Stellar field announced for Tiger Woods' tournament
Tiger Woods invited his fellow colleagues to come play in his tournament. And the majority have accepted his invitation.
The field for the Chevron World Challenge, the Woods-hosted event taking place in early December at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, will be rife with major champions
and Ryder Cup participants. Woods has hosted the event, which benefits his foundation, since 1999.
On Tuesday, 16 of the 18 players in the limited field were announced. 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and 2010 PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer, both of whom played key roles
in the European victory at the recent Ryder Cup in Wales, have confirmed their presence. American Jim Furyk, Ryder Cup member and winner of the 2010 FedEx Cup, will also be in the field to defend his title.
It will mark the first time that Woods has participated in the event since winning it in 2007. He missed the 2008 event due to knee surgery while his infidelity scandal forced him to miss
the 2009 edition.
Other U.S. Ryder Cup members who will participate in the $5 million event, which awards $1.2 million to the winner, include Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Zach Johnson, Dustin
Johnson, and Bubba Watson.
In addition to McDowell and Kaymer, other European Ryder Cup players in the field include Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, and Rory McIlroy.
Rounding out the field are Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, and Sean O’Hair.
Although the tournament is considered to be an unofficial PGA Tour event, world-ranking points are at stake.
Lee Westwood, set to overtake Woods at the top of the world rankings 31 October if both players stick to their schedules, is currently not in the field, although two spots still need to
be filled.
European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie expects the loss of the number-one spot to further motivate Woods to play better golf. The 14-time major winner, who has held the spot since
2005, is winless on tour this year.
"Knowing Tiger as I do, Tiger will probably go out and win the HSBC world event," Montgomerie told reporters at a charity golf event in Hong Kong. "He won't like being number two at anything."
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