Player list for CJ Cup in South Carolina shaping up to have feel of a golf major

Tournament director Andre Silva did not mince words while promoting the CJ Cup in South Carolina, a PGA Tour event set for Oct. 20-23 at Congaree Golf Club in Jasper County.

“One of the top events on the PGA Tour,” Silva told reporters in September.

Announcing a commitment from Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 2 player, to compete put credence in his description, and the latest partial list of others who will compete at Congaree reinforces his stance.

Indeed, the tournament is beginning to take the look of a major championship.

In addition to McIlroy, the defending CJ Cup champion who owns four major titles, multi-major winners who have committed include Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth. Plus, there’s 2021 U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm already on the entry list.

Add Presidents Cup standouts Si Woo Kim and Max Homa plus Sungjae Im, coming off his best season, rising star Tom Kim and sponsor invitees Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.

Already committed are four of the top nine in the World Golf Rankings — McIlroy (2), Rahm (6), Thomas (8) and Morikawa (9). Judging from last year’s field, Scottie Scheffler (1) and Xander Schauffele (5) are probables.

Si Woo Kim, whose PGA triumphs include the 2017 Players Championship, led the International team in the Presidents Cup with a 3-1 record that included a 1-up win over Thomas in their singles match. Tom Kim, at 20 the third-youngest player to compete in the Presidents Cup, earned two points for the Internationals. He won his first PGA Tour event, the Wyndham, in August.

Morikawa, who had a 2-1 record for the victorious U.S. President Cup team, finished runner-up to McIlroy in the 2021 CJ Cup, which was played in Las Vegas. His major titles include the 2020 PGA and 2021 Open Championship.

Thomas, 4-1 in the Presidents Cup, is also a two-time major champion — the 2017 and 2022 PGA championships. He owns two CJ Cup titles and his 15 Tour wins, including the 2021 Players.

Im, 19th in the world rankings, won one tournament and added three runner-up finishes last season. He fired a final-round 65 in the Tour Championship and missed catching McIlroy for the FedEx Cup by one shot.

Spieth will be seeking to add a second championship trophy at a South Carolina tournament in the CJ Cup. He won the 2022 RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, about an hour’s drive from Congaree. His 13 PGA Tour titles include three majors — the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open and the 2017 Open Championship. He went 5-0-0 in the Presidents Cup.

Rahm will be making his first start of the 2022-23 season and will be competing in his second CJ Cup. He has won at least once on the PGA Tour in six consecutive seasons.

Homa also sparkled in the Presidents Cup, winning all four of his matches. And he already has a win in the 2022-23 campaign, taking the season-opening Fortinet Championship for the second straight year. He is ranked 17th in the world.

Fowler, who has struggled the past two seasons, forged his best 2021-22 finish in the CJ Cup a year ago. He owned a two-shot lead after three rounds before sharing third place. Day, a former No. 1 player in the world, has competed in every CJ Cup, and his career victories include the 2015 PGA and 2016 Players tournaments.

The CJ Cup started in Korea in 2017 before moving to Las Vegas the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions. With pandemic challenges still in place in Korea, officials announced this summer that the 2022 tourney would be played in South Carolina.

The 78-player, no-cut field will feature the top 60 players from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup points list and exemptions, plus representatives from Korea’s Professional Golf Association.

Daily grounds tickets are available at CJCUPSouthCarolina.com, with a maximum of two children ages 15 and under admitted free per ticketed adult.

The PGA Tour visited Congaree in June 2021 with the Palmetto Championship at Congaree added to the schedule after coronavirus restrictions forced cancellation of the RBC Canadian Open.

Chip shots. Lea Venable (Simpsonville) defeated Dawn Woodard (Greer) 5 and 3 in the finals of the WSCGA’s State Match-Play championship at Southern Oaks GC in Easley. ... Raymond Grier, who excelled in golf 1972-76 at South Carolina State, will be among nine inductees into the Bulldogs’ athletic hall of fame on Oct. 21. ... South Carolina’s women’s team, ranked No. 4 nationally, finished second in a strong field in the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Highland Park, Illinois. Sophomore All-American Hannah Darling placed second in the individual competition. The performance, her seventh top-five finish in 13 career stroke-play events, earned Darling the SEC player of the week award. ... Luke Parsons (Salley, South Carolina) claimed a berth in the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals for the second time in regional competition at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida. He made the final at Augusta National GC in 2018 and competes now in the 14-15 year-old division.