Featured Groups: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD

Several generations of Southern California stars are gathered outside Los Angeles this week for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD.

Tiger Woods is defending. Phil Mickelson is back on TOUR after another win on PGA TOUR Champions. Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa are back at a venue where they watched the TOUR players they’re now competing against. And Xander Schauffele is seeking a victory after a close call last week.

Here’s a closer look at the Featured Groups for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD.

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HOW TO FOLLOW

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Sunday, 12:45 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Featured Groups)

Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.–8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

FEATURED GROUPS

Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed
• Morikawa grew up about an hour away from Sherwood in La Canada Flintridge. He’s played the course and was a spectator at Sherwood when Woods hosted the Hero World Challenge there. “I remember waiting underneath one of the balconies for signatures,” he said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Never got one.”
• Four of Thomas’ 13 wins have come in the fall. He’s off to another strong start this season. He finished eighth at the U.S. Open and T12 at last week’s CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK.
• Reed is making his first PGA TOUR start since finishing 13th at the U.S. Open. He also finished third recently in the BMW PGA Championship in England. The former Masters champion won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship earlier this year.

Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson
• Simpson is coming off a two-win season in 2020. He has top-15s in his first two starts of this season, including an eighth-place finish at the U.S. Open.
• Like Simpson, McIlroy finished eighth at Winged Foot. The two-time FedExCup champion is seeking his first win of the calendar year.
• Mickelson is playing at Sherwood after winning his second PGA TOUR Champions event in as many starts.

Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama
• Rahm is a former winner of Woods’ Hero World Challenge, though at Albany in the Bahamas and not at Sherwood. The Spaniard is coming off a two-win season that featured victories at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and BMW Championship.
• Rose, who won the FedExCup just two years ago, is trying to end a winless drought that extends back to the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open.
• Matsuyama isn’t just a favorite of Japanese fans. He also was runner-up to Woods in last year’s ZOZO. He is seeking his first win since 2017.

Tiger Woods, Matthew Wolff, Xander Schauffele
• Woods won last year’s ZOZO for his record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR victory. He also won five times at Sherwood when it hosted his Hero World Challenge.
• Wolff and Woods are the last two players to win the NCAA individual title and a PGA TOUR event in the same year (Ben Crenshaw is the only other player to do it). Wolff started the season with runners-up at the U.S. Open and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He went to high school just seven miles from Sherwood and attended tournaments here. “I’ve played (Sherwood) 1,000 times,” Wolff said. “I have a bunch of friends that were members there growing up, and I was fortunate enough that they brought me out. I’m really looking forward to going home and seeing some family and friends and playing pretty much a home course for me.”
• Schauffele has started the season with back-to-back top-5s, including a runner-up at last week’s CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. Last season, he finished in the top 25 in 16 of 18 starts. He is seeking his first win since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January 2019. Schauffele also has memories of watching Woods compete. Schauffele was by the 18th green when Woods made his famous putt to force a playoff in the 2008 U.S. Open. "I was by that tree left of 18 that's no longer there," he said. "I was there in that arena-type feeling when he made that putt and went nuts."