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Russell Wilson

Super Bowl atmosphere for fans at Waste Management Open

Martin Rogers
USA TODAY Sports
Golf fans turn hillside into slip'n slide during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Beer cups rained down on the 16th green, Bubba Watson briefly turned into Russell Wilson, a gang of Elvises (or is it Elvii?) screamed encouragement from the bleachers and, every now and then, people paid some attention to the golf.

Welcome to the PGA Tour, Super Bowl-style.

Saturday's third round at the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale became a giant, colorful, rowdy and somewhat intoxicated party, with a football theme that could not be avoided – not that anyone seemed to want to.

"It is a circus," said Pat Perez, who finished day three tied for 20th at six-under. "It is a zoo. It is not even a golf crowd. It is like a football crowd or a fraternity with golf getting in the way. I didn't used to like it. You have to play along with it."

Football jerseys, many of them belonging to Seattle Seahawks fans, lined the fairways as Scotland's Martin Laird surged to 13-under and took a three stroke lead into the final round. But the biggest cheer of the day came when Italy's Francesco Molinari aced the 16th, prompting a volley of beer cups hurled from the stands.

"First and last time hopefully," Molinari said, when asked if he'd ever been pelted with beverages on a course before.

This is an event a world removed from the occasionally stuffy reputation of the Tour, and frankly, one wondered if most of the audience knew what was going on.

"A lot of this crowd is people who have never been to golf before and probably never will again," said former British Open champion Stewart Cink, as the Elvis brigade started up a chant in the distance and a group of young ladies from an Arizona State University sorority found that high heels and mud don't really mix. "It is fun … mostly. It makes the atmosphere more like the other major sports."

Indeed it was, so much so that when Molinari tossed his ball into the crowd following his hole in one, the fan that caught it threw it right back.

Many of the players took the approach that given the impossibility of silencing the gallery, the only other option was to play along with the fun.

"It is always crazy here but with the football going on there is definitely something extra," said reigning FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel. "Some of the guys hate it. But if you don't like it, you shouldn't be playing here."

Most players were happy to get into the spirit of Sunday's showdown, with many sharing their thoughts and predictions on the big game.

It's all about the fans at No. 16 at the Waste Management Open.

Ricky Barnes, whose father Bruce was a punter for the New England Patriots from 1973-75, made no secret of his allegiance, and even texted Tom Brady and Bill Belichick earlier this week, having become friends with both during the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach last year.

Keegan Bradley, in a tie for 30th, is another Patriots fan and listed Brady as his all-time sports hero, while Michael Putnam, a Washington native and Seahawks fanatic, will head straight from Scottsdale to the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Sunday to take in the Super Bowl.

Out on the course, the ever-popular Watson temporarily donned Wilson's jersey mid-round, to the delight of the Seattle transplants. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were not around, having missed the cut by two shots and several light years respectively, but no one here seemed to care.

"The crowd are the stars here," said Morgan Hoffmann, in his third year as a Tour regular. "Every tournament should be like this."

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