CareerBuilder Challenge PGA Tour Golf Tournament Begins in La Quinta

LA QUINTA, CA- The 57th annual $5.8 million CareerBuilder Challenge begins Thursday with play on three courses in La Quinta, including the tournament’s first use of the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West since 1987.

“The Stadium Course was designed to allow fans maximum opportunities to see their favorite players and once again, with our enhanced hospitality venues and the perfect nature of this course for walkers, we will provide our fans plenty of ways to see and experience the CareerBuilder Challenge from an up-close-and-personal viewpoint,” said tournament Director Bill Tait.

The tournament is also played at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and the La Quinta Country Club. For the first time since 1997, the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West will not be part of the tournament rotation.

Sunday’s final round will be played at the TPC Stadium Course.

The 156-player field includes 10 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, topped by 10th-ranked Patrick Reed and 11th-ranked Zach Johnson, the reigning British Open champion.

The field also includes defending champion Bill Haas, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Na and Phil Mickelson.

Johnny Miller, who won in 1975 and 1976, is the only player in tournament history to win in consecutive years. Miller will be an analyst on Golf Channel’s coverage of the tournament.

The field will be reduced to the low 70 plus ties following conclusion of Saturday’s play.

The winner will receive $1.044 million.

This is the first year CareerBuilder is the title sponsor of the tournament which included the late comedian Bob Hope’s name from 1965 to 2011. The Chicago-based HR software provider and job site operator replaces the health insurer Humana as the tournament sponsor. Humana was the sponsor from 2012-2015.

Each day of the tournament has a theme. Thursday is Seniors Day, with $20 tickets available online for people 62 years old and older. Career advice for seniors will be available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the CB Expo Booth.

The tournament’s other theme days are Women’s Day (Friday), Patriot Day (Saturday) and Kids Day (Sunday).

Children 15 and under are admitted for free with a paying adult throughout the tournament, with a limit of two children per paid adult.

The tournament also includes the PGA Tour Volunteer Challenge. Fans can vote for their favorite volunteers until noon Saturday at www.pgatour.com/volunteers.

The winner will have the chance to present a $10,000 check to the charity of his choice from a list provided by the tournament.

Since the tournament began in 1960 as the Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic, Desert Classic Charities, the nonprofit organization the organizes the tournament, has donated more than $56 million for the Eisenhower Medical Center and other nonprofit organizations in the Coachella Valley.

More information on the tournament is available online at careerbuilderchallenge.com.

— By City News Service.