FBR Phoenix Open Golf Tournament in Scottsdale

Several PGA golfers own second homes in Scottsdale Arizona, or real estate in Greater Phoenix, for good reason: sunny practice time.  There are over 200 golf courses near beautiful Scottsdale real estate, including the TPC of Scottsdale.  We also have a wide selection of luxury homes in Scottsdale’s golf communities set in the Sonoran Desert with views of the majestic McDowell Mountains and city skyline.

Possibly trumping it all, Scottsdale hosts the FBR Open, formerly known as the Arizona Open and the Phoenix Open, at the Tournament of Players Club (PTC) of Scottsdale.  The FBR Open holds the record for having the highest spectator attendance of any golf event, with more than 500,000 in 2008.  Over the decades, the nationally televised event brought name recognition to the City of Scottsdale.

Held annually at the end of January, the 2009 schedule included Ladies Invitational, Practice Rounds for pros, Pro-Am and Celebrity-Am tourneys, Hoyt Family Foundation Dream Day activities, Junior Golf Clinic on Practice Range, CBS Outdoor Special Olympics Open on Putting Green, Opening Dinner, Shot At Glory on 16th Hole Stadium course, and Birds Nest entertainment before the FBR Open begins.

History of the FBR Open

The Phoenix Open began in 1932 with a $2,500 purse.  Ralph Guldahl of the United States took home $600 for his first place winnings.  After the 1935 events, the tournament was discontinued.  However, avid golfer Bob Goldwater Sr. determined to revive it.  He cajoled fellow Thunderbirds, a prominent civic organization in Phoenix, into helping him to get it going again.  Although they agreed, Goldwater printed the tickets, sold sponsorships, obtained the use of the Phoenix Country Club, and invited a few important friends to tee up.  They were Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Ben Hogan.

The 1939 Phoenix Open was a royal success and the show has gone on every year except during a wartime 1943 hiatus.  By 1946 and 1947, Ben Hogan took home $1,500 and $2,000 for first-place standings.

By 1955, the Arizona Country Club hosted the Open on alternate years.  Then, from 1975 to 1986, it remained exclusively at the Arizona Country Club.  In 1987, the tournament moved to its current home at the Stadium Course at the TPC of Scottsdale.   By that time, the purse had gone up to $600,000.

As of 2003, the tournament’s new title sponsor, the investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) joined the team.  When Kenny Perry took first place in 2009, the purse was $6,000,000 and Perry earned $1,080,000.

Spectator tickets are always available.  Sold for $25 a day, the Thunderbirds make room for everyone who wants to participate.  Portions of the proceeds go to funding the Phoenix activities of the Special Olympics.

For more information about luxury real estate in the area, contact LUXE Real Estate Group at 1-888-900-LUXE.