Humana Challenge 2015: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule, Prize Money
The Humana Challenge may not register on the radar of many casual golf fans, but the 2015 version absolutely should.
Seven of the top 25 players in the world rankings will tee it up in La Quinta, California, including the defending champion. Here is a look at the essential information for the early-season tournament.
2015 Humana Challenge
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Dates: Thursday, Jan. 22 – Sunday, Jan. 25
Where: La Quinta, California
Purse: $5.7 million ($1.026 million winner’s prize)
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the winner
TV: Thursday – Sunday, 3-7 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
Notable Thursday Tee Times
| Ryan Palmer | 8:30 a.m. |
| Phil Mickelson | 8:40 a.m. |
| Billy Horschel | 8:40 a.m. |
| Luke Donald | 8:40 a.m. |
| Patrick Reed | 9:10 a.m. |
| Matt Kuchar | 9:10 a.m. |
| Jason Dufner | 10:10 a.m. |
| Keegan Bradley | 10:10 a.m. |
| Bill Haas | 10:10 a.m. |
| Brandt Snedeker | 10:10 a.m. |
A full list of tournament tee times can be found here, courtesy of the tournament’s official website.
Who to Watch
The top player to watch at this tournament is the defending champion, Patrick Reed.
All Reed did in last year’s event was set a four-day scoring record for the Humana Challenge with a 260. The victory was not without some drama, though, after he built a commanding lead with three straight 63s and then nearly lost it on the tournament’s final day when Ryan Palmer made a late charge.
Reed has as much momentum as anyone on the PGA Tour and already won this year’s Tournament of Champions to become the fourth golfer in history to net four tournament titles before turning 25. You may recognize the other three names on that list—Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.
Reed discussed his position entering the Humana Challenge, via Bob Harig of ESPN.com:
"With how good of a year we had last year, and then also with the start at Wyndham [his first victory in 2013], I just feel like the confidence is growing and growing where if I have a bad round or I'm struggling, I still have that confidence level to keep going and turn a 75 into a 72 or 71, rather than before where the consistency, maybe my 75 stays there or maybe goes to 74 or 76.
I feel like whenever I'm confident in what I'm doing and I know this is the shot I want to hit, it just makes my confidence even greater. Even if I'm not playing well, I just go back and try to find one in my memory that I hit really well and get that confidence level going and try to boost myself.
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Reed is confident and knows what it takes to win at this event. That combination alone will be enough to propel him to the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive year.
Another golfer to watch is fan favorite Phil Mickelson, who has two Humana Challenge titles of his own. The problem is, none of those championships have come since 2004.
Mickelson will be an intriguing follow during this tournament because it is his first event since a lackluster 2014 campaign. It was his first winless season since 2003, and his struggles at the Ryder Cup were magnified by Team USA’s humbling defeat.
Ryan Lavner of GolfChannel.com discussed the spotlight on Mickelson coming into this tournament: "This week is all Lefty, all the time, and it promises to be wildly entertaining. It’s not just his first stroke-play event since early September, but also his first public comments since the Ryder Cup debacle. He knows his window is closing, so if he has one big year left in him, this is it."
There are a number of other strong players at the Humana this year outside of Mickelson and the defending champ.
Billy Horschel was the 2014 FedEx Cup winner and is out for some early points in his title defense. Luke Donald is a former world No. 1 and will be playing in his first Humana Challenge, while Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker are also notable names in the field.
This is Snedeker’s 2015 debut after a knee injury, and he will look to extend his streak of top-10 finishes to three.
Speaking of consistency, Matt Kuchar is in the field after tying for third place in the Sony Open. Kuchar has five consecutive top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour and is a sure bet to play his way up the leaderboard yet again in this event.
Perhaps fans will be treated to a final-day showdown between Reed and Palmer yet again, since last year’s second-place finisher is back in the field. Palmer has three top-six finishes at the Humana since 2011 and is more than comfortable playing on this course.
So is Bill Haas, who won this event in 2010 and finished second in 2011 and will look to grab another title.
With so many top-notch golfers and former champions, the 2015 version of the Humana Challenge is sure to be a memorable one.
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