It'll be a topic of discussion all week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open: is the full-scale party going on outside the ropes a good thing for golf? Or is that atmosphere a distraction, subtracting from the ideals of what a golf tournament should be?
We asked Tony Finau, one of the rising young stars on the PGA Tour, for his opinion. Finau doesn't speak for every PGA Tour player, but he sees the atmosphere created by the Waste Management Open as a good thing, with the ability to attract someone who might not otherwise attend a golf tournament.
"I look at it as being a lot of fun—and it's what the guys in the NBA and the NFL deal with on a daily basis," Finau said. "It's a different atmosphere than what we're used to on a weekly basis, so dealing with it this week, I think, is a lot of fun. And it's a way the game can grow."
Finau, who joined the Golf Digest Podcast after signing a multi-year endorsement deal with Ping this week, dished on other topics, including his process of finding Ping after Nike stopped making golf equipment two years ago, where he stands on the "Is the ball going to far?" debate, and how he has taken a step to becoming one of the elite players in golf.
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