Humana Challenge, Coachella Valley, over $1,000,000 to the Winner

“Tuesday’s at the Humana Challenge are seemingly uneventful. But with over $1,000,000 going to the Winner that may be a bit misleading.

by Roger Dibble Special to CoachellaValley.com

The practice ranges and putting greens are where you will find most players, their caddies, coaches, agents and all the support staff that work for their manufacturers.

You might also catch a glimpse of some of the top Players fielding questions from the world’s golfing press, at the Media Center, as the race for the $1 Million payday is heating up in the Coachella Valley Desert.

Bill Haas practicing Tuesday at PGA West prior to the 2015 Humana Challenge. 1st Round starts Thursday, January 22, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley

Luke Donald practicing Tuesday at PGA West prior to the 2015 Humana Challenge which tees off this Thursday, January 22, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley

Patrick Reed, last year’s winner fields questions from the Press, Tuesday at PGA West, prior to the 2015 Humana Challenge which gets underway this Thursday, January 22, 2015. Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Sam Saunders fielding Questions from the Press Tuesday at PGA West prior to the 2015 Humana Challenge which begins, this Thursday, January 22, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley

Players are hitting balls and chatting it up and talking strategy with other players, caddies and coaches are their second set of eyes while practicing, and the manufacturer reps are making sure the clubs are just right for tournament play and the agents are trying to make them more money!

Otherwise you will find the players scurrying around playing the three different golf courses, taking notes on how to play each hole in preparation for the event to begin on the Nicklaus Private, Palmer Private at PGA West and the La Quinta Country Club and fitting in Press Conferences scheduled throughout the day.

Speaking of Players the field this year shines bright with top ranked names like Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel along with 150 other PGA Tour favorites. Some fun fact numbers about the field are: 78 Tour Champions, 14 Major Winners, 301 overall Tours wins and 17 countries represented this year. The number they care about is 5,700,000. That is the total purse for this weeks event with $1,026,000 to the winner.

Humana Challenge 15′ Day 1 Practice from Monday, January 19, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Humana Challenge 15′ Day 1 Practice from Monday, January 19, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Humana Challenge 15′ Day 1 Practice from Monday, January 19, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Humana Challenge 15′ Getting Charged up for Thursday’s 1st Round. Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Humana Challenge 15′ Day 1, Practice from Monday, January 19, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

Humana Challenge 15′ Day 1 Practice from Monday, January 19, 2015 – Photo by Jim Civello/CoachellaValley.com

When we watch an event on television, we do not see all the people that work to make a PGA Tour event happen. It takes hundreds of people to make an event this spread out to run smoothly. Volunteers on all three courses, golf staff, transportation and parking, television crew just to name a few rolls that are needed to bring the Coachella Valley its 55th PGA Tour event. So on the surface Tuesday may look uneventful, but behind the scenes for the tournament players and the tournament itself it’s game on.

Play begins early Thursday morning and it looks like the strongest pairings will be at La Quinta Country Club. The entire field will play all three golf courses with a cut made after play Saturday. Final round will be played the Palmer Private at PGA West. Parking for all three tournament sites are at Silver Rock Resort off of Ave 52. Shuttles will take you to either La Quinta Country Club or PGA West.”