Welcome back to the madness of No. 16 at The People’s Open

Welcome back, America, to the 16th hole. One of the greatest Saturday spectacles in sports. From the best stadium in Arizona.

Anarchy has never been more welcome.

On a significant, sun-kissed day in the life of the PGA Tour, round three of the WM Phoenix Open marked a return to normalcy.

Or in the case of The People’s Open, a return to the abnormal.

“The last part of the West Coast swing since we’ve gotten out of California has been great,” PGA Tour pro Kevin Streelman said. “Once we get to Florida, it’s going to be like normal here on the PGA Tour. And to be home (in Arizona) with the madness in full effect feels good.”

Oh, the madness.

The WM Phoenix Open quit announcing attendance figures five years ago, but Saturday’s gathering might’ve been close to the record 216,818 fans who attended in 2018. The revelry at No. 16 was as good as ever, and same with the trolling. In fact, I was not immune.

“Hey Bickley! Love your hair! What frat are you in?”

Funny stuff. But nothing compared to crowd reaction following Sam Ryder’s hole-in-one at No. 16 late on Saturday afternoon, when fans showered the playing field with beer cans, requiring a lengthy cleanup.

Hey, it’s a tradition. Like throwing caps on the ice after NHL hat tricks. But not everyone was thrilled.

“It was a pretty wild scene,” said Brian Harman, who was in Ryder’s group. “I was just trying to dodge the beer cans … I don’t mind them throwing them but I had a couple almost hit me in the face. We didn’t really have anywhere to go. We were just kind of isolated out there. The rules official asked me if I wanted to hit with all the beer cans (on the green).”

No way.

“Yes he did,” Harman said. ”I declined. I asked them to go clean it up.”

It was Ryder’s first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour. It came on the 25th anniversary of Tiger Woods’ game-changing ace in 1997, a shot that changed everything about the tournament. It was also the first at No. 16 since Francesco Molinari in 2015.

Ryder immediately knew the value of the moment, wisely declining to throw the ball into the crowd, which Woods did with his ace in 1997. But he said his caddie almost dumped the prized possession into a bag pocket that was full of golf balls.

“I think I’ll have a beverage tonight,” Ryder said, emphasizing there would only be one.

Obviously, COVID-19 has been extremely costly, and it’s not over yet. A huge number of lives have been lost. All lives have been disrupted to some degree. But golf has flourished during a global crisis, and now the sport has been revived on the grassroots level. Outdoor activities flourished during the pandemic, and golf was one of the major benefactors. The PGA Tour also shined at the right time, producing compelling tournaments without galleries at precisely the moment when our country was starving for sports entertainment.

Not that long ago, you could’ve bought a golf course for 15 cents on the dollar. Nowadays, business is booming, tee times are scarce and the PGA Tour is fueled by a new cast of stars. And on Saturday, it felt as if everything came full circle.

There are unpleasant reminders. Xander Schauffele’s caddie tested positive for COVID-19 just before the tournament began, and the golfer had to scramble to find a last-minute replacement. But the 2022 WM Phoenix Open has been blessed by spectacular weather, great crowds and a great field, even with the ongoing absence of Phil Mickelson.

For the first time in three years, it felt like everything was back to normal at WM Phoenix Open, right down to the beer showers.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

Follow @danbickley