SBS Tournament of Champions Preview 2017

SBS Tournament of Champions Preview 2017

Dates: January 2-8, 2017
Where: The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort
City, State: Maui, Hawaii
Par/Yards: 36-37–73/7,452 yards
Field: 32 winners of PGA TOUR events from the 2016 calendar year
2016 champion: Jordan Spieth
Purse: $6,100,000
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play (no cut)
Website: PGATOUR.com/TOC
Facebook: http://ift.tt/2j4dTzj
Twitter: @pgatour_toc
Instagram: @pgatour_toc

2017 SBS Tournament of Champions Preview Miscellaneous Notes

• Nine of the 10 winners of the SBS Tournament of Champions in the FedExCup era (2007-present) have qualified for the FedExCup finale, the TOUR Championship. The lone exception was Daniel Chopra in 2008.
• The SBS Tournament of Champions field includes winners from the 2016 calendar year, including the seven official events played in the fall.
• This week’s event marks the resumption of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR schedule after a six-week break from official events.
• The SBS Tournament of Champions marks the eighth official event of the PGA TOUR’s 2016-17 season schedule. The 11th year of the season-long FedExCup competition consists of 47 events including the four FedExCup Playoff events.
• The SBS Tournament of Champions has been contested at The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort since 1999, and since that time, includes past champions Tiger Woods (2000), Ernie Els (2003), Vijay Singh (2007), Dustin Johnson (2013), Zach Johnson (2014), Patrick Reed (2015) and Jordan Spieth (2016).

A look at the 2016 SBS Tournament of Champions

• Jordan Spieth entered the final round of the SBS Tournament of Champions with a five-stroke advantage over Brooks Koepka and carded a final-round 6-under 67 for an eight-stroke victory over defending champion Patrick Reed.
• The eight-stroke win was the largest on TOUR since Jimmy Walker won by nine at the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii.
• Spieth collected his seventh PGA TOUR victory in his 85th start at the age of 22 years, 5 months and 14 days.
• By comparison, the youngest winner of the SBS Tournament of Champions is Tiger Woods, winning in 1997 at the age of 21 years and 13 days. Spieth’s winning total of 30-under 262 fell one shy of Ernie Els’ record 261 in 2003.

Breakdown of the 32-player field:

• The 32 players in the field have accounted for 109 PGA TOUR wins, led by Dustin Johnson’s 12 career wins, including his three wins in the 2016 calendar year at the U.S. Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and BMW Championship. He is followed by Jason Day (10), Bubba Watson (9), defending champion Jordan Spieth (8) and Brandt Snedeker (8).
• Winners of eight major championships including winners of two of the four majors in 2016: Dustin Johnson, winner of the U.S. Open, and Jimmy Walker, winner of the PGA Championship. Other major champions in the field include Jason Dufner, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson.
• The last two PGA TOUR Players of the Year, Jordan Spieth (2015) and Dustin Johnson (2016).
• The field includes four players with multiple wins in the 2016 calendar year:
  • Jordan Spieth (2) – SBS Tournament of Champions, DEAN & DELUCA Invitational
  • Jason Day (3) – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, THE PLAYERS Championship
  • Dustin Johnson (3) – U.S. Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, BMW Championship
  • Hideki Matsuyama (2) – Waste Management Phoenix Open, World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
• Six players who competed in the 2016 Ryder Cup, all for the victorious U.S. Team, are in the field: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore. Bubba Watson was a captain’s assistant on the team.
• There are 11 first-time winners in the field – Daniel Berger, Greg Chalmers, Tony Finau, Branden Grace, Cody Gribble, Jim Herman, Mackenzie Hughes, Billy Hurley III, Si Woo Kim, William McGirt and Brian Stuard.
• 16 of the top 30 from the 2015-16 final FedExCup standings, including six of the top 10.
• Nine of the top 20 in the 2016-17 FedExCup standings, including all of the top five and eight of the top 10.
• 11 of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including six of the top 10.

A closer look at the field:

Jordan Spieth

• Jordan Spieth won twice in the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season, at the SBS Tournament of Champions and the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, for his seventh and eighth career victories.
• Spieth also added a victory at the Australian Open in the fall, becoming a multiple winner of the event to join notable names like Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Greg Norman.
• The 23-year-old advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and he has progressed to the season-ending TOUR Championship in each season. In the 2015-16 season, Spieth finished No. 9 in the final FedExCup standings, the best finish by a defending champion in the 10-year history of the season-long competition
• Spieth recorded 16 top 25s in 21 starts last season, including four top-five showings.
• Spieth’s eight-shot win at the 2016 SBS Tournament of Champions was one shy of the tournament record for largest margin of victory and his 30-under total made him the second player in PGA TOUR history to win a 72-hole event with a 30-under-par score or better, with Ernie Els’ victory at the SBS Tournament of Champions in 2003 the other instance.
• His win at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational was his eighth on the PGA TOUR and moved him one ahead of Tiger Woods (7) for most wins on TOUR before the age of 23, trailing only Horton Smith who had 14.
• He made his second Ryder Cup appearance for the U.S. Team, recording a 2-2-1 record for the week in a victorious effort.
• This is Spieth’s third appearance at the SBS Tournament of Champions, and he has a runner-up finish in 2014 to go with his victory last year.

Jason Day

• Australian Jason Day will make his 2016-17 PGA TOUR season debut at the SBS Tournament of Champions after being sidelined in the fall while rehabilitating a back injury.
• Day, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, has never finished outside of the top 10 at the SBS Tournament of Champions in three previous appearances, with his best finish coming in 2015 when he tied for third.
• Day won three times in the 2015-16 season, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and THE PLAYERS Championship.
• With a one-shot win over Kevin Chappell, Day became just the fourth wire-to-wire (no ties) winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, joining Mike Nicolette (1983), Paul Azinger (1988) and Fred Couples (1992).
• The week following his wire-to-wire win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Day continued his momentum in a resounding win at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Day did not lose any of his seven matches for the week, winning all three of his group stage matches before his run through the knockout rounds. Day defeated Rory McIlroy 1 up in a thrilling semi-final match before handily taking care of Louis Oosthuizen in the final, 5 and 4.
• Day’s season highlight came at THE PLAYERS Championship in May in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. On the strength of a tournament record-tying, opening-round 63, Day never relinquished his lead on the way to a four-shot win over Kevin Chappell. Day became just the fifth wire-to-wire winner in tournament history and the first since Hal Sutton in 2000.
• Day joined Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Martin Kaymer as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship, a major championship and a World Golf Championships event in their career. He also became the fifth player since 1980 to win 10 or more times on the PGA TOUR before his 29th birthday, joining Woods, Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and David Duval.
• Day advanced to the TOUR Championship for the sixth time last season, finishing No. 6 in the final FedExCup standings. He recorded 16 top-25 finishes in 20 starts, including seven top-five showings.

Dustin Johnson

• Dustin Johnson enjoyed his finest season on the PGA TOUR in 2015-16, recording three victories, including his first major championship at the U.S. Open at Oakmont in June. In October he was voted PGA TOUR Player of the Year by his peers.
• In addition to the U.S. Open, Johnson recorded victories at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the BMW Championship.
• With his three victories and 15 top 10s in 22 starts, Johnson earned Player of the Year honors for the first time in his career.
• In six previous starts at the SBS Tournament of Champions, Johnson has a sterling four top 10s, including his win at the 2013 event that was shortened to 54-holes due to weather.
• Trailing the leader, Shane Lowry, by two entering the final round of the U.S. Open, Johnson played a steady final round of 69 to secure a three stroke win for his first major championship. Johnson displayed brilliance on the 72nd hole, firing a laser at the final pin from 191 yards with a 6-iron to set up a closing birdie.
• Johnson’s second win of the year came against an elite field at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club (South) in Akron, Ohio. With his wins in 2016, Johnson has now won at least once on the PGA TOUR in each of his first nine seasons, the TOUR’s best current streak. By comparison, Tiger Woods won in his first 14 seasons, from 1996 to 2009.
• At Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, Johnson fired a Sunday 67 to lock up his third win of the year at the BMW Championship during the FedExCup Playoffs, the 12th of his PGA TOUR career. He finished the event at 23-under, breaking the 72-hole tournament record of 22-under shared by Tiger Woods and Jason Day. The win put Johnson in rare company as only the second player to win a major championship, World Golf Championships event and a FedExCup Playoffs event in the same season, joining Woods, who accomplished the feat in 2007.

Hideki Matsuyama

• Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is the hottest player in golf heading into the SBS Tournament of Champions. Through the season-opening events of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season, Matsuyama leads the FedExCup standings on the strength of a second place finish at the CIMB Classic and a win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
• Matsuyama’s victory at the HSBC Champions was his second of the calendar year to go along with a playoff win over Rickie Fowler at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
• The 24-year-old Matsuyama won the Japan Open the week before the CIMB Classic to kick start his fall run and most recently claimed the unofficial Hero World Challenge to close out 2016.
• Matsuyama is making his second start at the SBS Tournament of Champions, finishing T3 in 2015 in his first start.
• Matsuyama advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the third consecutive time in his career, making it to the TOUR Championship each time.
• He recorded five top-five showings in 23 starts and finished No. 13 in the final FedExCup standings.

Miscellaneous Player Notes

• There are three past champions of the SBS Tournament of Champions in the field this week: Spieth (2016), Reed (2015) and Johnson (2013).
• Tony Finau is making his first start in the SBS Tournament of Champions. He has a connection to the region, as he has Tongan and Samoan ancestry.
• Greg Chalmers won his first PGA TOUR event, the Barracuda Championship, in his 386th career start. Prior to the victory, Chalmers was the active player on the PGA TOUR with the most starts without winning an event.
• Patrick Reed, winner of the SBS Tournament of Champions in 2015 and runner-up in 2016, played on the U.S. Olympic team in 2016, along with Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar. He was also an integral part of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup Team, notching a 3-1-1 record for the week.
• Bubba Watson is playing in his sixth SBS Tournament of Champions following his win at the Genesis Open at The Riviera Country Club. He has three top 10s in his five previous appearances, including a T4 finish in 2013.
• Aaron Baddeley won for the first time in 136 starts at the Barbasol Championship, defeating Si Woo Kim in a four-hole playoff with a 27-foot birdie to secure his fourth career victory. He was 11 shots off the lead through 36 holes, but cut that to three strokes before the final round and went on to close with a final-round 66 that was good enough to earn him a spot in the playoff
• There are two PGA TOUR rookies in the field, Mackenzie Hughes, who won The RSM Classic, and Cody Gribble, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The Complete Field

• Aaron Baddele
• Daniel Berger
• Greg Chalmers
• Jason Day
• Jason Dufner
• Tony Finau
• Fabian Gomez
• Branden Grace
• Cody Gribble
• James Hahn
• Jim Herman
• Charley Hoffman
• Mackenzie Hughes
• Billy Hurley III
• Dustin Johnson
• Si Woo Kim
• Russell Knox
• Hideki Matsuyama
• William McGirt
• Ryan Moore
• Rod Pampling
• Pat Perez
• Patrick Reed
• Brandt Snedeker
• Jordan Spieth
• Brendan Steele
• Brian Stuard
• Vaughn Taylor
• Justin Thomas
• Jhonattan Vegas
• Jimmy Walker
• Bubba Watson

The SBS Tournament of Champions Preview 2017 is via The PGA TOUR

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