{"id":99272,"date":"2022-03-01T10:53:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T16:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=99272&preview=true&preview_id=99272"},"modified":"2022-03-01T11:29:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T17:29:38","slug":"more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jessica Lazo<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 Children aren\u2019t a common sight at PGA tournaments, but their presence is undeniable at the WM Phoenix Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always say it\u2019s for the kids,\u201d said Life Thunderbird member Dan Fox.<\/p>\n

The Thunderbirds, an 85-year-old, community-based, nonprofit organization, funnel all proceeds from the tournament to children and families in the valley in hopes for a better quality of life.<\/p>\n

The organization continues to tackle common societal challenges within the Phoenix area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’ll be really huge because there’s so much need in our community right now with homelessness, hunger and education issues,\u201d said Life Thunderbird member and former Diamondbacks President Rich Dozer.<\/p>\n

Local organizations that benefit from the tournament include, but are not limited to, Special Olympics Arizona, the Boys and Girls Club, St. Mary\u2019s Food Bank and cancer camp programs in Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably the most dynamic impact of the open is the amount of money we raise,\u201d Fox said. \u201cSo, when we\u2019re all done and the last putt drops, there will be $15-20 million raised for charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The corporate boxes and suites bordering the course were especially helpful throughout the fundraising process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look and say what is the most impactful, corporations come in a big way,\u201d Fox said. \u201cThere was an overwhelming response from people trying to be here for sponsorship, so we\u2019ll raise a lot of money through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chaos at the 16th hole is also believed to be an extremely beneficial area for receiving charitable funds. WM Phoenix Open Chairman Michael Golding described the hole as the \u201cphilanthropic machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phoenix Open really started to gain a massive impact when the 16th hole (gained popularity),\u201d Golding said. \u201cIt’s substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s influence on tourism has also been a huge contributor in securing funds for Phoenix charities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this on television for the rest of the world, especially people in places where it’s 20 degrees, and it’s 80 degrees out here, so people will want to come to Arizona in March,\u201d Dozer said.<\/p>\n

From hosting only 5,000 attendees last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, to coming back to full capacity in 2022, the Thunderbirds are expecting the outcome in fundraising numbers to be significantly higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring a lot of money to our community through tourism, and we give a ton back to charity, so it\u2019s a really great event,\u201d Dozer said.<\/p>\n

Jessica Lazo is in the sports media specialization at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at @jesslaz0<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jessica Lazo Medill Reports PHOENIX \u2013 Children aren\u2019t a common sight at PGA tournaments, but their presence is undeniable at the WM Phoenix Open. \u201cWe always say it\u2019s for the kids,\u201d said Life Thunderbird member Dan Fox. The Thunderbirds, an 85-year-old, community-based, nonprofit organization, funnel all proceeds from the tournament to children and families […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":99286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5201,5200,5155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2022","category-arizona-2022","category-winter-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nMore than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jessica Lazo Medill Reports PHOENIX \u2013 Children aren\u2019t a common sight at PGA tournaments, but their presence is undeniable at the WM Phoenix Open. \u201cWe always say it\u2019s for the kids,\u201d said Life Thunderbird member Dan Fox. The Thunderbirds, an 85-year-old, community-based, nonprofit organization, funnel all proceeds from the tournament to children and families […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-01T16:53:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-01T17:29:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1105\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"633\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jessicalazo2022\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jessicalazo2022\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/\",\"name\":\"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-01T16:53:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-01T17:29:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b20e21b96c524136737e4499f60545\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg\",\"width\":1105,\"height\":633,\"caption\":\"The WM Phoenix Open 2022 was held Feb. 10-13 at the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale. Photo by Jessica Lazo\/Medill\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b20e21b96c524136737e4499f60545\",\"name\":\"jessicalazo2022\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a55df0dbdb095f4a8b1510fa6692913603ce6be7783ca322130dff142f6fe98c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a55df0dbdb095f4a8b1510fa6692913603ce6be7783ca322130dff142f6fe98c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jessicalazo2022\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/jessicalazo2022\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Jessica Lazo Medill Reports PHOENIX \u2013 Children aren\u2019t a common sight at PGA tournaments, but their presence is undeniable at the WM Phoenix Open. \u201cWe always say it\u2019s for the kids,\u201d said Life Thunderbird member Dan Fox. The Thunderbirds, an 85-year-old, community-based, nonprofit organization, funnel all proceeds from the tournament to children and families […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2022-03-01T16:53:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-01T17:29:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1105,"height":633,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jessicalazo2022","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jessicalazo2022","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/","name":"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-01T16:53:22+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-01T17:29:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b20e21b96c524136737e4499f60545"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/IMG_8168.jpg","width":1105,"height":633,"caption":"The WM Phoenix Open 2022 was held Feb. 10-13 at the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale. Photo by Jessica Lazo\/Medill"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/more-than-just-a-golf-tournament-wm-phoenix-open-gives-back-to-most-vulnerable\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More than just a golf tournament: WM Phoenix Open gives back to most vulnerable"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b20e21b96c524136737e4499f60545","name":"jessicalazo2022","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a55df0dbdb095f4a8b1510fa6692913603ce6be7783ca322130dff142f6fe98c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a55df0dbdb095f4a8b1510fa6692913603ce6be7783ca322130dff142f6fe98c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jessicalazo2022"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/jessicalazo2022\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/835"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99272"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99338,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99272\/revisions\/99338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}