For the past 14 years, Tiger Woods has hosted the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge tournament at the Sherwood Country Club in beautiful Southern California. Woods has always hand selected the individuals to compete in the tournament and does so with intention of drawing the best names in golf. The field has never been big and with only 18 players competing this year, the chances of taking home the win are even higher.
The field will play host to some of the biggest names in golf including Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar. This year’s tournament will include the 2013 PGA Tour Rookie of the year, Jordan Spieth. The 2012 FedExCup Champion Brandt Snedeker was due to compete but withdrew 1 month ago due to a bruised tibia and strained ACL in his left knee. Snedeker obtained these injuries after falling off a Segway at a corporate outing the Monday following the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
For Woods, this year’s tournament will be especially emotional as it is the final year that it will be played at the Sherwood country club in Thousand Oaks, CA. For the past 14 years Sherwood Country Club has hosted the tournament, but with the economic struggle in recent years, sponsorships have become tougher to obtain. Many of the world’s best golfers live in the state of Florida which is why next year’s tournament will take place at Isleworth Golf & Country Club near Orlando. It’s much easier to get players to play in a tournament closer to home than having them come across the country.
This year’s winner will take home a solid $1,000,000 come Sunday. My projected winner is Matt Kuchar. Let us know who you think will take home the title in the comments section below.
As always, check back with Bunkers Paradise for tournament coverage, breaking news and a final recap with this year’s World Challenge Champion.
