Tiger Woods' annual World Challenge golf tournament is "back on the schedule this year" for Dec. 5-8, according to Doug Ferguson of the AP. It will be held at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., "where it has been" held since '01. Tiger Woods Foundation President Greg McLaughlin said that he was "not ready to announce the corporate support" for the event. McLaughlin said, "There wasn't a doubt whether we could stage it. The question was whether we could get the necessary corporate support." Ferguson wrote the event means so much to Woods that he "spent what was believed to be about $4 million of his own money to help cover operating costs in a year it did not have a full title sponsor." Another question about the tournament was "how it would fit in when the PGA Tour goes to a wraparound season in October." The World Challenge only offers Official World Golf Ranking points, and McLaughlin "believes the appeal is the reduced field and low-key atmosphere." With the European Tour "ending the same week as the PGA Tour, there's a chance of getting additional players before" they take the winter off. McLaughlin: "This is our 15th year, and it's very important to Tiger. For our foundation, it's the first event we ever did. It would be hard to ever imagine not doing the event." The World Challenge is "one of three tournaments this year that benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation" (AP, 7/2).
