Thursday’s first round kicked off tournament play at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open, and already the competition is fierce. Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Harold Varner III sit atop the leaderboard at 7-under-par 64 after their first 18 holes. Thomas’ hot start is due to his front-nine performance which included five birdies in his first six holes – a similar start to his third round last year where he birdied his first six. Fowler – who has found himself in the top five after the first round of each of the last four tournaments at TPC Scottsdale – birdied 12, eagled 13 and continued his strong push with a birdie on 17. Varner overcame an early bogey on the par-4 second with eight birdies in his first round including a 31-foot birdie putt in front of a packed house at 16.

Martin Laird and J.T. Poston are one shot off the lead at 6-under, and five players find themselves in a tie two shots off the leaders including two-time WM Phoenix Open runner-up Bubba Watson and Waste Management ambassador Charley Hoffman.

Pairings will be the same for Friday’s round with tee times starting at 7:20 a.m. Click below to see the full list of groupings.

Don’t forget to wear GREEN for Saturday’s #GREENOUT. For every fan, volunteer, service animal and – yes even players and caddies – who wear green, the tournament hosts Thunderbirds and title sponsor Waste Management will donate money to three deserving non-profit organizations with a sustainability focus.

Why the green? The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the largest zero-waste event in the world. The 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open recently received the highest international award for sustainability in golf for its efforts to balance environmental impacts, conserve natural resources and benefit the local community as Scotland-based GEO Foundation (GEO) again named the event as a “GEO Certified® Tournament.”

To become “GEO Certified®” the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the largest attended tournament on the PGA TOUR, completed a custom-built program for golf tournaments, that was both streamlined and robust, including: document and evidence submission, a 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 agreement to a range of Continual Improvement Points. In conjunction with the GEO announcement, Waste Management published the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open Sustainability Report with detailed metrics and program explanations.

Sustainability highlights from the 2018 tournament include:

Be sure to stop by Waste Management in the Expo Tent at the Phoenix Open to enter the sweepstakes for Suite Tickets to the 16th Hole on Sunday!

The Annexus Pro-Am pairings and tee times are set! Take a look at who your favorite TOUR pros are paired with for the celebrity pro-am by clicking the button below. Here’s just a few of the celebrities slated to tee it up Wednesday for the Annexus Pro-am:

Jake Owen – 8:30
Justin Verlander – 8:30
Emmitt Smith – 8:50
Archie Bradley – 9:00
Greg Maddux – 9:20
Michael Phelps – 9:20
Jason Kidd – 9:50
Golden Tate – 10:00
Patrick Peterson – 10:20
Anthony Rizzo – 10:30

Don’t forget to get your autographs tomorrow!

COMMITMENT TO PGA TOUR’S WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN NOW THROUGH 2030.

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – Celebrating its 10th year as title sponsor of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Waste Management has signed an early renewal that will continue its commitment to the tournament for another decade, through 2030.

The new agreement, which also covers Waste Management’s marketing relationship with the PGA TOUR as the Official Environmental Waste Services Provider, was announced today by PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan and Waste Management President and CEO Jim Fish at TPC Scottsdale, site of this week’s 84th Waste Management Phoenix Open. It replaces a 10-year deal that started with the 2016 tournament.

“We love this event and atmosphere, how it strengthens our brand and most importantly, the platform it provides Waste Management to lead by example in showcasing zero waste environmental solutions and inspiring fans to make a positive difference for our planet,” Fish said. “Together with The Thunderbirds, we are very proud of what we’ve accomplished for the benefit of the community and the environment over the last 10 years. We look forward to making an even greater impact in the decade to come.”

Over the past 10 years, Waste Management has used the tournament as a platform to educate and implement various environmental and sustainability initiatives, most notably, the Zero Waste Challenge. Since the Challenge was introduced in 2013, Waste Management has diverted 100 percent of tournament waste to its next best use through recycling, composting, donation, reuse and creating energy. This is particularly impressive for what is easily the highest attended golf tournament on TOUR with well over a half-million fans each year.