Waste Management Phoenix Open honors Kobe Bryant on 16th hole
Feb 1, 2020, 8:15 PM | Updated: Feb 2, 2020, 2:23 pm
Photo: PGA Tour
A week after the death of Kobe Bryant, the Waste Management Phoenix Open will honor the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
The 16th hole will be 24 paces on and 8 from the left, the PGA Tour announced Saturday. The account tweeted a video Sunday:
16th hole. @WMPhoenixOpen. Placed at 8:24 a.m. pic.twitter.com/wpdFT9iPyT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 2, 2020
The flag will have Bryant’s two jersey numbers on it, with the eight on one side and 24 on the other.
Those numbers will also be stenciled on the grass leading up to the green in purple and gold.
Golfers Tony Finau and Justin Thomas have worn Bryant jerseys to honor him during the tournament.
Thomas birdied the 16th hole on Sunday while wearing a Bryant jersey.
A birdie while wearing the Kobe jersey.
What a moment for @JustinThomas34.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/QKvHtk1Ij4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 2, 2020
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Jan. 26.
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Hole No. 16 is the most popular at the Phoenix Open. With a raucous crowd booing and cheering at will, the pressure-filled atmosphere is completely different from any other tour.
Sunday will be the final round of the Phoenix Open.
Finau leads at 16-under par after golfing in a tour-best 62 on Saturday. He is ahead of Webb Simpson at 15-under and Hudson Swafford and J.B. Holmes, who are both at 14-under.
Charitable news
The Waste Management Phoenix Open announced Saturday that the golf tournament is expected to break its record of donations raised to local charities.
Tournament chairman Tim Woods announced more than $14 million will have been raised by the end of the tournament, beating last year’s mark of $13.2 million. It is the ninth year in a row the Phoenix Open will have raised more than the year prior.
The Waste Management became the sponsor of the Phoenix Open in 2010. By the end of the 2020 tournament, it is expected that more than $95 million total will have been raised over the course of the sponsorship.
