The GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf recognized the Waste Management Phoenix Open as the first golf tournament in the world to achieve “GEO Certified® Tournament” status for five years in a row for the event’s leadership in sustainability.

The 2021 tournament, played February 1-7 at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz., received the international award for sustainability in golf from the Scotland-based organization by completing a custom-built program for golf tournaments, including document and evidence submission, third-party verification carried out by the Council for Responsible Sport (the official verification body for GEO Certified Tournaments in North America), a thorough review by GEO, and by agreeing to a range of Continual Improvement Points.

Hosted by The Thunderbirds, an Arizona-based civic organization, and sponsored by WM, North America’s largest environment solutions provider, the WM Phoenix Open became a GEO Certified Tournament in 2017 when the PGA TOUR event became the world’s first GEO Certified Tournament.

HOUSTON – “There’s no way I should be standing here,” Jason Kokrak laughed in the moments following his third PGA Tour victory at the Houston Open.

Kokrak’s surprise went well beyond the normal Tour player humility in victory. In fact, it was a mild surprise he even played the event.

“I contemplated actually withdrawing because I was hitting it so bad,” he admitted following his come-from-behind victory over Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Tway.

So bad, in fact, that he told swing coach Drew Steckel “I can’t play.”