Issue link: https://digital.insidegolfmedia.com/i/1068791
I t's January, which means it's time once again for the PGA Tour's annual "West Coast Swing," featuring two events in Hawaii, four in California and one in Arizona. Following the calendar-opening Sen- try Tournament of Champions at Ka- palua (Jan. 3-6) and Sony Open in Hawaii (Jan. 10-13), the Long Knockers with the White Belts will arrive in South- ern California for back-to-back events – the newly renamed Desert Classic in La Quinta (Jan. 17-20) and then the Farm- ers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (Jan. 24-27), where Tiger Woods is expected to make his season debut amid height- ened expectations coming off his drought-ending win in the 2018 Tour Championship. The 2018-19 wrap-around PGA Tour season actually began in October with the Safeway Open in Napa, but most of the world's top players skipped a major- ity of the first eight events in the fall. That's why the West Coast Swing still signals the start of a new season to most golf fans and to many players. The Desert Classic, best known as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and most re- cently the CareerBuilder Challenge, will be celebrating its 60th anniversary on the tour schedule with a new present- ing sponsor. It is Workday, Inc., a com- pany based in Pleasanton, CA that specializes in cloud applications for fi- nance and human capital management. Perhaps not coincidentally, tournament ambassador Phil Mickelson has an en- dorsement contract with Workday. Mickelson, a two-time champion in the event, and defending champion Jon Rahm, the world's No. 6-ranked player who beat Andrew Landry in a four- hole playoff a year ago, headline the field in this year's event, to be contested at three venues in La Quinta: TPC Sta- dium Course at PGA West, Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club. Other early commitments include Justin Rose, the defending FedEx Cup champion and No. 2 player in the world rankings; former UCLA star Patrick Cantlay, No. 18 in the world; and three international players with major cham- pionships on their resumes: former Mas- ters winners Danny Willett and Charl Schwartzel and former U.S. Open News and notes from around the Southern California golf scene continued on the next screen >> WEST COAST SWING READY TO ROLL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SMALL BUCKET BY RANDY YOUNGMAN The Desert Classic celebrates its 60th anniversary when it takes place on Jan. 17-20.