The 11th-annual DICK’s Sporting Goods Open will return to En-Joie Golf Club, which hosted the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open from 1972-2005. The 78-player field includes seven of the top-10 players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, including Bernhard Langer, the three-time reigning champion of the Schwab Cup.

THE SKINNY

Tournament: DICK’s Sporting Goods Open
Golf Course: En-Joie Golf Club
Where: Endicott, New York
Distance: Par 72 / 6,974 yards
Course Designer: Ernie Smith (1927)
Purse: $2,000,000
Winner: $300,000

GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE

(all times Eastern)
FRI: 7:30-9:30 PM (tape delay)
SAT: 4-6:00 PM
SUN: 4-6:00 PM

THE FIELD: BY THE NUMBERS

Fresh off a win at the 3M Championship, Paul Goydos will return to defend his title, and he will be joined by six other past champions of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open.

 
A number of prominent European players will also compete, including Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ian Woosnam.

• 55 PGA TOUR winners with 296 total career victories
• 50 PGA Tour Champions winners with 222 total career victories
• 20 players with a PGA Tour Champions major victory; 13 with a PGA Tour major
• 6 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame (Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara, Jose Maria Olazabal, and 2017 inductee Ian Woosnam)
• 6 players in the field won the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open when it was played at En-Joie from 1972-2005: Jeff Sluman (2001), Fred Funk (1996), John Daly (1992), Joey Sindelar (1987, 1985), Jay Haas (1981) and Tom Kite (1978).

DEFENDING CHAMPION

Last year, Paul Goydos put himself in position to win on Saturday, going birdie-eagle-birdie on Nos. 15-17 to close out a second-round 66. He went on to card a bogey-free 69 on Sunday and won by two over Wes Short, Jr. Four months after his win in Endicott, Goydos won the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship and finished third in the year’s final Schwab Cup standings.

 
His 2017 campaign includes three top-10s and a win at the 3M Championship, his fifth career title on PGA Tour Champions, and he is currently No. 13 in the Schwab Cup standings. Should he win this week, he would be the first player to successfully defend his title in the tournament’s 11-year history.

EN-JOIE GOLF CLUB STATISTICS

Easiest Hole

The 545-yard, par-5 12th has ranked as the easiest hole nine of the 10 years. Last year, the hole yielded five eagles and 95 birdies against just 22 bogeys or worse, and it played to a 4.657 average.

Hardest Hole

The 432-yard, par-4 15th has ranked as the hardest hole eight of the 10 years. Last year, only 25 birdies were made and the scoring average was 4.293, which ranked as the 35th toughest hole on Tour in 2016.

Noteworthy Holes

The three-hole stretch of Nos. 13-15 were En-Joie’s three hardest holes in 2016, playing a total of +.711. During the tournament’s 10-year history, this trio of holes have been among the course’s five toughest every year.

CHARLES SCHWAB UPDATE

This week’s field includes seven of the top-10 players in the Schwab Cup standings. The top-five players in the field will be competing in Endicott for the first time in over a year, as none of them played in last year’s event.

 
Though Bernhard Langer leads by nearly $1 million over Scott McCarron, the primary goal is to be in the top-five entering the season finale, as any top-five player that wins the Charles Schwab Cup Championship would win the Charles Schwab Cup.

THE TOP TIER

1. Bernhard Langer $2,376,035 | 4 wins, 10 top-10s
2. Scott McCarron $1,406,055 | 2 wins, 7 top-10s
3. Kenny Perry $1,303,120 | 1 win, 5 top-10s
5. Brandt Jobe $1,169,585 | 1 win, 6 top-10s
6. Miguel Angel Jimenez $1,041,078 | 1 win, 7 top-10s
7. Kevin Sutherland $956,689 | 0 wins 10 top-10s
10. Stephen Ames $774,498 | 1 win, 7 top-10s

BUBBLE BATTLE

With seven events left in the regular season, players are also eyeing a top-72 place in the standings and a spot in the second-annual Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

 
This week’s field includes seven of the eight players nearest the No. 72 position (Australian Peter Lonard, who has played one event this season, is the only one not playing this week). This group includes World Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal, major winners Mark O’Meara and Todd Hamilton, and 13-time PGA TOUR winner Mark Calcavecchia.

69. Jose Maria Olazabal $102,039 (+$7,589)
70. Mark O’Meara $100,045 (+$5,595)
71. Jim Carter $96,478 (+$2,028)
72. Peter Lonard $94,450
73. Mark Calcavecchia $91,937 $(-2,513)
74. Miguel Angel Martin $89,235 $(-5,215)
75. Skip Kendall $86,008 $(-8,442)
76. Todd Hamilton $80,845 $(-13,605)

SOURCED CONTENT: PGA Tour Communications, Getty Images