to put Homa’s group as Featured Pairings and snubbed Fowler’s group, baffling most fans. The numbers tell a story that defies explanation. Si Woo Kim sits 30th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Min Woo Lee holds the 48th position, and Rickie Fowler checks in at 80th. Together, they average 53rd in the world.

The group ESPN and PGA Tour Live chose to feature instead—Max Homa, Joel Dahmen, and Keith Mitchell—averaged 147th. Homa ranks 148th, Mitchell 122nd, and Dahmen 171st, without full exempt status. It gets more baffling considering Fowler’s popularity among the WMPO crowd.

The six-time PGA Tour winner made an ace on the 7th hole during the final round of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. The crowd went bonkers. While most pros try to pass the 16th stadium hole in silence amid a raucous crowd, Fowler not only soaks it in, but also riles up the fans further.

Cameras captured him raising his club to pump up the gallery last year. In fact, a video also showed Fowler encouraging fans to chant his name while he was putting, a rare sight in golf. The tee times only compound the confusion further.

Homa’s group teed off at 2:22 p.m. ET from the first tee, slotting into the prime broadcast window. Fowler’s trio follows 33 minutes later at 2:55 p.m. Still, within that same window, still viable for featured coverage, still passed over by ESPN.

One possible justification for the curious decision might be found in Joel Dahmen’s history. The PGA Tour pro actually took his shirt off on the 16th hole four years ago. Perhaps ESPN hoped a similar and unexpected stunt would boost its ratings.

Moreover, Dahmen’s entry into the field came via an unconventional letter to the sponsor written on a polo shirt, a charming story that speaks to his popularity but not his current competitive standing. Then, Homa arrives at TPC Scottsdale with a T27 at the American Express and a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, a form that hardly screams must-watch television. So the decision raised a few eyebrows.

On February 4, 2026, the fan account @Rickie_Tracker posted this comparison to X, tagging PGA Tour Live and ESPN+ with a simple verdict: “This isn’t really adding up.” The post gathered 10,300 views within hours, igniting the kind of backlash that only opaque decision-making generates.

The other marquee groups at the WM Phoenix Open also tell a different story. Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama, and Collin Morikawa tee off at 2:33 p.m., while Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, and Brooks Koepka follow at 2:44 p.m. Those pairings make immediate sense—star power, rankings, and storylines aligned. The Homa selection sits as the outlier, the one that invites the question nobody seems eager to answer.

Tournament officials have previously defended selection criteria by citing “personality” and “energy” alongside competitive merit, language that does little to clarify why OWGR rankings appear secondary to other factors. The explanation might satisfy internal stakeholders, but it lands differently when fans can run the numbers themselves and find the math wanting.

Rickie Fowler fans demand transparency from PGA Tour Live

The replies to @Rickie_Tracker’s post painted a picture of collective disbelief.

“Does that say ‘Homa’?” one fan wrote, the incredulity almost audible through the screen.

Another called it “an absolute joke of a selection,” dismissing the choice without hedging.

A third offered the damning arithmetic directly to PGA Tour Live’s account: “Si Woo (30th), Min Woo (48th), Rickie (80th) versus Mitchell (122nd), Homa (148th), Dahmen (171st and doesn’t even have full status). You tell me which one deserves to be featured.”

The calls for systemic change followed quickly. “@PGATOURLIVE needs to have a better process for choosing featured groups,” one fan wrote. “Make it a poll every week and let fans choose who they’d rather watch.”

The suggestion carries a certain logic at an event that bills itself as “The People’s Open”—a tournament where crowd energy defines the experience and fan engagement drives the brand. If TPC Scottsdale’s identity depends on spectacle, sidelining Fowler and Min Woo Lee undercuts that identity before a single shot is struck.

Another comment cut to the commercial reality: “PGA Tour Live is the biggest joke in the world, man. Min Woo and Rickie have two of the biggest fan bases on the PGA; it’s insane.” The claim has merit. Fowler’s viral post engagement and Min Woo Lee’s growing international following represent tangible audience reach, the kind of metrics that should, in theory, inform broadcast decisions at a league wrestling with viewership challenges.

However, the decision stands. The transparency problem persists. And at golf’s loudest party, the fans making the most noise aren’t cheering—they’re asking why.