The PGA TOUR, the Waste Management Phoenix Open (formerly the FBR Open) has gained legendary status on The PGA TOUR for being unlike any other golf tournament. It takes place annually at the TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 2011 event will be held from February 22 to February 28.

The tournament takes place in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona, which is known for its incredible weather during the tournament. The world’s best golfers compete for one of the biggest purses in golf. The winner of the tournament is awarded nearly a million dollars, but the real draw is the event itself.

The FBR Open was first held in 1932, and has been staged every year consecutively since 1939. The event has gone by several names, and was known as the Phoenix Open for decades. The event has also moved to different courses over the years, and is currently held at the TPC of Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.

The 18-hole “Stadium” course at the TPC of Scottsdale facility in Scottsdale, Arizona features 6,508 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71 . The course rating is 71.0 and it has a slope rating of 124 on Bermuda grass. Designed by Jay Morrish, ASGCA/Tom Weiskopf/(R)Randy Heckenkemper, the Stadium golf course opened in 1986.

Several golf legends have won the event, including Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ben Crenshaw and Arnold Palmer, among others. Kenny Perry won the 2009 tournament and took home $1,080,000 of the $6 million total purse. On December 10, 2009, the FBR Open became the Waste Management Phoenix Open after Waste Management took over title sponsorship from FBR.

Odds to Win the 2011 WM Phoenix Open Tournament at TPC Scottsdale

WMP Open Facts:

• FBR Attendance Record: 536,777 in 2006
• Youngest Phoenix Open winner: Jerry Pate, 1977, 23 years
• Oldest Phoenix Open winner: Julius Boros, 1967, 46 years
• Widest Margin of Victory: 14 – Johnny Miller over Jerry Heard, 1975, Phoenix CC
• Previous Names: Phoenix Open, FBR Open

WM Phoenix Open Results

2011 WM Phoenix Open Winner

Mark Wilson wins 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Wilson’s putt at the 10th hole – the second of the playoff – ended the uncertainty of a tournament stalled by unseasonably cold weather that left greens — and tee times – frozen. Monday play was inevitable because of the delays, and 29 players were back Monday morning to finish their final round. Wilson two-putted from 72 feet to save par on the first playoff hole, the 18th again. Then he made the deciding birdie at 10.

2010 WM Phoenix Open Winner

Hunter Mahan won the 2010 WM Phoenix Open. Mahan carded a final round of 6-under-par 65 and won the Waste Management Phoenix Open by a stroke over Ricky Fowler. The final two holes saw Mahan score pars and he then had to wait to see if Rickie Fowler could catch him. Fowler had birdie opportunities on the final two holes, but he couldn’t convert them. The victory is the second career championship for Mahan and it is his first since the 2007 Travelers Championship.

2009 WM Phoenix Open Results

In 2009 Kenny Perry took home the Champions Trophy amd more than a million dollars after a three-hole playoff with a 14 stroke under par performance. It was a tough year for the FBR Open, with a bad economy and competing with the Arizona cardinals playing in the Super Bowl, but it was a great battle, exceptional golf, and a record amount of money raised for charity through the host organization, the Thunderbirds.