Franklin Templeton Shootout Preview

It’s the last PGA Tour event of the calendar year this week. 24 players head to Tiburon Golf Club in Florida for the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Harris English and Matt Kuchar are the defending champions.

Lowdown: It’s the last PGA Tour event of the calendar year this week. 24 players head to Tiburon Golf Club in Florida for the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Harris English and Matt Kuchar are the defending champions.

This is a two-man team event featuring three rounds played in differing strokeplay formats. On Thursday the pairs play a scramble, on Friday it’s alternate shot and on Saturday it’s better ball. Hosted by Greg Norman, this will be the 26th time the tournament has taken place.

In last year’s event Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away from the field. They scored a 58 in the final round to win by seven from Retief Goosen and Freddie Jacobson.

The 24-player field features eight of the top 30 players in the world and six 2014 Ryder Cup participants. There are some interesting pairings on the start sheet.

Graeme McDowell will tee it up with Gary Woodland. It will be the fourth time the Northern Irishman has competed in this event. He often plays practice rounds with Woodland at Lake Nona and the pairing should possess a strong blend of power and scrambling.

Other notable teams include: Ian Poulter together with Billy Horschel and Ryan Palmer with Jimmy Walker.

Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida boasts two Greg Norman-designed courses – Gold and Black. The Franklin Templeton shootout is held over the Gold. Lined by pine trees, rolling fairways travel past water hazards and waste areas. This is a natural feeling layout.

Venue: Tiburon GC, Naples, Florida Date: Dec 11-13 Course stats: par 72, 7,288 yards Purse: $3,100,000 Winner: $385,000 Defending Champions: Harris English & Matt Kuchar (-34)

Player Watch: Harris English & Matt Kuchar – The defending champions clearly love this track and play well together. Look for them to play well again this time out.

Graeme McDowell & Gary Woodland – McDowell’s shot-making and tenacity combined with Woodland’s immense power should make for a great combination, particularly in the scramble and the better ball rounds.

Jason Day & Cameron Tringale – Day showed good form in last week’s Hero World Challenge and Tringale played well at the end of the 2013/14 PGA Tour season. They’re the youngest team in this event and could well be a factor.

Key hole: 17th. A reachable par-5 of 534 yards, this is a hole where the pairings will be looking to pick up shots. The secret to this hole is to stay left. Water lurks down the right side and a large bunker complex protects the front of the green. If bailing out on the approach, there’s a large collection area on the left side and, from there, it’s a relatively straightforward pitch onto the green.