More top-ranked golfers announced for CareerBuilder Challenge
Nine of the top 50 ranked professional golfers in the world will be competing at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta from January 18-24.
Patrick Reed, who set a PGA TOUR record for lowest 54-hole score with his three consecutive 63s en route to winning in the desert two years ago, and 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel are two of the latest players committing to the CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, tournament officials announced Thursday.
Southern Californians Brendan Steele (Idyllwild) and Kevin Na, who grew up in Diamond Bar and played many events in the Coachella Valley as one of the top junior golfers in the country, will be joining Reed and Horschel this year.
Reed, who is ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Na (23rd) and Horschel (41st), give the CareerBuilder Challenge three more players currently ranked in the top 50. They join Paul Casey (22nd), Marc Leishman (25th), Phil Mickelson (36th), Robert Streb (39th), Anirban Lahiri (40th) and defending champion Bill Haas (43rd), according to the release.
Officials said those nine, along with Steele, will compete on two new courses: the TPC Stadium and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Courses at PGA WEST, which join longtime tournament mainstay La Quinta Country Club. Official rounds for the event, which features a $5.8 million purse. are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 24.
“As we saw two years ago, Patrick Reed is capable of overpowering a course in spectacular and record-breaking fashion,” said Tournament Director Bill Tait. “He is one of the most exciting players in the world and our tournament is glad to welcome him back. Billy Horschel, meanwhile, is one of those players who combines electric play with a wonderful, fan-friendly personality that promises to connect with our fans.
“The good thing with me is I’m never satisfied,” Reed told PGATOUR.com. “When I shot three 63s in a row, everyone thought it was the greatest thing that ever happened. I wasn’t satisfied. I could go through each round, and pick out shots I didn’t make. Those are the things that stick in my mind. That keeps me from letting up.”
Tournament officials said the fiery and outgoing Horschel displays similar passion for the game as well as a love of the pro-am format. He said he relishes the three-day pro-am because chatting with amateurs clears his mind and lets him enjoy the game better. And he gets to enjoy it on courses he looks forward to playing.
“The course conditions that week are, by far, the best that we play all year,” Horschel said. “There’s not one spot of grass out of place. The greens roll true. I love La Quinta Country Club. It’s an old-school golf course, not overly long. Just put it in the right spots and you can score well.”
Steele is another fan of the event, although his love of the event comes with a local twist. The Idyllwild native and UC Riverside graduate played many tournaments in the Coachella Valley and spent many a day watching players at the event formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic. Last year, Steele was one of the contenders coming down the stretch, before finishing T2 – his best finish of the season en route to $1.75 million year. This season, he has already notched a third-place finish at the CIMB Classic in November.
Na, a former No. 1-ranked junior player who turned pro at 17, made 23-of-27 cuts last year, with seven top-10s and more than $2.8 million in earnings. He has steadily climbed the world rankings and enters 2016 as one of the hottest golfers on the PGA TOUR, with two runner-up finishes and a third in his last three events. He is sixth in FedExCup points.
“We take a lot of pride in welcoming back Brendan Steele and Kevin Na, who have always been good friends to the tournament and who come with their built-in rooting sections,” Tournament Director Bill Tait added.
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will bring you all of the action from the CareerBuilder Challenge as the professionals hit the tee box this January.
