Jordan Spieth Family Foundation gifts grants to First Tee - Greater Austin, Dell Children's

Seventy-eight players will take on Sherwood Country Club in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD. The tournament is making a one-year move to the U.S. due to logistical issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP became the first PGA TOUR event held in Japan. Tiger Woods won his record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR title at last year's ZOZO and will be back to defend against a field full of TOUR stars who are scheduled to compete, including FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson. FIELD NOTES: Woods is teeing it up for the first time since missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He won his Hero World Challenge five times at Sherwood... Hideki Matsuyama leads a robust contingent of golfers from Japan, many of whom are having excellent seasons on the Japan Tour. Matsuyama finished runner-up at the ZOZO a year ago... Sponsor exemptions include past FedExCup champions Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth along with Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Satoshi Kodaira... Other notables that round out the field (from the top 60 available on the prior season's FedExCup standings) include past FedExCup winners Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy... Young Southern California sensations Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, who played junior golf against each other, are making their ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP debuts. Wolff went to high school just seven miles from the course. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sherwood Country Club, par 72, 7,006 yards (par and yardage subject to change). Sherwood, a Jack Nicklaus design, was the venue for Woods' Hero World Challenge from 2000-2013. It has also hosted the Shark Shootout (a team event hosted by Greg Norman) for a decade starting in 1989 and hosted the PGA TOUR Champions' PowerShares QQQ Championship. Nicklaus completed Sherwood in the late 1980's and then returned in 2016 to help with agronomic improvements. Built on a river valley with high surrounding hills, the course is a golfing oasis. STORYLINES: Woods is searching for his record-breaking 83rd TOUR victory and he'll do it at a place he's comfortable... Johnson, the reigning FedExCup champion, has the course record at Sherwood, a 61. Wayne Gretzky, his soon-to-be father-in-law, is a member of the club and resident... In the TOUR's history, five Japanese players have won 11 times - led by Matsuyama with five... Takumi Kanaya will play his first PGA TOUR event as a professional. The winner of the Mark H. McCormack medal as the year's top-ranked amateur turned pro a few weeks ago. He made the cut in the 2019 Masters after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Tiger Woods (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Keegan Bradley (Second round, 2019), Rory McIlroy (third round, 2019) LAST TIME: Woods tied Sam Snead's record for most PGA TOUR victories with 82 after topping the field at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, the first TOUR event held in Japan. It was Woods' first start of the 2019-20 season, and his first since he had knee surgery that August. Woods bogeyed his first three holes on Thursday but birdied nine of his next 15 to shoot 64 and share the first-round lead with Gary Woodland. Play was called Sunday evening due to darkness, which resulted in Woods having to complete seven holes Monday morning. He topped Japan's own Hideki Matsuyama by three shots. The country's favorite son birdied three of his final eight holes to put the pressure on Woods but ended runner-up to history. McIlroy and Sungjae Im finished T3, six shots back, while 18-hole co-leader Woodland finished fifth. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Sunday, 12:45 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas rings in the restart as defending champ at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, topping a 34-man field comprised solely of tournament winners from 2017. Dustin Johnson, whose four PGA TOUR wins in 2017 were second only to Thomas, and Jordan Spieth also headline the roster to begin the TOUR’s Hawaiian fortnight. In all, Kapalua Resort welcomes seven of the top eight in the year’s final world rankings. FIELD NOTES: Xander Schauffele, whose TOUR Championship triumph nailed down Rookie of the Year honors, and Jon Rahm top a group of 14 pros making their debut at Kapalua. That list also includes all four first-time winners from the fall schedule. … Kyle Stanley (The National) returns for the first time since 2013; D.A. Points (Puerto Rico) last played in 2014. … Thomas, Spieth (2016) and Johnson (2013) are the only former Kapalua champions in the field. … The 34-man roster matches the most in the past 15 years to come to the winners-only tournament. The 2007, ’11 and ’15 editions also featured 34 players. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Thomas, who last year joined Ernie Els (2003) as the only men to sweep the Hawaii double, seeks an unprecedented third straight victory in the islands. For what it’s worth, Els won three in a span of four starts, repeating as the Sony Open champion in 2004. … Thomas would become the TOC’s first back-to-back winner since Geoff Ogilvy in 2009-10. … Rickie Fowler hopes a hot 2017 finish can extend into the new year. Fowler captured the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, three weeks after almost repeating at the OHL Classic. … The Tournament of Champions actually dates back to 1953, with Gene Littler winning three of the first five editions. Jack Nicklaus won it four times. COURSE: Plantation Course at Kapalua, 7,452 yards, par 73. Located at the foot of the West Maui mountains, the Plantation course opened in 1991 as one of the first projects by the team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. The course offers some of the most breathtaking views found all season, with gentle trade winds allowing the winner to approach 20-under par over four days. Sometimes, though, the course’s exposure to the elements can flirt with the extreme, evidenced by a wind-whipped 2013 edition that required a Tuesday finish. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Ernie Els (2003). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, K.J. Choi (3rd round, 2003), Graeme McDowell (4th round, 2011), Jason Day (4th round, 2015), Chris Kirk (4th round, 2015). LAST YEAR: What first shaped up as a back-nine cruise for Thomas required a little more work than expected, eventually holding off Hideki Matsuyama’s late charge to notch his first TOUR victory on U.S. soil. Thomas held a five-shot advantage with five holes to play, only to see the margin quickly close to one when Matsuyama holed a flop shot for eagle at Kapalua’s 14th and Thomas double bogeyed No.15. After Matsuyama missed a birdie chance at No.16 that would have tied it, Thomas took matters back into his own hands. Facing 214 yards to the 17th pin, he striped an 8-iron that came to rest 3 feet from the flagstick for birdie and a two-shot edge. It was Thomas’ third PGA TOUR win, with the previous two having taken place in Malaysia. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3-7 p.m. (GC). Sunday, 6-10 p.m. (GC). PGA TOUR LIVE: PGA TOUR LIVE returns Jan. 19 at the CareerBuilder Challenge RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 4-10 p.m. Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Sunday, 5-10 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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