Starting Thursday, at the Sherwood CC, Thousand Oaks, CA, Graeme McDowell will attempt to defend his 2012 Championship. Despite a relatively small purse, a mere $3.5M, the Tiger Woods' holiday tournament is shaping up to have one of the strongest fields ever. Woods' tournament is not official. It counts only toward the world ranking.
The other Americans besides Woods are PGA champion Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker. Dustin Johnson is replacing Ernie Els in the event. Els withdrew this week to play the Nedbank Challenge in his native South Africa on Dec. 5-8. Weekend rounds will be broadcast on NBC.
For more information, see http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/northwestern-mutual-world-challenge.html