Tuesday is the start of the Rolex Tournament of Champions on the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Georgia. Here are the three things you need to know before the first round.
1. Players to watch:
Eugene Hong of Sanford, Florida, is coming off his first Invitational win at the Haas Family Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club. Hong is No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings and is hoping to clench the title.
Philip Barbaree of Shreveport, Louisiana, is coming back for seconds. Barbaree won the 2015 Rolex Tournament of Champions and is hoping to do the same this year.
Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, is No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings. Within the last year, Papp has finished top-20 in all of the tournaments she has participated in. The University of Texas commit is seeking her first win of the year as well as her first Rolex Tournament of Champions victory.
Kristen Gillman of Austin, Texas, is hoping to claim her third title this year after winning the Kathy Whitworth Invitational and the Bishops Gate Golf Academy Junior at Horseshoe Bay. She is currently ranked No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
2. Six players who finished in the top-10 of the 2015 event, return to the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Philip Barbaree (1), Norman Xiong (2), Kaiwen Liu (T4), Joseph Chun (T6), Jennifer Chang (7), and Kristen Gillman (T8) are all seeking the Champion title.
3. The last three Girls Division champions and the last two Boys Division champions of the Rolex Tournament of Champions have gone on to be named the Rolex Junior Player of the Year in the same year. Over the history of the event, 15 Boys Division champions and nine Girls Division champions have done the same.