Kiradech, Jazz gamble on early season success in Las Vegas
Asia’s top golfers will face the world’s best as PGA Tour swings into action at the CJ Cup – which has gambled by moving from South Korea to Las Vegas this year.
The tournament has witnessed strong showings from Thai stars such as Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jazz Janewattananond in the past, but in October will move from its Korean home to Shadow Creek in Vegas for the third edition.
Two-time winner Justin Thomas (2017 and 2019) will be back along with 2018’s winner Brooks Koepka.
“While our players always look forward to visiting Korea, the current circumstances provided this new opportunity to bring the event to Las Vegas which will also provide brand exposure and awareness to the viewing audience in the United States and around the globe,” said Ty Votaw, PGA Tour executive vice president.
As part of early events on the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, the CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek is slated to be played a week after the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It will once again feature a 78-man field featuring of the top-ranked Korean plus the leading players from the 2019-20 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions.
“THE CJ CUP quickly became one of my favorite events on tour. While winning twice certainly helped, the hospitality shown to us by CJ Group and the Korean community has made the tournament special to all of us as PGA Tour players,” said 13-time PGA Tour winner and defending CJ Cup champion Thomas. “It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to travel to Korea for this year’s event, but it is fantastic that we will still be able to shine a light on CJ Group through the tournament at a venue like Shadow Creek.”
Kiradech and Jazz are expected to fly the flag for Thailand in Vegas.
