[imagesource:  Getty Images North America / Mike Mulholland]

Golf crowds, aside from the Ryder Cup every two years, are generally quite mild-mannered.

At the WM Phoenix Open, hosted at TPC Scottsdale, those rules do not apply. In fact, the behaviour of the crowd on the 16th hole this weekend has divided golf fans.

Saturday’s action saw American Sam Ryder dink a short iron on the 124-yard (113-metre) par three 16th in for an ace and total pandemonium broke loose.

This from Golf:

The hole, already engulfed by grandstands, became filled with beer, beer bottles, drinks and drink cups. The 20,000 fans, who had found their way to the hole some 10 hours earlier, had raised their glasses to Ryder’s ace, then tossed them…

“We are covered in beer and other liquids, I believe,” said announcer Amanda Balionis, who was also at the hole. “Everyone is going insane. We might have a slight rain delay here on the 16th because it’s going to take a little bit of cleanup.”

In total, play was held up for just over 10 minutes as officials and volunteers cleared the area of beer cans and bottles.

Ryder’s ace is the 10th overall hole in one on the 16th and the first since 2015:

SAM RYDER! ACE ON 16!

WHAT A MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/bY3oSFM4nx

— GOLF on CBS ⛳ (@GOLFonCBS) February 12, 2022

Having waited seven years for a hole-in-one, the crowd that rocked up on Sunday saw lightning strike a second time.

30-year-old Mexican Carlos Ortiz’s ace is all the more impressive because yesterday’s pin placement meant the hole was playing 178 yards (163 metres).

He was stoked, but also a little shocked. Below from The Golf Channel:

“I don’t even know what to say. It was unbelievable. I didn’t know how to react. A lot of people cheering for you and then you start trying to watch out for your head because I got actually nailed pretty hard on the back with a beer can on the back, and then after that, I was just trying to just avoid all the cans I could.”

That wasn’t going to dampen his excitement, though, and he could be seen returning the favour and hurling his ball into the crowd:

Raining in the desert again. 🍻 pic.twitter.com/7uz5hKRQtj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2022

There’s a good reason the 16th is nicknamed ‘The Coliseum’.

It’s certainly a spectacle but isn’t without controversy. In one corner, there are the purists (usually a little longer in the tooth) who believe things have been taken too far and play being stopped for 11 minutes is unfair on other competitors.

In addition, the golfers are sometimes playfully booed for poor shots.

On the other side, it’s argued that this is just what the game of golf, notoriously resistant to change and so fond of ‘tradition’, needs in order to attract new fans.

[sources:golf&golfchannel]