Eagles fans are ‘embodiment’ of the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — An early-morning move at the Waste Management Phoenix Open 16th hole during Thursday’s opening round: A Chiefs Kingdom flag was suddenly flying from a green-side suite.

Let the record state that six guys who live in Fishtown took care of it.

This little band of Eagles fans didn’t go near the flag. They were across the 16th green at the TPC of Scottsdale in the general admission seats. They merely got loud: BOOOOO … TAKE IT DOWN, TAKE IT DOWN … E-A-G-L-E-S … EAGLES! … TAKE IT DOWN!

You could hear this all around the hole because no golfers had even come through yet.

These Kansas City Chiefs fans travel well and enthusiastically, this Super Bowl providing two fervent fan bases, just with slightly different styles. Did the flag-bearer want to listen to this all morning? The flag came down.

Easy to find the six defenders of the faith … There was Ryan Davies wearing a Jalen Hurts jersey talking into a banana mimicking a conversation with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about how the Super Bowl trophy was going back to Philadelphia, book it. You can assume what Davies, just back from a concession stand, was carrying in his other hand.

“We were the first people to get served,” said Chris Booth, wearing a Fletcher Cox jersey, about how the beer stand opened up about two hours before the first golfers came through.

Of course, they were.

Mind you, Eagles fans didn’t take over the 16th hole so much as get absorbed into the general craziness. This is the most famous hole in golf that has nothing to do with golf. The people’s hole, where even the stars know they’re going to get booed if they miss the green or a putt.

This year provided a new subplot: The craziest fans in football invading the craziest hole in golf. The 16th is sort of the 700 Level of golf, except it’s more like the Linc than the Vet since most of the 17,000 that completely surround the hole are in bare-bones suites, stacked on top of each on three levels, companies buying a slice of space — food and alcohol included.

About 2,000 or so seats to the right of the green are first-come, first-serve, which is how the Fishtown guys got in. (Three are Pitt grads, two Penn State, one Temple … all grew up in the Philly suburbs).

“Philly fans are the embodiment of the 16th hole,” said John Grinevich, a West Catholic High graduate from 70th and Elmwood in Southwest Philly who now lives out here. Grinevich himself was wearing a Shady McCoy jersey, choosing it, he said, over his Vick jersey or Foles jersey. He’d gone to the airport when the Eagles’ plane arrived.

Attire always matters. Davies, wearing the Hurts jersey, showed how he had an Eagles T-shirt layered under his Hurts jersey. Davies said he had packed nothing but Philly sports gear for the trip. Sixers jersey … check. “I’ve got a Steve Carlton jersey just in case,” Davies said.

Maybe just in case, they make it to the big game, as they’re still looking for Super Bowl tickets.

Davies interrupted the little interview when somebody walking by said, “Go Birds.”

“Go Birds,” Davies said, then returned to his thought.

One thing about golf … it is an all-day event. So maybe no surprise to see one young guy in an Eagles jersey get a little belligerent walking through the 16th hole grandstand in the afternoon. This didn’t get ugly, however, since nobody could seem to understand what words he was slurring as he walked.

Just another day in the life of the 16th hole. A dog, maybe part of the security detail, wandered across the green off leash with a man before play began. The full grandstands cheered and chanted, “Bark! Bark! Bark!”

Somebody impromptu yelled 1-2-3 and the grandstand stood and sang the National Anthem. Golfers lining up putts later heard the crowd singing Happy Birthday Cherie, then Happy Birthday Rob.

The first birdie of the day was greeted with a cheer that you’d have thought the guy won the tournament. The sight of Rory McIlroy up on the tee got the crowd chanting his name. (When Rory missed a putt, he got booed. How it works here.) Tony Finau JUST missed a hole in one. More frenzy.

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There was just enough Philly talk around to know the Eagles were involved.

“Delaware County? Whereabouts?”

“Springfield.”

“What parish?”

“Just on the other side of Saxer Avenue.”

The suite that seemed to be having the most fun was overhanging the right of the tee box. A loud guy wearing an Eagles hat was in charge of festivities that mostly consisted of everyone in the box putting down $2 on each group that came through. Pick one of the three golfers before they arrived at the hole.

How it worked … the bet was on three elements. First player to step on the tee box, first point. Then closest to the pin. The last point was the fun point. The golfer selected had to earn two points for you to take a share of the winnings, and the last point was for first golfer to step on the green.

“Completely stupid game,” said the loud guy in the Eagles hat, but he’d invented it. A younger man in the front row of the suite had binoculars, the official arbitrar of who stepped on the green first.

“Pick up your knees!” a suite regular yelled, looking to cash in, as two golfers chatted away on their way to their green, oblivious to this group of crazies yelling at their progress like it was the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby.

Full disclosure: I placed three $2 wagers when I stopped by, cashing none of them. (I really thought K.H. Lee stepped on the green before Chez Reavie, but my eyes were bad even back in my caddying days.)

John, wearing the Shady McCoy jersey, was with his wife and his sister, and her husband. Trish Sminkey, John’s sister, was in from South Carolina, where she now lives with her husband Paul, who grew up in Prospect Park and was wearing a LOVE HURTS T-shirt with Jalen’s face on it.

The group, just walking into the golf tournament, was told that there seemed to be more Chiefs fans than Eagles fans on the grounds.

All their expressions suggested this was completely irrelevant information.

“That’s OK,” Trish said, rolling her eyes.

“Just wait,” her brother said.

The Eagles are one win away from their second championship. Join Inquirer Eagles writers EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Jeff McLane, Marcus Hayes and Mike Sielski on Gameday Central Sunday at 5 p.m. as they preview the game at inquirer.com/Eaglesgameday