The PGA Tour will march on with its 2026 season as the WM Phoenix Open is all set to thrill the fans. Scheduled to take place from February 5 and 8, top PGA Tour golfers will be battling it out at the TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Phoenix Open, which is the 6th event on the PGA Tour schedule, officially got underway back in 1932. Unfortunately, owing to the local crowd not resonating with the event, it was discontinued after three years. 

Thankfully, four years later, Bob Goldwater Sr. took the initiative to rejuvenate the tournament. And as a result, the Phoenix Open was once again up and running in 1939. Notably, this is not the only interesting story associated with the event. One of its holes, known as the ‘Coliseum,’ has a very intriguing history. 

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Why is the 16th hole of the WM Phoenix Open known as ‘Coliseum?’

Out of all the holes, the 163-yard, par-3 16th, or simply the 16th hole is a centerpiece of discussion among golf enthusiasts. It is popularly called ‘The Coliseum’ owing to its fully enclosed seating area. As the entire hole is surrounded by state-of-the-art seating, the outlook emulates the essence of none other than the famous Roman Coliseum. 

The corporate skyboxes first came into effect in 1992. And as the renovations continued, the 16th hole was completely surrounded by grandstands by 2009. With 16,000 fans cheering (or jeering), the 16th hole is often referred to as the ‘loudest hole in golf’. Thus, playing the 16th hole is surely one of the biggest challenges that Brooks Koepka will face playing in his second PGA Tour event following his reinstatement.

Golfers usually take to the 16th hole somewhere between 115 and 180 yards. However, this largely depends on the pin placement and tee. Surprisingly, while many golfers feel the jitters, Tiger Woods holds an incredible record teeing off at ‘The Coliseum.’ Back in 1997, when Woods was just 21 years of age, he used a 9-iron to ace the hole. This moment immediately became etched in history as historians cite it as the turning point from when the hole became famous. 

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What is the format and field of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open?

The 2026 WM Phoenix Open will be a 72-hole event. With a total of 123 golfers fighting for a purse of $9,600,000, the field will be divided into morning and afternoon waves. This will be applicable for the first two rounds. Following 36 holes, a cut will be made for the top 65 golfers and ties. The winner will be eligible for a PGA Tour exemption lasting two seasons. Additionally, the champion will also be awarded a total of 500 FedEx Cup points. While Thomas Detry won the prestigious event last year, this time around, all eyes will be on the returning LIV golfer, Koepka. 

Here’s the full list of 123 players for the 2026 Waste Management Phoenix Open: 

• Scottie Scheffler 
• Xander Schauffele
• Cameron Young
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Ben Griffin 
• Sam Burns 
• Si Woo Kim 
• Viktor Hovland 
• Maverick McNealy 
• Brooks Koepka 
• Rickie Fowler 
• J.J. Spaun 
• Chris Gotterup 
• Harris English 
• Collin Morikawa 
• Matt Fitzpatrick 
• Jake Knapp 
• Harry Hall 
• Sahith Theegala 
• Jordan Spieth 
• Corey Conners 
• Michael Thorbjornsen 
• Pierceson Coody 
• Kurt Kitayama 
• Wyndham Clark 
• Rasmus Hojgaard 
• Keith Mitchell 
• Daniel Berger 
• Min Woo Lee 
• Nick Taylor 
• J.T. Poston
• Nicolai Hojgaard 
• Matt McCarty 
• Sam Stevens 
• Garrick Higgo 
• Thorbjorn Olesen 
• Sepp Straka 
• Haotong Li 
• Davis Thompson 
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout 
• Rico Hoey 
• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 
• Max Greyserman 
• Michael Kim 
• Max McGreevy 
• Patrick Rodgers 
• Marco Penge 
• Jacob Bridgeman 
• Max Homa 
• Kevin Yu 
• Andrew Novak 
• Akshay Bhatia 
• Stephan Jaeger 
• Bud Cauley
• Kristoffer Reitan 
• Mac Meissner 
• Eric Cole 
• Brian Harman 
• John Keefer 
• Daniel Brown 
• Chris Kirk
• Alex Smalley 
• Ryo Hisatsune 
• Jordan Smith 
• John Parry 
• Tony Finau 
• Vince Whaley 
• Matthias Schmid 
• Webb Simpson 
• Joel Dahmen 
• Mackenzie Hughes 
• Emiliano Grillo 
• Sami Valimaki
• S.H. Kim 
• Gary Woodland 
• Ryan Fox 
• Billy Horschel 
• Nicolas Echavarria 
• William Mouw 
• Austin Eckroat
• Michael Brennan
• Tom Hoge 
• Austin Smotherman 
• Tom Kim
• Chad Ramey 
• Mark Hubbard
• Chandler Phillips
• Adrien Dumont De Chassart
• Aldrich Potgieter
• Kevin Roy
• Neal Shipley
• Karl Vilips 
• Davis Riley
• Takumi Kanaya
• Zecheng Dou 
• Matthieu Pavon 
• Keita Nakajima 
• Adrien Saddier 
• Chandler Blanchet 
• Erik Van Rooyen 
• Patton Kizzire 
• Adam Schenk 
• Sudarshan Yellamaraju 
• Emilio Gonzalez 
• Zach Bauchou 
• Seung Taek Lee 
• Cameron Davis 
• John Vanderlaan 
• Brice Garnett 
• Hank Lebioda 
• Charley Hoffman 
• Christo Lamprech
• Kensei Hirata 
• Davis Chatfield
• Danny Walker 
• Joe Highsmith 
• Jeffrey Kang 
• Brian Campbell 
• Peter Malnati 
• Rafael Campos 
• Thomas Avant