Have you heard? Hero World Challenge field is set
The 2014 Hero World Challenge travels to Isleworth Golf & Country Club, Dec. 3-7, welcoming an elite 18-player field that includes five-time champion and host Tiger Woods, defending champion Zach Johnson, 2014 Masters Tournament winner Bubba Watson and an impressive roster of players from both sides of the 2014 Ryder Cup. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase at HeroWorldChallenge.com.
The field of 18 PGA TOUR players is determined as follows: the current four major winners, the top 11 available from the Official World Golf Ranking, the defending champion and two special-exemption players. This year’s special exemptions are Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley.
2014 field includes:
Official World Golf Ranking as of 9/15/14
Henrik Stenson (4), Sweden
Jim Furyk (5), USA WITHDREW
Justin Rose (6), England
Bubba Watson (7), USA
Jason Day (8), Australia
Matt Kuchar (9), USA
Rickie Fowler (10), USA
Jordan Spieth (13), USA
Billy Horschel (14), USA
Tiger Woods (15), USA
Zach Johnson (16), USA
Graeme McDowell (18), Northern Ireland
Jimmy Walker (19), USA
Hideki Matsuyama (20), Japan
Hunter Mahan (21), USA
Chris Kirk (22), USA
Steve Stricker (25), USA
Keegan Bradley (26), USA
Patrick Reed (27), USA
BY THE NUMBERS
As of 10/14/14:
• 166 PGA TOUR wins
• 21 major championship wins
• 18 players
• 12 times Furyk will have competed in the Hero World Challenge
• 6 countries represented, including 13 players from the United States
• 5 times Woods has hoisted the Tiger trophy
• 4 past Hero World Challenge champions
• 1 player from Japan (Matsuyama), which is the first time a Japanese player has competed in the Hero World Challenge
PAST CHAMPIONS LOOK TO DEFEND
Defending champion Johnson will seek his second consecutive Hero World Challenge title, but he will have plenty of competition as five-time and two-time champions, Woods and McDowell, respectively, return to the field. Furyk, the 2009 champion, will compete in the Hero World Challenge for the 12th time.
ON THE RETURN
Among the field are a handful of players who will seek the title at Isleworth after past success at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, previous home to the Hero World Challenge. Kuchar and Watson tied for third at the 2013 tournament, while Bradley finished second in 2012. The 2012 competition also included a three-way tie for fourth between Furyk, Fowler and Woods.
YEAR-END SUCCESS
Success in the 2013-14 season brought newcomers to the Hero World Challenge field, topped by Horschel, who won the FedExCup Playoffs behind the strength of two playoff events (BMW Championship and TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola) and vaulted his place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Kirk also collected two victories this past season, with an early win at The McGladrey Classic and a late push at the Deutsche Bank Championship. At No. 1 in the FedExCup Rankings for the majority of the season, Walker took advantage of the early tournaments with wins at the Frys.com Open, Sony Open in Hawaii and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Don’t miss the 2014 Hero World Challenge!
