CareerBuilder Challenge is the PGA Tour’s first U.S. mainland event in 2017;
156 professionals and 156 amateur golfers tee off January 19-22
LA QUINTA, Calif. – The field of 156 professionals has been determined for the PGA TOUR’s 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge. Jason Dufner will defend his title against 2014 tournament champion and U.S. Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed, 2011 PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs champion Bill Haas and 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open winner Zach Johnson, among others, in the 58th edition of the tradition-steeped event Jan. 18-22.
The CareerBuilder Challenge kicks off the PGA TOUR’s west coast swing as its first U.S. mainland event of the new year, and is heralded by golfers for providing some of the TOUR’s best weather and course conditions at the Stadium and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Courses at PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club.
World Golf Hall of Famer, 42-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time major champion Phil Mickelson – the CareerBuilder Challenge champion in 2002 and 2004 – is set is assume his role as the CareerBuilder Challenge’s tournament ambassador. Recovering from sports hernia surgery, Mickelson earlier committed to next week’s tournament and is hopeful to play.
Other major champions in the CareerBuilder Challenge field are Dufner (2013 PGA Championship), 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, 2009 British Open winner Stewart Cink and Angel Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters champion.
Dufner, World No. 8 Reed – the highest-ranking golfer in the field – and two-time event champions Haas (2010 and 2015) and Mickelson are among 12 past CareerBuilder Challenge champions in the field that also include Charley Hoffman (2007 CareerBuilder Challenge winner), Brian Gay (2013), Mark Wilson (2012), Jhonattan Vegas (2011), D.J. Trahan (2008), Chad Campbell (2006), John Cook (1992, 1997) and Mark Brooks (1996).
The CareerBuilder Challenge features quality international flavor through the inclusions of Argentina’s Cabrera and Emiliano Grillo (No. 25 in the world), Italy’s Francesco Molinari (No. 33 in the world) and England’s Andrew “Beef” Johnston, who embarks on his first PGA TOUR regular season and has won golf fans on either side of the Atlantic Ocean with his gargantuan personality and eighth-place finish at the 2016 British Open.
Other prominent internationals include Colombia’s Camilo Villegas, India’s Anirban Lahiri and Spain’s Jon Rahm, the only amateur to make the cut at the 2016 U.S. Open, placed third in his pro debut at the 2016 Quicken Loans National a week later, and begins his first full PGA TOUR season.
“The CareerBuilder Challenge field has come together to feature a very attractive group that is sure to delight our fans,” CareerBuilder Challenge Executive Director and Desert Classic Charities CEO Nick Raffaele said. “We have many accomplished golfers who have won top accolades in the sport, from major champions and past tournament champions to top international golfers and the young guns who have evolved from decorated amateur careers to fierce competitors on the PGA TOUR.”
The CareerBuilder Challenge’s depth of field is evident with the presence of Brendan Steele (No. 4 in the current FedExCup standings), of nearby Idyllwild, Kevin Kisner, four-time PGA TOUR winner Chris Kirk and Scott Piercy and Luke List, both of whom rank in the top 10 in the current FedExCup standings.
Highly-touted PGA TOUR rookies set to play in next week’s CareerBuilder Challenge include 2015 U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual champion Bryson DeChambeau, 2016 Web.com Tour Player of the Year Wesley Bryan and former amateur World No. 1 Ollie Schniederjans. Aaron Wise, the 2016 NCAA individual champion, is also making his CareerBuilder Challenge debut.
Also making his third consecutive CareerBuilder Challenge appearance, and sixth overall, is Sam Saunders, the grandson of the late Arnold Palmer. Palmer won the first edition of this tournament in 1960 and his five CareerBuilder Challenge titles are the most all time.
Dufner won his fourth PGA TOUR title – his first since claiming the 2013 PGA Championship – at the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge by shooting 25-under-par 263 through the regulation 72 holes and besting David Lingmerth on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
One of the precious few Pro-Am events remaining on the PGA TOUR, the CareerBuilder Challenge also features 156 amateurs playing with the pros at all three courses over the first three rounds of the event, Jan. 19-21. On-course activities for spectators begin Jan. 18 with the Bob Hope Legacy Pro-Am at the Stadium Course.
CareerBuilder Challenge tickets and complete tournament information are available at www.CareerBuilderChallenge.com. Daily grounds passes start at just $20, and there are options for weekly passes as well as upgraded VIP experiences. All grounds ticket options are eligible for viewing at all tournament courses.
All active duty, reserve, and military retirees, along with one guest, may attend the CareerBuilder Challenge any day for free. Children 15 and under also receive free admission when accompanied by a paying adult (limit 2 children per adult). Daily parking passes ($10) and weekly parking passes ($30, good Jan. 18-22) are also available at www.CareerBuilderChallenge.com.
Chief among the CareerBuilder Challenge’s new amenities enhancing the fan experience will be a concert featuring popular indie-pop band Fitz and the Tantrums after third-round play ends on Jan. 21. As part of the tournament’s “Golf and Guitars” theme, the concert is open to all fans with a Saturday ticket and will take place adjacent to the driving range between the Stadium and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Courses at PGA WEST.
Additionally, all ticketed patrons will have access to the new Casamigos Club 9 lounge, located between holes 1 and 9 at the Stadium Course and featuring a fresh-dining, lounging and relaxation experience. The Casamigos Club 9 lounge will feature a special art preview of the La Quinta Arts Festival from Friday, Jan. 20- Sunday, Jan. 22. Tickets and commemorative posters for the March festival will be on sale at the Casamigos Club 9 lounge during this time. The CareerBuilder Challenge’s main entrance at the Stadium Course at PGA WEST will open up to food trucks (back to the CareerBuilder Challenge for the third consecutive year by popular demand), free fan activities and tournament exhibitors.
The CareerBuilder Challenge – the Coachella Valley’s longest-running charitable event, organized and operated by Desert Classic Charities – has raised more than $57 million for Eisenhower Medical Center and other local charities since its inception as the Palm Springs Golf Classic in 1960.
2017 CareerBuilder Challenge Final Field (156 professionals)
Steven Alker
Mark Anderson
Ryan Armour
Aaron Baddeley
Blayne Barber
Ricky Barnes
Charlie Beljan
Zac Blair
Ryan Blaum
Jonas Blixt
Jason Bohn
Steven Bowditch
Dominic Bozzelli
Keegan Bradley
Ryan Brehm
Mark Brooks
Scott Brown
Wesley Bryan
Angel Cabrera
Brian Campbell
Chad Campbell
Miguel Angel Carballo
Roberto Castro
Bud Cauley
Alex Cejka
Stewart Cink
Chad Collins
John Cook
Ben Crane
Jon Curran
Bryson DeChambeau
Graham DeLaet
Brett Drewitt
Jason Dufner
Ken Duke
Bob Estes
Julian Etulain
Chris Evans
Matt Every
Derek Fathauer
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano
Martin Flores
Brad Fritsch
Robert Garrigus
Brian Gay
Lucas Glover
Fabian Gomez
Andres Gonzales
Emiliano Grillo
Bill Haas
Adam Hadwin
Brandon Hagy
Brian Harman
David Hearn
Russell Henley
J.J. Henry
Charley Hoffman
Max Homa
Charles Howell III
Mark Hubbard
John Huh
Ryo Ishikawa
Zach Johnson
Andrew Johnston
Sung Kang
Smylie Kaufman
Jerry Kelly
Michael Kim
Whee Kim
Chris Kirk
Kevin Kisner
Patton Kizzire
Soren Kjeldsen
Colt Knost
Kelly Kraft
Anirban Lahiri
Martin Laird
Rick Lamb
Danny Lee
Spencer Levin
Nicholas Lindheim
David Lingmerth
Luke List
Andrew Loupe
Jamie Lovemark
Will MacKenzie
Hunter Mahan
Peter Malnati
Steve Marino
Ben Martin
William McGirt
Troy Merritt
Phil Mickelson
Bryce Molder
Francesco Molinari
Trey Mullinax
Sebastian Munoz
Grayson Murray
Kevin Na
Seung-Yul Noh
Sean O’Hair
Geoff Ogilvy
Ryan Palmer
Cheng Tsung Pan
Cameron Percy
John Peterson
Carl Pettersson
Scott Piercy
Kenny Pigman
D.A. Points
J.T. Poston
Seamus Power
Jon Rahm
Jonathan Randolph
Chez Reavie
Patrick Reed
Kyle Reifers
Tag Ridings
Rory Sabbatini
Sam Saunders
Xander Schauffele
Ollie Schniederjans
John Senden
Webb Simpson
Cameron Smith
J.J. Spaun
Scott Stallings
Brendan Steele
Shawn Stefani
Brett Stegmaier
Brandon Stone
Kevin Streelman
Brian Stuard
Zack Sucher
Daniel Summerhays
Hudson Swafford
Nick Taylor
Vaughn Taylor
Michael Thompson
D.J. Trahan
Cameron Tringale
Kevin Tway
Tyrone Van Aswegen
Harold Varner III
Jhonattan Vegas
Camilo Villegas
Johnson Wagner
Nick Watney
Boo Weekley
Richy Werenski
Tim Wilkinson
Mark Wilson
Aaron Wise
Bobby Wyatt
2 Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals
About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the only end-to-end human capital management company covering the entire candidate lifecycle and employee lifecycle for businesses. As the global leader in its industry, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of talent acquisition and management. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing solutions for talent and labor market analytics, job distribution, candidate sourcing, tracking, onboarding, HRIS, benefits administration and compliance. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and McClatchy (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.
About Desert Classic Charities
Since its inception, Desert Classic Charities, the charitable entity that organizes the PGA TOUR event in the Coachella Valley, has contributed more than $57 million to Coachella Valley charitable organizations. The scope of giving is broad and includes support for structured and mentoring programs for children, social services, and food and safe shelter for the less fortunate. Desert Classic Charities is dedicated to continuing its mission to serve human needs in the Coachella Valley and beyond by generating funds and opportunities every year through the event.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China.
The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 30 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2015, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $160 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.3 billion.
The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
Contact:
Gayle Cochrane, Desert Classic Charities – Gayle@desertclassiccharities.com – 760-469-8781
Damian Secore, BZA Public Relations – DamianS@bzapr.com – 818-462-5614
Greg Ball, BZA Public Relations – GregB@bzapr.com – 760-271-9183
