2014 Hero World Challenge Fact Sheet
The 16th annual Hero World Challenge, held Dec. 3-7, 2014, moves from California to Florida for the first time, to be contested at Isleworth Golf & Country Club (7,354 yards) in Orlando.
Host Tiger Woods welcomes 17 of the PGA TOUR’s best players to compete for the $1 million top prize ($3.5 total purse). The 72-hole, strokeplay event is co-sponsored by the PGA TOUR and benefits the Tavistock Foundation and the college-access programs of the Tiger Woods Foundation.
About The Host
Host Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf for the first time since a missed cut at the PGA Championship one week after withdrawing from the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Winner of 79 career PGA TOUR titles including 14 major championships, Woods will be playing in the Hero World Challenge for the 14th time in 2014.
Woods has five victories (2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011) and five runner-up finishes in the event. Woods was limited to just seven official events in 2013-14 with his best finish being T25 at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
Woods took nearly four months off from the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship until the Quicken Loans National after having back surgery in late March. Dr. Charles Rich performed the microdiscectomy surgery in Park City, Utah.
Missed the Masters for the first time in 20 years along with missing his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and at the THE PLAYERS Championship.
Returned to action, at the Quicken Loans National, where he missed the cut. Withdrew during the final round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational after straining a different area in his back.
Returned the following week at the PGA Championship, where he missed the cut after rounds of 74-74.
The Title Sponsor
Hero MotoCorp has been the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in terms of unit volumes sold by a single company in a calendar year for 13 consecutive years.
Hero MotoCorp, which sold 6.2 million two wheelers in 2013, has been one of the largest corporate promoters of sports in India, having long-term associations with various games such as golf, cricket and hockey.
Tiger Woods Foundation
The Hero World Challenge will continue to raise funds and awareness for the college-access programs of the Tiger Woods Foundation and will also benefit the Tavistock Foundation.
The Tiger Woods Foundation provides educational opportunities for underserved youth nationwide, with the mission to break the cycle of poverty.
Seven Tiger Woods Learning Centers nationwide offer STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) courses such as robotics and graphic design, while the Earl Woods Scholarship Program is an unyielding support system of mentors, funds and workshops to help send students to universities including Georgetown, USC, UC-Berkeley, UCLA and Harvard.
World Challenge 2014 Recap
In 2013, Zach Johnson forced a playoff with five-time Hero World Challenge champion Tiger Woods after he holed out a 58-yard shot from the drop zone on No. 18 at Sherwood Country Club. He then secured the victory when Woods lipped out a five-foot par putt on the playoff hole.
The two dueled in 2011, when Johnson fell to Woods by one stroke.
Johnson joined list of past champions that includes Davis Love III (2000), Padraig Harrington (2002), Luke Donald (2005), Vijay Singh (2008), Jim Furyk (2009) and Graeme McDowell (2010, 2012).
2014 Field
The field of 18 PGA TOUR players is determined as follows: the current four major winners, the top 11 available from the Official World Golf Ranking, the defending champion and two special-exemption players.
This year’s special exemptions are Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley. Patrick Reed recently joined the field after a back injury forced Jim Furyk to withdraw.
Keegan Bradley – USA
Jason Day – Australia
Rickie Fowler – USA
Billy Horschel – USA
Zach Johnson – USA
Chris Kirk – USA
Matt Kuchar – USA
Hunter Mahan – USA
Hideki Matsuyama – Japan
Graeme McDowell – N. Ireland
Patrick Reed – USA
Justin Rose – England
Jordan Spieth – USA
Henrik Stenson – Sweden
Steve Stricker – USA
Jimmy Walker – USA
Bubba Watson – USA
Tiger Woods – USA
The Field By The Numbers
153 PGA TOUR wins
20 major championship wins
6 countries represented, including 13 players from the United States
3 past Hero World Challenge champions led by five-time winner Tiger Woods; other past champions include Zach Johnson and Graham McDowell
8 Ryder Cup participants along with U.S. Assistant Captain Steve Stricker
First-time participants include FedExCup champion Billy Horschel, Jimmy Walker, Chris Kirk and Patrick Reed, with the foursome accounting for nine wins on TOUR last season
– via PGA TOUR
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