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The Phoenix Thunderbirds like to call the Waste Management Phoenix Open The Greatest Show on Grass.

Daily fun guide for the Phoenix Open

But could it become an Even Greater Show on Grass?

Under the sponsoring Thunderbirds, the tournament has thrived despite circumstances that have become increasingly demanding. And its fair to wonder just how big the PGA Tours annual attendance leader could become with a more-favorable position on the Tours annual schedule.

Since 1967, the tournament has had to compete against the Super Bowl in all but two years: 2002, when the NFLs championship was pushed forward in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and in 2010, when the Winter Olympics pushed the Open into late February.

And in recent years, the European Tours so-called Middle East swing has provided perhaps an even greater threat.

The Phoenix Open now goes head to head with the Qatar Masters, and the European Tour allows for the payment of appearance fees to draw players.

Thus, the Middle East swing has pulled some of the games top European and American players — even those who live in the Scottsdale area — away from the Phoenix Open and other PGA Tour events going head to head with tournaments in the Middle East.

Relief isnt likely in the near future.

After last years Phoenix Open, when frozen greens caused the PGA Tour staff and Thunderbirds to scramble to squeeze in a regulation 72-hole tournament, then-Chairman Mike McQuaid pointed out that if the NFL expanded its season to 18 games, the tournament might finally escape the shadow of the Super Bowl.

However, during the NFLs labor negotiations, the expanded league schedule did not gain approval.

Still, those two years off the Super Bowl weekend showed what is possible for the Phoenix Open.

In 2002, when the Super Bowl was pushed forward, a record Sunday crowd of 119,600 poured into TPC Scottsdales Stadium Course. That record still stands. For the week, the tournament drew 529,210, a tournament and PGA Tour standard that stood until 2006.

In 2010, threatening weather kept a lot of fans away on Saturday, which typically draws the biggest galleries. And when the rain actually came on Sunday, it dampened the golfers and tournament-attendance numbers.

But because of the later date, there were no frost delays. The tournament field was expanded from 132 to a full PGA Tour field of 144 because of the additional daylight, and the Thunderbirds were allowed to dispense eight sponsor exemptions rather than five.

Combine all of that with a typically perfect late-February weather weekend, and who knows what is possible?

Its something we havent talked about with the PGA Tour, but more daylight clearly allowed us to get a bigger, better field, said Alex Clark, the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open tournament chairman.

There were other benefits to the late-February date in 2010, too.

It allowed more time for the course to grow in. The putting surfaces can be a challenge in particular because of colder temperatures, especially in TPC Scottsdales location on the far northeast outskirts of the city.

Frost delays are not uncommon in normal tournament years, but last year the Valley experienced overnight temperatures well below freezing, which actually froze the greens and forced long delays that pushed the tournament finish to Monday.

That 2010 tournament fell a week after the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, and the result was that some top European players spilled into the expanded Waste Management Phoenix Open field.

A late February date also could have the potential to allow spring-training baseball fans to arrive early and tie the tournament into their visit, benefiting the Phoenix Open and the Cactus League.

But Clark points out that the schedule ultimately is out of the tournaments control.

Plus, the gaudy attendance numbers in most years have made the Phoenix Open somewhat a victim of its own success.

After all, why would the tour want to risk placing another tournament against the Super Bowl when they know that the Thunderbirds and their tournament have proven they can handle the competition?

The all-time tournament attendance mark of 538,356 was set in 2008, with the Super Bowl being played on the same weekend at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Though the PGA Tour doesnt list official attendance records, it is believed to be the largest gallery in tour history.

On six occasions, the tournament has surpassed 500,000 in total attendance, and five of those tournaments were up against a Super Bowl on Sunday.

There also were single-day tournament-attendance marks for Thursday, Friday and Saturday set in 2008, with the Super Bowl in Glendale.

There are a lot of tournaments envious of the crowds in Phoenix, even with tough conditions, said Andy Pazder, executive vice president and chief of operations for the PGA Tour. I was there last year, and I cant remember anything like that.

But even on Sunday, knowing there wouldnt be a winner that day, they had a tremendous turnout. Its a credit to the Thunderbirds, but its also a credit to the golf fans in the Phoenix area.

The Phoenix Open even has defied the so-called Tiger Effect. Tiger Woods, who typically drives attendance and television ratings on Tour, hasnt played here since 2001. Yet all six of those 500,000-plus crowds have come without Tiger in the field.

Its a reflection of the community support that we get for this event that, no matter what date it is, they love golf in the Valley and they come to our tournament, Clark said. So I think were going to have success no matter what date we have because, frankly, its the best community event in town, and the support has always been fantastic.

The Thunderbirds also were able to land a new title sponsor in Waste Management, now in its third year with the event, despite difficult economic conditions when FBR, the previous sponsor, did not renew its contract.

It has been a fantastic relationship, Clark said of Houston-based Waste Management. Were lucky to be associated with those guys. Theyre doing some amazing things locally and globally.

And clearly the support that we get from our sponsor and the community is vital to our charitable mission.

Pazder said piecing together the PGA Tour schedule each year and into the future while keeping organizers, tournament-name sponsors and players happy is one of the more difficult and complicated tasks the tour faces.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open has done incredibly well, he said. And the Thunderbirds have even used the Super Bowl to their advantage, telling fans, Hey, come start out your Super Bowl Sunday with us, and they end up with a huge crowd out there. Barring weather delays and whatnot, it has worked out fine.

However, he didnt rule out the possibility that the tournament could eventually move to a new date.

There are sponsor issues, agronomic issues, daylight, television … so there are a lot of things that impact our long-term schedules, Pazder said. But I can tell you that the Thunderbirds have been incredible partners for so many years now that we are going to try to do whatever is in the best interest of our sport and our partners and title sponsors.

I cant say definitively that they might get a different date down the road, but we share their interest in having the best opportunity to succeed while acknowledging that theyve done very well (where theyre at on the schedule).

No matter what the future holds for tournament scheduling, Clark is confident the Thunderbirds and their supporters will continue to find ways to grow the event.

We have to keep fresh ideas and eyes, and thats the beauty of our group, he said of the Thunderbirds. We have fresh eyes on every venue and every job out there at the Open. Were all Type-A, goal-oriented guys. Were doing it as volunteers, but were always looking to be successful and try to leave it better than we got it.

Tom Altieri (who takes over as tournament chairman at the conclusion of this years event) will make it bigger and better next year. Thats the continuing story of our group.

Tags: Tour