CareerBuilder Challenge Preview
By Matt Fargo
Covers.com
The PGA Tour leaves the island of Hawaii and heads to the mainland this week for the CareerBuilder Challenge, formally known as the Bob Hope Classic and then the Humana Challenge. The legendary entertainer had his name added to this event back in 1965 and it remained there until six years ago when a new sponsor was finally added after a three-year hiatus. The 156-player field is played over three courses and the first three days includes a pro-am each day.
TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club make up the three-course rotation with TPC Stadium Course at PGA West taking the top 70 players on Sunday. Because the first three days all consist of pro-ams, play is slow which can be frustrating to some players but they do get a benefit of easier than normal pin placements which is a big reason that scores have been so low over the years. Since 2012 when the event was scaled back from five days to four days, the winning scores have been -25, -24, -25, -28 and -22.
Each player that makes the cut will have to play the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West twice. The 7,113-yard, par-72 layout will be the host course for the second time since 1987 after it was bumped for being too difficult. It has hosted a slew of other events including several Skins Games and the finals of PGA TOUR Q-School. A redesign two years ago makes it less difficult than it used to be. The Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course is also in its second year in the rotation since being redone so even though two of the three courses were unfamiliar to players last year, it made no difference as scores were low all around.
The hottest player on the PGA Tour will not be in attendance this week as Justin Thomas, fresh off a two-tournament sweep in Hawaii, took the week off. In total, just three of the top 30 players in the OWGR are teeing it up in California, No. 9 Patrick Reed, No. 21 Phil Mickelson and No. 25 Emiliano Grillo. This used to be a star-studded event but with the Farmers Insurance Open from Torrey Pines taking place next week, it has taken some of the luster away. Additionally, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, also this week, is taking away a number of top players.
The key to every tournament is pretty obvious, scoring, but it is taken to a new level in this event. While some courses are demanding and reward the grinders who can scramble well and lag putt to perfection to avoid bogeys, birdies and eagles are a must here. The three courses in play were three of the easiest nine on tour last season so we need to peg the players that can go on birdie runs and conquer the par fives all week. Therefore, birdie average and proximity to the hole are two statistics to look at as it is these aggressive players will be in the hunt come Sunday.
2014 champion Patrick Reed (+1,200) is the favorite this week followed by Francesco Molinari and two-time defending champion Phil Mickelson at +1,800. 2015 champion Bill Hass along with Zach Johnson are priced at +2,200 while Charles Howell III (+2,500), Emiliano Grillo (+2,800) and Jon Rahm (+2,800) round out the players under 30-1. Looking at the other recent defending champions: 2016 champion Jason Dufner (+3,500), 2013 champion Brian Gay (+20,000) and 2012 champion Mark Wilson (+25,000).