SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — They talked about making it "not bigger, just better," and all signs certainly point that direction.

Those were words spoken by Matt Mooney, 2025 WM Phoenix Open tournament chairman, back in October in anticipation of the event's bounce-back from the slog that was the 2024 experience.

Last year's Open got swamped with bad weather and bad fan behavior and left a bad aftertaste.

Mooney and the Thunderbirds, who run the tournament every year, dedicated their offseason to making improvements and they hit the mark.

A new fan entrance near the 18th tee box did its job and then some, relieving pressure from the main entrance.

The move to all-digital tickets and the removal of the "good any day ticket" also improved the experience. In the past, too many people would save their passes for Saturday, historically the most highly attended day of the week. Now, the Thunderbirds can regulate foot traffic much better.

Yes, prices are higher in 2025. The Thursday and Sunday tickets were $75 in 2025, while the Friday and Saturday passes were $125. But those prices also helped with crowd control, which was noticeable in a few spots that were massive bottlenecks in the past.

The area between the back of the arena at the 16th, the back of the 10th green and to the side of the 11th tee box was one place that would always see a crush of people. Same for the area behind the 18th green that stretches over past the clock outside the 25,000-square-foot merchandise tent.

Both areas in 2025 were markedly less congested.

Maverick McNealy, who enjoyed the warm temperatures and the prisitine course conditions during his third round 63 that got him into contention, raved about his experience Saturday after his round.

"This is turning into one of my favorite tournaments to play in. It's a lot of fun. Previous years it started to get a little out of hand, but I think right now it's in a sweet spot," he said. "This is something that would be a lot of fun every week on the PGA Tour."

Many other golfers wouldn't go that far, but almost all the participants say while they wouldn't want this environment every week, they love it for this week.

"It's really cool to be able to play in front of our fans, and this is a week when we get to play in front of a lot of them," said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, a two-time winner of the tournament, said during his pre-tournament news conference. "As a player, I think it's a special week. It's a lot of fun."

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: WM Phoenix Open 2025: Tournament running much smoother after rough 2024