Tiger Woods will headline a very competitive field at this week’s Zozo Championship as players begin to sharpen up preparations for next month’s Masters.
Woods will make his first appearance on the PGA Tour since the US Open in likely his only hit-out ahead of his title defence at Augusta National.
But first, the former world No 1 will have to try to successfully defend his title at Lake Sherwood in California, where some of the biggest names in golf will tee off on Thursday.
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Woods goes in search of a record-breaking 83rd PGA Tour title and having struggled somewhat since golf restarted, he will be eyeing a solid performance for a change to build some momentum before going to Georgia in November.
He will, however, have to fight off rivals such as Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Tyrrell Hatton and Collin Morikawa – to name just a few.
With eight of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings in action, fireworks can be expected throughout the course of the weekend.
Rahm has continued to fight his way to consistency and will be eager to keep his momentum from last season’s FedEx Cup going on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy, on the other hand, has been firing hot and cold recently but will no doubt be hoping to add pressure in the buildup to the Masters, where is determined to succeed for the first time in his career.
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Similarly, Schauffele will be hoping to correct the wrongs of this past weekend, where he held the lead going into the final round of the CJ Cup before failing on the last hurdle to have Jason Kokrak claim victory in Las Vegas.
Thomas, Hatton and Morikawa will carry similar threats with all three proven to step up their game when expectations escalate.
The Englishman, though, has been in superb form of late and could be a surprise contender at the Zozo Championship this week.
