The Greatest Show on Grass has a new name. It’s no longer the FBR Open, it’s the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Same fun. Same location. New title sponsor and new date. The Waste Management Phoenix Open will be played February 22-28, 2010 at the TPC Scottsdale. If you’ve never been to the tournament before, do yourself a favor and go because this tournament is unlike any other golf tournament in the world. Huge galleries, great food and drink and lots of networking opportunities. Heck, there’s even a 20,000-seat stadium surrounding the 16th hole.

The 2010 edition of the Waste Management Phoenix Open marks the 75th anniversary of the event, making it one of the five oldest events on the PGA TOUR (not including the major championships). The list of past tournament champions reads like a golf history book as the likes of Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson have all won here in Phoenix.

Defending champion Kenny Perry and local fan favorite Phil Mickelson are among the first of early commitments to the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open. With the tournament date a month later this year, tournament officials are expecting one of the strongest fields in years.

As of press time, 13 of the top-30 and 78 of the top-125 money leaders from the 2009 season have committed. A field of 144 players will vie for the $6 million purse, the $1,080,000 first place check and highly-coveted FedEx Cup points.

Mickelson (No. 2) and Perry (No. 11) are the highest ranked players on the Official World Golf Ranking currently in the field. Perry, 49, is coming off a stellar 2009 season that included two victories, the FBR Open and the Travelers Championship, as well as a runner-up finish (in a three-way playoff) at The Masters. Other top-ranked players who have committed include Sean O’Hair (15th), Robert Allenby (20th), 2009 U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover (21st) and Hunter Mahan (27th).

PGA TOUR members have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, to commit to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Eligible players are assigned one of 34 PGA TOUR priority ranking categories based on their past performance on TOUR. The field will continue to change as players with higher priority rankings commit to play in the Open.

Other notables to commit include three-time Phoenix Open champion Mark Calcavecchia, 12-time PGA TOUR winner Justin Leonard, 12-time PGA TOUR winner David Toms, former University of Arizona golfer Rory Sabbatini and 2009 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Michael Sim.  Additionally, former ASU standout Billy Mayfair and PGA TOUR rookie sensation Rickie Fowler have already received the first two of eight sponsor exemptions for the tournament.

J.B. Holmes (2008, 2006), Aaron Baddeley (2007), Jesper Parnevik (1998) and Lee Janzen (1993) join Calcavecchia, Mickelson and Perry as the other former FBR/Phoenix Open champions in the field thus far. A number of local golfers also have committed including Michael Allen, Ricky Barnes, Pat Perez, Ted Purdy, Jeff Quinney, Chez Reavie and Kevin Streelman.

While the actual Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament will be played Thursday – Sunday (February 25-28), there will still be plenty of things to see and do at the TPC Scottsdale all week long. Many of the PGA TOUR pros will play morning practice rounds leading up to the tournament.  There are also other special activities that will feature PGA TOUR professionals, including the R.S. Hoyt Jr. Family Foundation Dream Day on Monday, the Special Olympics Open on Tuesday, and the ever-popular FBR/Xerox Pro-Am on Wednesday.

While great golf and fun will be the main focus of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, charity and thinking green will also be at the forefront of this year’s tournament. In fact, the tournament host Thunderbirds have raised more than $65.9 million for charities in tournament history, with more than $37.9 million generated since 2004. The $8.5 million they raised for charity at the 2008 FBR Open, was and still is, a PGA TOUR record for charitable giving.

New title sponsor Waste Management will also use the tournament as a major platform for showcasing their Think Green® solutions. Waste Management, known for its leadership in collection, transportation, disposal and recycling, also provides waste solutions like practical and sustainable renewable energy alternatives, comprehensive sustainability evaluations and new technologies to recover the resource in waste. The tournament is a way to showcase these solutions, which will help customers and communities reduce waste while reducing cost and creating positive change for the environment. Waste Management will start implementing these services at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and increase recycling and waste reduction over time.

For more information or tickets to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, visit wmphoenixopen.com. Also follow the tournament on Facebook at facebook.com/wmphoenixopen and Twitter at twitter.com/WMPhoenixOpen.