THE PLAYERS Roundtable: Will DJ forge ahead or fold?

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Play Yellow, a program benefitting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals), announced today its newest brand ambassador, two-time PGA TOUR winner John Senden. The Australian native joins fellow TOUR professionals Will McGirt and Will Gordon in support of Play Yellow and its mission to bring the entire golf world together to help the 10 million kids treated at CMN Hospitals each year. John’s efforts for Play Yellow will primarily benefit his local CMN Hospital, Children’s Health in Dallas, TX. Senden celebrated his 50th birthday earlier this month and will make his PGA TOUR Champions debut this week at the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, TX. The Senden family are passionate supporters of CMN Hospitals and Play Yellow. Their son, Jacob, was rushed to Children’s Medical Center Plano when he was 13 years old with a debilitating headache that scans revealed to be a brain tumor blocking fluid to the rest of his body. Clinicians sped Jacob to Children’s Medical Center Dallas where they were able to drain the fluid. In late April 2017, Jacob began treatment – which included six months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation – at Children’s Health to shrink the inoperable tumor lodged in his brain. John took a leave from the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season during Jacob’s treatment. Thanks to the dedicated staff at Children’s Health and the support of family and friends, Jacob’s treatment was successful. He now receives scans every three months to ensure the tumor isn’t growing. Eventually, that will drop to six months, then once a year and later every two years. “I am honored to become a National Brand Ambassador for CMN Hospital’s and Play Yellow,” Senden said. “I am so excited to join Jack and Barbara Nicklaus as Play Yellow Ambassadors. The tremendous work that Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals do to help and treat so many children is incredible, including my own son Jacob, who was 13 years of age when diagnosed with a rare malignant Brain Tumor. After spending nine months at Children’s Health in Dallas, we are so grateful and appreciate the work they do that is needed to give a child a chance to get healthy again. This was a life changing and traumatic event in our lives. So, this campaign is extremely inspiring to me and makes me very proud to be a passionate supporter for Play Yellow.” Launched in 2019 alongside Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and CMN Hospitals, Play Yellow strives to bring the entire golf world together and raise the critical funds needed by CMN Hospitals and the patients they serve. Like most nonprofits, children’s hospitals rely on donations. And because 37 million kids in the United States depend on public health insurance programs that don’t reimburse hospitals for the full cost of caring for these patients, the need for donations is even greater. Play Yellow brings golfers together for a good cause. Play Yellow was inspired by a family friend of Jack and Barbara Nicklaus named Craig Smith who was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma as a young teenager. As Craig battled cancer, Jack and Barbara looked to support him and his family. One way was for Jack to wear a shirt in Craig’s favorite color, yellow, which Craig said brought Jack luck from week to week. Over the years, Jack could be seen wearing yellow on tournament Sundays and major championship Sundays. Who can forget Sunday of the 1986 Masters Tournament when Jack wore a yellow shirt to honor Craig and went on to win his record sixth Green Jacket? Years later, Play Yellow was born. CMN Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion in unrestricted funds for 170 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada. Changing kids’ health through children’s hospitals isn’t just about helping those in critical situations — it’s also about the research, preventative care, health and safety education that help build healthier communities. By improving medical treatments, equipment and facilities, children’s hospitals can not only address the most challenging health issues of our day, but also prevent and prepare for those to come. When we change kids’ health, we change the future — for all of us.

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The Hero World Challenge returns to Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, hosted by Tiger Woods. It’s the seventh time the Ernie Els-designed club will play host to the year-end event. Woods is set to tee it up in the limited-field contest boasting FedExCup champions, up-and-coming TOUR stars, and plenty of global notables. FIELD NOTES AND STORYLINES: Woods returns to action for the first time since The Open Championship. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner played three times this season – the Masters, PGA Championship, and The Open – as he began his recovery from a car accident in 2021. Woods will play host once again in the Bahamas… Woods will also tee it up at The Match on Dec. 10 and with his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship Dec. 17-18… Viktor Hovland returns to defend his title from last season… Tom Kim, who won the Wyndham Championship in August and the Shriners Children’s Open in October (plus made a fiery Presidents Cup debut in September), will make his tournament debut… Kim is one of six golfers to make their Hero World Challenge debuts… PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Cameron Young, International Presidents Cup team members Corey Conners and Sungjae Im, former Open Championship winner Shane Lowry, and multi-time TOUR winner (and new father) Max Homa are the other debutants… Four-time winner in 2022 Scottie Scheffler is set to return to the Hero field. Scheffler finished runner-up last year… This year’s U.S. Open champion and PGA Championship winner, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas, respectively, will be teeing it up… Jon Rahm, who won in 2018 by four shots, is back in action. Only Rahm and Hovland won the Hero World Challenge in their tournament debut… Multi-time PGA TOUR winner and Olympic Gold Medalist Xander Schauffele is in the field… Tony Finau, who won the Cadence Bank Houston Open this fall, is looking to find the winner’s circle for the fourth time this year… Former FedExCup champions Jordan Spieth and Billy Horschel are in the field… World No.8 Collin Morikawa makes it six of the world’s top-10 bopping to the Bahamas… Tournament exemptions were granted to Kevin Kisner and Tommy Fleetwood to round out the 20-player field. FEDEXCUP: No FedExCup points are awarded at the Hero World Challenge; however, four past FedExCup winners are in the field. Tom Kim is the highest-ranked golfer in the field in this year’s FedExCup (he’s fourth). World-ranking points will be awarded. COURSE: Albany Golf Course, par 72, 7,414 yards (yardage subject to change). This marks the seventh year that the Ernie Els-designed Albany Golf Club will play host to the Hero World Challenge. The 20 golfers will contend with strategic water hazards, windswept dunes, and navigate a linksy-style layout with five par-5s and five par-3s. Four of the last five winners of the Hero World Challenge at Albany have finished at exactly 18 under. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Jordan Spieth (2014). Albany record: 263, Bubba Watson (2015) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Rickie Fowler (fourth round, 2017) LAST TIME: Viktor Hovland became the third straight European to win the Hero World Challenge and the first debutant to win in Albany since Jon Rahm in 2018. Hovland, who topped Scottie Scheffler by one shot, fired a 6-under 66 Sunday, highlighted by back-to-back eagles on No’s 14 and 15 in the final round. Collin Morikawa held the 54-hole lead but made double bogeys on No’s 4 and 6 on Sunday and couldn’t recover, ending up with a 4-over 76 in the final round. Scheffler, meanwhile, caught fire on his back nine Sunday firing a 6-under 30 for his final nine holes. It was too little, too late, however. Hovland started the day six shots back of the lead but still managed to lift the trophy despite finishing bogey-bogey. Sam Burns and Patrick Reed finished tied for third, while Morikawa and Justin Thomas finished tied for fifth. Harris English, who finished tied for 14th, shot the round of the week, a 9-under 63 on Saturday. Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC)

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