QBE Shootout Field Announced
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-11-01
Harris English, Greg Norman, Matt Kuchar (Photo/QBE Shootout)
NAPLES, Florida — Tournament host Greg Norman announced the 24 players set to compete in the 2017 QBE Shootout, scheduled for December 6-10.
Fifteen of the top 50 players in the world will comprise this year’s field which includes Lexi Thompson, the highest ranked American player on the LPGA Tour at No.3, as well as defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who’s ranked No. 14 in the world on the men’s circuit.
Tournament officials also announced today that Sunday’s final round will be broadcast live on NBC from 2-4 p.m. The first two rounds will be carried live by Golf Channel as the event returns for the 17th year to Tiburón Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples.
The field includes ten players who have either won last season or the early part of this year’s PGA TOUR schedule for a combined 12 victories. That group is led by Brendan Steele and Pat Perez who have won twice during that span, including this month’s Safeway Open and CIMB Classic, respectively. Other current champions are Daniel Berger, Kevin Chappell, Jason Dufner, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Billy Horschel, Kevin Kisner and Kyle Stanley.
Steele and Dufner are also part of a group of eight past QBE Shootout champions scheduled to compete. Sean O’Hair, Brandt Snedeker, this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley, English and Kuchar are the others.
Six players will compete for the first time in the $3.3 million event--Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Harman, Perez, Henley and Stanley. Two-time TOUR winner Gary Woodland as well as four-time champion and a member of this year’s Presidents Cup team Charley Hoffman are among the 18 players returning to the Shootout field.
Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters champion, is part of a five-some that has won major championships during their careers. Zach Johnson, winner of the Masters and Open Championship, as well as U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, and PGA Championship winners Bradley and Dufner are among that elite group.
“Looking at this list of players for our 29th edition I can’t help but be excited about the prospects for this year’s tournament,” Norman said. “Not only is this a group of competitive and successful players in the game of golf but they are also quality people away from the game. Bringing them all together for a week, along with our amateurs and corporate partners, is a recipe for another memorable moment in the history of this event as we welcome QBE Insurance.”
“As we prepare for QBE’s first Shootout as title sponsor, we could not be happier with the collection of players who have been assembled to compete this December. QBE is looking forward to welcoming many of golf’s best to Naples and is excited to have our customers interact with this world class field,” Russ Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of QBE North America said.
The 12 two-person teams will be finalized in early November.
The criteria for players qualifying for the 24-person field was adjusted this year to accurately reflect today’s PGA TOUR standards. The Shootout’s field is comprised of its defending champions playing as a team, the top 12 committed professionals from the final 2017 FedExCup standings and 10 special exemptions; a minimum of four which will come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR Career money list.
The QBE Shootout will once again feature a scramble format during the first round, a modified alternate shot format on Saturday and a final-round better ball on Sunday.
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is the tournament’s primary charitable beneficiary. Additionally, to support the relief efforts of Hurricane Irma, the QBE Shootout has recently launched a hurricane relief fund to support the local recovery efforts. Since 1989, the Shootout has raised more than $13 million for charitable causes.
New for this year’s tournament will be a Friday night concert featuring the popular Ben Allen Band from 5-8 p.m. on the Tiburon clubhouse lawn. The Family Golf Clinic returns and will be held Saturday, December 9th immediately following play on the practice facility.
Tickets are currently on sale with prices starting at $25 for grounds tickets. The popular Shark Pass Booklets are available for $110.
For the latest QBE Shootout news and information, visit the official tournament website at www.qbeshootout.com, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/qbeshootoutand follow us on Twitter @QBEshootout.
THE FIELD
Daniel Berger
Matt Kuchar
Keegan Bradley
Shane Lowry
Kevin Chappell
Graeme McDowell
Jason Dufner
Sean O’Hair
Harris English
Pat Perez
Tony Finau
Brandt Snedeker
Brian Harman
Kyle Stanley
Russell Henley
Brendan Steele
Charley Hoffman
Steve Stricker
Billy Horschel
Lexi Thompson
Zach Johnson
Bubba Watson
Kevin Kisner
About QBE
QBE Insurance Group is one of the world's top 20 specialized insurance and reinsurance companies, with operations in all the key insurance markets. QBE is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and is headquartered in Sydney. The company employees more than 14,000 people in 37 countries, with major U.S. regional headquarters in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the leading global platform in professional golf, showcasing the highest expression of excellence, both on and off the course. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow and protect the game of golf and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China. Its members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 24 countries (86 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1.1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2016, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $166 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.46 billion.
The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.