Spieth, Day, Fowler Headed To Hyundai Tournament of Champions
Patrick Reed’s the defending champ in a field of sparkling stars ready to knock off the rust and get to work!
While half of the country is bleary-eyed from bowl games, sensible sports fans know that it’s time to look ahead to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
There we will once again be able to watch the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world as both Jordan Spieth and Jason Day have said they are headed to Kapalua. Surprisingly, it is Day’s first appearance. What’s more, Players champ Rickie Fowler and British Open winner Zach Johnson are also expected to be in the field.
They will tee it up against a cast that includes some first timers and several wily veterans. According to the Hyundai web site, at the very least, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker and Dustin Johnson have told the tournament they will play.
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In addition, a new winner from the fall season, Justin Thomas, plans to be there.
“Honestly, I’m extremely excited about going to Hawaii before Sony,” Thomas said after winning the CIMB Classic. I think that’s going to be awesome. Being a small field and the few guys that are there, I think that’s really going to be a lot of fun, and I’ve heard a lot of great things about it.”
There are other first timers who have qualified for the Hyundai, like Alex Cjeka, Fabian Gomez, Emiliano Grillo, James Hahn, Smylie Kaufman, Kevin Kisner, Russell Knox, Brooks Koepka, Danny Lee, David Lingmerth, Peter Malnati, Troy Merritt, and surprisingly, Padraig Harrington.
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Other veterans who have earned a spot include Stephen Bowditch, Matt Every, J. J. Henry, J. B. Holmes, Chris Kirk, Graeme McDowell, Scott Piercy, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and amazingly, Davis Love III, who is old enough for the Champions Tour.
The PGA Tour is even showing a sense of humor by coming up with some fun facts about those who have qualified for the Hyundai. For instance, Stephen Bowditch met his wife Amanda when he was setting up a ping-pong table in his garage and she was taking out the trash, presumably at different residences.
Alex Cjeka was great at soccer and hockey, but when he saw Bernhard Langer, he changed sports and took up golf.
Rickie Fowler’s mother is half Navajo and half Japanese.
Matt Every’s dream foursome would include Oasis band members Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher.
Bill Haas embraces the windy conditions in Hawaii.
But the best one may be that James Hahn cuts his own hair.
The final field is slated to be set on Friday, but as that is a holiday, we may know sooner than that, if the PGA Tour decides to release the information.
Tournaments and winners:
Hyundai Tournament of Champions – Patrick Reed
Sony Open in Hawaii & Valero Texas Open – Jimmy Walker
Career Builder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation – Bill Haas
Waste Management Phoenix Open – Brooks Koepka
Farmers Insurance Open, RBC Canadian Open, PGA Championship, The Barclays, & BMW Championship – Jason Day
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am – Brandt Snedeker
Northern Trust Open – James Hahn
The Honda Classic – Padraig Harrington
Puerto Rico Open – Alex Cejka
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship – Dustin Johnson
Valspar Championship, The Masters Tournament, The U.S. Open, John Deere Classic, & TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola – Jordan Spieth
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard – Matt Every
Shell Houston Open – J. B. Holmes
RBC Heritage – Jim Furyk
Zurich Classic – Justin Rose
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play & Wells Fargo Championship – Rory McIlroy
THE PLAYERS Championship & Deutsche Bank Championship – Rickie Fowler
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial – Chris Kirk
AT&T Byron Nelson – Steven Bowditch
the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide – David Lingmerth
FedEx St. Jude Classic – Fabian Gomez
Travelers Championship – Bubba Watson
The Greenbrier Classic – Danny Lee
The Open Championship – Zach Johnson
Quicken Loans National – Troy Merritt
Barracuda Championship – J.J. Henry
WGC – Bridgestone Invitational – Shane Lowry
Wyndham Championship – Davis Love III
Frys.com Open – Emiliano Grillo
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open – Smylie Kaufman
CIMB Classic – Justin Thomas
Sanderson Farms Championship – Peter Malnati
WGC – HSBC Champions – Russell Knox
OHL Classic at Mayakoba – Graeme McDowell
RSM Classic – Kevin Kisner
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Play begins Thursday, January 7. Follow this link for Golf Channel broadcast coverage of Kapalua.