CJ Cup: Tee Times, Prize Money, TV Coverage as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler head field

Published 19/10/2022 at 07:41 GMT

Rory McIlroy is back on American soil after a spell of golf in Europe, and is at the CJ Cup to defend the title he won last year. It is a new venue for the world No. 2, as he secured the title at the Summit Club in Las Vegas. 12 month on and Congaree Golf Club is playing host to 15 of the top 20 in the world rankings. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler heads the challengers.

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A star-studded field will tee it up at Congaree Golf Club for the CJ Cup.

There will be 15 of the world’s top 20 in action, as Rory McIlroy defends the title he won 12 months ago.

The Summit Club hosted the event last year, but the players will be switching from the desert of Las Vegas to Hilton Head in South Carolina.

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McIlroy will be well fancied to defend the crown, but it will not be easy as the likes of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will provide stiff competiton.

As well as McIlroy and Scheffler, Jon Rahm (5) Justin Thomas (8), Collin Morikawa (9), Matt Fitzpatrick (10), Viktor Hovland (11), Sam Burns (12), Jordan Spieth (13), Tom Kim (15), Cameron Young (16), Billy Horschel (17), Max Homa (18), Hideki Matsuyama (19) and Sungjae Im (20) from the top 20 in the world will be in action.

The CJ Cup has been on the schedule since 2017, with it part of the PGA Tour’s move to take the sport to a global audience.

It was held at Nine Bridges in South Korea but was moved to America following the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is hope that the event will return to Asia, but this week 78 players will be in action at Congaree.

The Course: Congaree Golf Club

While there are some courses that date back hundreds of years, Congaree is a newcomer being opened for play in 2018.

Tom Fazio built the course to fit in with the estate's lakes and pine forests, and you could be forgiven for thinking it is a lot older than its four years.

Despite its relative youth, Congaree has featured on the PGA Tour before - slotting in when the Canadian Open was called off due to Covid travel restrictions.

Garrick Higgo won what was known as the Palmetto Championship.

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Featuring on the PGA Tour is a feather in Congaree’s cap, and officials have their eyes on bigger prizes having made a bid to host the Presidents Cup.

At over 7,500 yards, Congaree is a big beast - but driving distance was not a huge factor at the Palmetto Championship as only two of the top 10 on the final leaderboard were among the top 10 for driving distance.

Prize Money: $10.5m (£9.31m), with the winner’s share being $1.75m (£1.55m). CHECK

Format: 72-hole strokeplay.

Course records: