Hideki Matsuyama was cruising toward a very special win at the famous WM Phoenix Open, and it seemed the Japanese superstar was in total control before the rowdy desert crowd changed everything. A shockingly loud shout during a crucial putt on the 72nd hole ruined his focus. This mistake forced a playoff and led to a crushing second-place finish for him.

Everyone was buzzing about the incident, but the details weren’t revealed until the popular golf account Fore Play Podcast shared a video of the event showing two fans locked in a heated exchange near the green. In the video, a man in a light blue polo and a white hat is aggressively confronted by another man in a black T-shirt. The man in the black T-shirt repeatedly calls the other man “little guy” and tells him to “get the f*** out of here.” The man in the blue polo remains relatively calm, but the man in the black T-shirt keeps yelling, “Slap me, little guy. I’ll spit on you. Spit on me, little guy! Spit on me, I’ll beat your a**.”

You can watch the whole incident here-

It all started on the 72nd green when a loud “Get in the hole!” screamed just as Hideki Matsuyama began his stroke. The shout forced him to step away and reset his routine, and his par putt slipped right of the cup. That missed stroke dropped him into a sudden-death playoff with Chris Gotterup, who had already posted 16-under and was waiting in the clubhouse for Matsuyama’s miss.

Then, during the playoff, another crashing noise behind the tee made Matsuyama stop mid-backswing. The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig later reported that a security guard accidentally dropped a metal chair. Hideki stopped his swing mid-motion but then hit his next shot into the water. This second mistake left the Japanese superstar in second place with a broken heart.

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Hideki led the field every single day before the crazy final round began. He held a perfect record of winning every time he led after three rounds. Meanwhile, Chris Gotterup, who started the day four shots behind, caught fire by making five birdies on the last six holes. He posted a huge 64 and waited for the leader to finish his round. And in the sudden-death playoff, Gotterup grabbed the victory by sinking a massive 27-foot birdie putt in the playoff. This win marks his fourth career PGA Tour title and second of this season.

And with this, the wait for another trophy continues for Hideki Matsuyama, who last won at the Tour at The 2025 Sentry in Hawaii. He started the 2026 season playing very well with two top-15 finishes, but fell just a few shots short. He finished T13 at the Sony and a T11 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

The PGA Tour hasn’t made a final decision on the fan creating this chaos yet. But the Tour doesn’t tolerate this kind of activity as the most severe breach of conduct involved the YouTuber and streamer Jack Doherty. Two days prior to the final-round drama, YouTuber and streamer Jack Doherty was removed from TPC Scottsdale and issued a lifetime ban from PGA Tour events.

Doherty filmed himself paying a spectator $100 to shout ‘jackass’ during Mackenzie Hughes’ backswing as the golfer was playing from a bunker on the 18th hole. The PGA Tour and the Thunderbirds acted swiftly, and both Doherty and the spectator were identified, removed from the course, and issued permanent trespass notices.

And the 2026 incidents were not without precedent. In 2024, tournament officials were forced to halt afternoon admissions and suspend beer sales entirely after the crowd became too large and unruly to manage. Reports from that year included public intoxication, fans falling from grandstands, and a spectator diving into a greenside bunker mid-play.

But amidst the controversy, the 2026 WM Phoenix Open also witnessed some heart-touching moments

Chris Gotterup became very emotional after the win. During his post-round interview with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis, Gotterup broke down in tears while talking about his family and his girlfriend.

“You make me cry every time,” Gotterup told Balionis. “You know, a lot of hard work. There’s just so many people that believe in me, and to be able to share it with them — I won’t be able to get through it. It’s just so much fun.”

Gotterup also remembered what he told Balionis during his last big victory. He promised her he would play more freely after his Sony Open win. He kept his word and showed off his aggressive skills on the greens. Gotterup is now ranked fifth in the OWGR ranking and jumped up from 206th place in just one short year of play.

Besides this, Scottie Scheffler proved why he is the best player in the entire world. Scheffler started the week with a rare bad round of 73 on Thursday. This left him in 89th place and almost ready to miss the cut. Scheffler fixed a grip issue and answered with rounds of 65, 67, and 64 to climb from T89 to a tie for third. His Sunday 64 included a 72-foot birdie from off the green at 14.

“I put myself in a tough position after the first round, but three really solid days. Today was another really good round. I’m going to fall a few shots short it looks like, but overall proud of the fight this week and did some good stuff. I played pretty well,” Scheffler said.

Other players like Si Woo Kim and Akshay Bhatia also played very well. After that, the PGA Tour now heads to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, scheduled for February 12–15, 2026. As one of the Tour’s Signature Events, it carries a $20 million purse and 700 FedEx Cup points for the winner.