Biggest Winners and Losers from the Waste Management Phoenix Open

The Greenest Show on Grass is in the books. And at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this year, TPC Scottsdale laid waste to the likes of Tiger Woods (who was historically awful) and Phil Mickelson. 

The door was opened for the legions of rowdies to feast their eyes on a Sunday showdown that involved golfers who have been distinguishing themselves in the past year: 54-hole leader Martin Laird, Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Ryan Palmer. 

One of the men above won the tournament, and one of them achieved another honor: the best items tossed into the crowd at the raucous 16th hole. 

Who did what? Who were the other winners and losers? How could the revelers at the 16th hole be both winners and losers this week?

Click through to see.

Winner: Brooks Koepka

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Martin Laird and Brooks Koepka were 15 under for the tournament through 16 holes of the final round, which is when the real drama of the Waste Management Phoenix Open began.

Koepka was five under for his final round as he stood behind the green on the lip of a water hazard. He had ridden the momentum of a Saturday 64 brilliantly to get to the spot.  

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old stubbed a pitch from behind the 17th green, which just trickled onto the green. He would have liked to have done less excavation work with the wedge to leave a more makeable birdie. As it was, he settled for par and looked to have missed a significant opportunity. 

Thanks to a faltering Martin Laird, however, Koepka's four was good enough to head to the final hole with a one-stroke lead. Looking like a seasoned PGA Tour winner, the native Floridian striped his tee shot, found the green in regulation and nearly holed his birdie putt en route to a closing par and a final-round 66.

"Everything seems to be going right," Koepka told David Feherty in an interview on CBS' telecast after he stepped off the final green. 

It certainly went right on Sunday as Koepka notched his first PGA Tour victory.

Loser: Martin Laird

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If you read the previous slide, you'll see that Laird and Koepka were 15 under for the tournament through 16 holes of the final round, which is when the real competition began. 

After a mess of a tee shot, Laird hit a substandard pitch to the front of the green. He then left his birdie putt well, well short. Facing an inglorious eight-footer for par, Laird wasn't up to the task, and his ill-read effort fell below the bottom of the cup. He carded a bogey five on the short par four. 

Thanks to his poor effort on the penultimate hole of the tournament, the Scotsman headed to the final hole a stroke behind the surging Koepka. 

Instead of answering Koepka's pured tee shot, Laird instead was all nerves as he found the water with a penitent strike of his 3-wood. Sinking with his ball to the bottom of the water hazard: his hopes of winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open. 

Laird was left to re-tee in disgust, wondering how he'd frittered away a 54-hole lead and fallen woefully short at the most critical moments.

Winners: Fans at the 16th Hole

Well-lubricated, enthusiastic and in possession of a front-row seat for some of the best golfers in the world, the golf fans of the 16th hole (and those who were just there for the party) are winners this week. Really, how could they not be? 

Watching the proceedings at the short par three is a singular experience on the PGA Tour. At the opposite end of the spectrum to the patrons of Augusta National (the stereotypical ones, at least), the rowdies at the 16th come in every shape, size, costume and level of intoxication. 

And while they were deprived of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson this weekend and rain may have dampened the bleacher-dweller's spirits somewhat and hampered attendance Friday, the rich tapestry's many threads were on full display over the weekend. 

The fans were treated to Oklahoma State alum Morgan Hoffman donning a giant orange-foam cowboy hat and hitting a shot—in competition—and Francesco Molinari's Saturday hole-in-one. 

And heck, acing the 16th has to make you a winner on this list: Mr. Molinari is a 16th-hole winner too. 

Molinari tweeted the following after the round: "I've been to a lot of different sporting events. The roar at 16th today was as loud as I've heard! Hope everyone enjoyed as much as I did!"

Losers: Fans at the 16th

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While the fans at the 16th may have gotten to see an ace and a variety of interesting occurrences, they were deprived of a few things.

Caddie races: In 2013, the tour's executive vice president told Golf Channel: "We developed a little concern about caddies’ safety. Running 150 yards puts caddies at risk for injury.” Thus the powers that be banned the immensely popular bag-carriers' sprint. The loss is still being felt.

Things being thrown into the crowd: And this year, the tour declared: "At this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, for fan-safety reasons, players and caddies are prohibited from throwing, kicking or otherwise propelling items into the crowd on the 16th hole."

It's tough to say that the fans weren't left wanting after downpours as well as Woods and Mickelson catching Friday flights out of town. 

Winner: Ryan Palmer

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Instead of throwing logo-laden sponsor crap into the bleachers at the 16th, Ryan Palmer put his thinking cap on and came up with something better. Much better, really.

The Amarillo, Texas, native decided to throw golf balls wrapped in $10 bills to the faithful—twice.

"Have a beer on me!" and "Cheers!" read the balls.

Oh yeah, and Palmer didn't play too poorly in Phoenix either: He finished tied for second, 14 under for the week. 

Loser: Tiger Woods

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

What can you really say about Tiger Woods' performance at TPC Scottsdale? Even giving him the widest possible berth and having the most modest of expectations for the week, Woods' play was pathetic and embarrassing. 

The former world No. 1 (who fell outside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings after this showing) made his much-anticipated return to both PGA Tour play and the Waste Management Phoenix Open feeling good about his game and the work he'd done with new coach Chris Como. 

Things went bad quickly for Woods in his first start since missing the cut at last year's PGA Championship. 

Woods posted an 11-over 82 in the second round that included six bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey in his cut-missing effort. The score was the worst of his professional career.

He tied for the worst two-day total in the field and recorded the most abysmal performance of his 19 years as a professional golfer.

Winner: Jon Rahm

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Battling a nasty stomach virus, Arizona State junior Jon Rahm performed brilliantly in the desert. The third-ranked amateur in the world, Rahm has capitalized on his sponsor's exemption at TPC Scottsdale this week. 

He was tied for fifth after three rounds, thanks to a third-round 66. He further endeared himself to the fans by emerging on the 16th hole in an ASU jersey bearing fallen hero Pat Tillman's No. 42 and Rahm's nickname (Rahmbo). 

Discussing his decision to don the jersey, Rahm said: “I just feel for any ASU fan, just whatever ASU I wear it’s going to pump them up. It’s so special, 42, Pat Tillman’s number is so special at ASU, it’s something we all have deep inside," per Will Gray of Golf Channel. 

The amateur ultimately tied for fifth, just three strokes behind winner Brooks Koepka. Impressive stuff. 

Loser: Phil Mickelson

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Also an ASU alum, Phil Mickelson was anything but a winner at the Phoenix Open this week. The 2013 tournament winner fired a five-over 76 in his second round to miss the cut. He found just seven of 18 greens in regulation during his second round and really never got anything going. 

In 26 starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in his career, Mickelson has missed the cut just six times. As Mickelson is a local hero and the undisputed fan favorite at TPC Scottsdale, it was surely disappointment for the faithful to see him miss the cut. 

The poor second-round performance has the left-hander failing to capitalize on a decent showing in his first start of the year: a tie for fourth in last week's Humana Challenge. 

The 44-year-old expressed concern with the state of his short game following his second round: ''My short game was off today. I let a lot of shots slide around the greens, and I've got to fix that. That happened last week, as well," per The Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports). 

All stats via PGATour.com