CareerBuilder Challenge kicks off in La Quinta

The $5.9 million CareerBuilder Challenge begins Thursday, with nearly a dozen of the world’s top 50 ranked golfers competing on three courses in La Quinta.

The 59th annual tournament boasts 15 major champions and 13 past CareerBuilder Challenge champions. The winner will receive $1.062 million.

The highest-ranked player in the field of 156 is Spaniard Jon Rahm, third on the Official World Golf Ranking.

The field also includes 42-time PGA Tour winner Phil Mickelson, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, 2014 CareerBuilder Challenge champion Patrick Reed, defending champion Hudson Swafford and Idyllwild native Brendan Steele.

Many top pros typically bypass the tournament, which comes immediately after the PGA Tour’s two Hawaii events, the Tournament of Champions and Sony Open.

Palm Desert High School senior Charlie Reiter is the first amateur to receive a sponsor exemption for the tournament.

“I’ve been coming here watching this tournament since I can remember, me and my dad, and now getting the chance to play out here is definitely a dream come true for me,” said the 18-year-old Reiter, who has signed with the University of Southern California.

Reiter has won more than 80 amateur and junior tournaments and tied for 65th in the Emirates Australian Open in November. He said his goal for the CareerBuilder Challenge is to “have a good time and play as well as I possibly can.”

Former PGA Tour player Dave Stockton Jr., Reiter’s putting coach since he was 10 years old, will be his caddy.

Reiter said having Stockton as his caddy “allows me to be more comfortable on the course knowing that he will be able to help me play through the course.”

Golf Channel’s coverage of the action will begin at noon, featuring play on the Stadium and Jack Nicklaus courses at PGA West, as well as the La Quinta Country Club.

The network says the tournament will air as planned despite a strike among members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union representing camera operators and technicians working events aired on Golf Channel. IATSE members recently walked out amid coverage of the Sony Open
in Hawaii and events in Florida.

The tournament will be livestreamed at http://www.golfchannel.com/pgastream, according to the Golf Channel, which released a statement assuring viewers that the CareerBuilder Challenge’s
coverage would not be affected.

“Golf Channel has been working on negotiating an agreement for nine months with a union that represents our live tournament technicians. Those efforts have not yet yielded a resolution, and we look forward to reaching a mutually agreeable contract,” the network said in a statement issued shortly after technicians walked out during the Sony Open.

“We have contingency plans in place, and will continue to deliver coverage. Thank you to our viewers for their patience.”

Formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic, the tournament has changed names and most recently, management, with the global sports agency Lagardere Sports now helming the event. The France-based agency also operates the Safeway Open in Napa, in addition to a number of charity tournaments that organizers say have generated $125 million over the past 28 years.

Lagardere Sports reached the agreement with Desert Classic Charities last year, and announced its involvement with the tournament last fall.

Jeff Sanders, the agency’s executive vice president of golf events and current CareerBuilder Challenge executive director, said Lagardere was looking forward “to implementing our golf entertainment model at PGA WEST, and enhancing the tournament experience for the fans, players, sponsors and
volunteers.”

Desert Classic Charities operated the Coachella Valley’s PGA Tour event since its inception in 1960. The Desert Classic Charities Board of Directors will continue to oversee the charitable donations made to area
nonprofit organizations from the proceeds of the tournament.

This year’s tournament will also build on last year’s introduction of live music. The concert series, presented by the Palm Desert-based nonprofit organization H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, will feature Huey Lewis and the News on Friday and the Goo Goo Dolls on Saturday on the driving range at
PGA West.

The indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums were the inaugural headliners last year.

“We are excited to unveil our golf festival model at this year’s event featuring great food, wine, spirits, music and world-class PGA TOUR golf,” Sanders said. “We are stepping up our game this year by bringing in two nights of music.”

Daily tickets to the tournament are $30 and include admission to tournament play, the concert series and three on-course greenside hospitality venues. Tickets can be purchased on the tournament’s website, CBChallenge.com.