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By John Reger
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, California (Ticker) -- The Target World Challenge is not
an event pros are circling on their calendar, but it isn't one they are
shunning either.
While most golfers try and find excuses to miss postseason events, tour players eagerly show up when Tiger Woods is calling.
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The Skins Game had to ask 10 players before Brett Wetterich finally
accepted the final spot in the event. The American team for the World
Cup was Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley, and Weekley didn't even have a
PGA Tour card last year.
But Woods' event manages to get most of the top players on the money list. Five of the top 10 in the world rankings are here.
"I was going to have a long time off before January 1, and to go in
there cold and trying to find your game early on and stuff, I just
thought that I could knock some of the rust off this week," said Jim
Furyk, who is in second place after two rounds. "It would help me
prepare to get ready for January 1 and hopefully get off to a good
start to the season."
The reason why most of the golfers are here is the money. The 16-player
field is battling for a $5.75 million purse, with the winner receiving
$1.35 million.
What's more important, though, is what the last-place finisher
receives. There is obviously no cut, and 16th place nets $170,000.
Zach Johnson participated in the Skins Game and played 36 holes of
golf, including the Pro Am. He was shut out and spent more time trying
to adjust to two nine-hole days after the Pro Am.
"Can you take it not seriously at times?" Johnson asked. "Absolutely I
can, but every time I do that, my game goes astray, and it's a little
harder to get it back."
When Woods designed the format of the Target World Challenge, he didn't
want it to be like a typical non-traditional event that consists of
gimmicks.
"The idea and the premise of the event was to bring awareness to what
we're trying to do with the foundation," Woods said. "Now, how do you
do that? Well in our sport, you bring the best players in the world
together."
It certainly impressed Johnson, who won the Masters this year.
"Everything from the locker room inside to registering to the rules
officials on the golf course," Johnson said. "This week feels like
another week. It's just nice being in twosomes with 16 guys, and the
purse is phenomenal. It's almost like a World Golf Championship without
a full field. It's awesome."
Henrik Stenson wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to play here, despite traveling around the globe the last several months.
"I've played a lot. I've probably spent about 100 hours on an airplane
in the last month," Stenson said. "I played in the Volvo Masters in
Spain, flew down there from Dubai, and then I went back up to London
and Shanghai. I made my way over to the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in
Japan, and then down to South Africa, and then back to London."
This is the first time Steve Stricker has been eligible to play, and he definitely was looking forward to coming.
"It's a bonus," Stricker said. "You know, when you can come here and
play for the kind of money that we're playing for and to be in Tiger's
event, a special event as it is, it's all bonus. It's all icing on top
of the cake."
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