Record 42-strong cast to take part in PGA Tour opener
LOS ANGELES: World No.1 Dustin Johnson, t hird-ranked defending champion Justin Thomas and US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau will lead a record 42 starters when the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions tees off Thursday.
The traditional first tour event of a calendar year at Kapalua, Hawaii, opened its field to players who reached last season’s Tour Championship as well as event winners after a season disrupted by a two-month Covid-19 lay-off.
PGA Tour Player of the Year Johnson captured his second major title in November at the Masters after winning the Tour Championship in September.
The 36-year-old American also won the Hawaii champions event in 2013 and 2018.
Thomas won the WGC-St Jude Invitational as well as the Tournament of Champions last year while fifth-ranked US compatriot DeChambeau won in Detroit last July before taking his first major crown at Winged Foot.
Fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Britain’s 10thranked Tyrrell Hatton are skipping the Hawaii event after qualifying, while American Jim Herman, ranked 96th, announced he will not play after contracting Covid-19.
“Some lousy news to end the year,” Herman tweeted last week.
“I’ve had CV19 for the last couple of days and therefore will not be playing Kapalua.”
Meanwhile, a limited number of fans will be able to attend the 2021 Phoenix Open, scheduled for Feb 4-7.
The specific number is still unknown, and the tickets will also be expensive.
The current general admission passes for tomorrow, Thursday and Sunday are going for US$100 with Friday-Saturday passes priced at $125.
Last year’s admission cost between $45 and $65, according to reports in Phoenix.
Still, in a pandemic-stricken world, any sort of crowd will be a welcome sight.