'Number 2' Morikawa "Heading to Hero World Challenge"... Will He Appear at Woods' Award Ceremony?

Woods-Hosted 'Special Event' Featuring World Stars Thomas, DeChambeau, Koepka, McIlroy, and More, Stenson Defends Title

World No. 2 Collin Morikawa challenges for the title at the PGA Tour's premier event, the Hero World Challenge.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] It is the ‘Bahamas expedition’ with ‘Number 2’ Collin Morikawa.

The Hero World Challenge (total prize money $3.5 million), held on the night of the 2nd (Korean time) at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas (par 72, 7,309 yards), is especially a stage hosted by the ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods. Although it is not an official PGA Tour event, the winner’s prize is a whopping $1 million (1.19 billion KRW), and world ranking points are also at stake. World stars such as Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka (all from the U.S.), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) have all gathered.

Established in 2000, the tournament’s title sponsor has changed over time, including Williams, Target, Chevron, and Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, and it settled on its current name in 2014. It is interesting that players must be at least in the ‘Top 50’ to receive an invitation. This year, 47th-ranked Justin Rose (England) is the lowest-ranked player. Last year’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2019 champion Henrik Stenson (Sweden) is aiming to defend his title.

Morikawa is the ‘top favorite’ to win. He entered the PGA Tour in 2019 and immediately won his first title at the Barracuda Championship in July. In July last year, he defeated Justin Thomas (U.S.) in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open, drawing the spotlight again, and in August, he finally joined the ranks of major champions by winning the PGA Championship. This year, he secured two major wins, including the World Golf Championships (WGC) Workday Championship in March and The Open in July.

Since the new season began, finishing second at the CJ Cup has remained a regret. Although he shot 10 under par on the final day, he was ‘2%’ short. In response, Morikawa demonstrated exceptional power by winning the DP World Tour Championship, the final event of the 2021 European Tour season, by three strokes on the 22nd of last month. Including his two wins in the WGC Workday Championship and the major Open, co-hosted by the European Tour and PGA Tour, this is his third win of the season, and he also leads the ‘Race to Dubai’ rankings.

Rory McIlroy participated in the Hero World Challenge to avenge his recent defeat at last month's DP World Tour Championship.

Thomas has joined the race for the title, and the well-known ‘rivals’ DeChambeau and Koepka will clash again just one week after the ‘Capital One’s The Match V’ held on the 27th of last month at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. For McIlroy, this is a revenge match after suffering a one-stroke defeat on the final day of the DP World Tour Championship, where he started as the leader. ‘Tokyo Olympics Gold’ medalist Xander Schauffele (U.S.) and ‘Worldwide Technology Champion’ Viktor Hovland (Norway) are other contenders for the title.

Locally, attention is focused on whether Woods, who has been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation since a serious car accident in February, will appear. In a recent interview with Golf Digest, he shared, “There is still a long way to go,” and “Even if I return to the field someday, full-time participation will be difficult.” There are speculations that his personal yacht, the ‘Privacy,’ is already docked at the Bahamas port and that he will attend the awards ceremony.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.