A preview of Golf Chevron World Challenge
Chevron World Challenge is on its way to the Sherwood Country Club, where Tiger Woods will host the event and a field of 17 veterans for a purse of $5 million.
The tournament started in 1999, when Tiger Woods decided to bring golf to California. The Gray Hawk Golf Club in Arizona was chosen as the venue with a field of 16 players. The purpose of the event was to benefit the Tiger Woods foundation, thereby, the
event was tagged as a non-money event. However, in 2009, the PGA tour decided to give it world rankings and the strength of the field was increased. Currently, the event includes four major winners, top 11 players from the Official World Golf Rankings, the
Defending Champion, and two exemption players selected by the Tiger Woods Foundation.
However, this year Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who are number one and three on the world rankings, will not be part of the field. On the contrary, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk,
Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Nick Watney, Camilo Villegas, Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson, Sean O’Hair, and Graeme Mc Dowell will be teeing off to win $1.2 million as a winner’s share.
The challenge gives a picture similar to that of Ryder Cup and chances are that once again a European will walk-up the winner’s podium. The deduction is well justified by US Open, where Graeme Mc Dowell won and PGA Championship and Martin Kaymer grabbed
the first prize. Kaymer is not part of the team, but Mc Dowell is and he is h**l hungry for revenge. The Irish faltered in Dubai, where he lost the Race to Dubai to Kaymer. The US Open winner has an opportunity and chances are that he will not let it slip.
Meanwhile, Poulter is in a very strong form with a victory in Hong Kong and runner-up finish in Dubai. Stakes are the highest for the veteran from Hitchin, who wants to settle score with Tiger Woods.
On reaching the airport in California, Poulter tweeted Lee Westwood, “hey No 1, I’m going to see the No 2 this week shall I give him some banter for that. Ha ha ha ha."
The world number eight is accustomed to the tree-lined course, which is stretched on 7,027 yards. He won in Hong Kong, Phoenix, and Valderrama and that makes him well suited for the par-72 course.
On the other hand, his compatriots like Paul Casey and Luke Donald have been out of winning scenario for a long time, therefore, nothing exceptional is being expected from the veterans. Similar notion can be put forward for the Americans such as Jim Furyk,
Matt Kuchar, Stewart Cink, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan as the group has been out of competitive golf and isn’t in a strong form.
The golfer that cannot be ignored is Tiger Woods. The world number two finished fourth in JB Were Masters, Australia and he is looking forward for a victory by the end of the weekend. The course has been his practice ground for a long time, but Woods has
not been there since 2008.Chances are that he will struggle on it, but if he does not then Woods will jump back to his number one rank. The 34-year-old has pushed very hard in the current year and just few days left in Christmas, the veteran deserves a treat.
The Chevron World Challenge is about to kick off on Sherwood Country Club, which is situated in Thousand Oaks, California. According to a press release, a crowd of five thousand is expected at the venue to witness a battle for survival between their hero,
Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter.
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