Last week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic marked the final full-field PGA Tour event of 2020, but now it’s time to have a little fun. This week’s QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, will feature 12 two-man teams competing over three days with a different format each day: scramble, modified alternate shot and four-ball.
Among the 12 teams are 16 golfers ranked in the top 50 in the world. As a group, they own dozens of worldwide titles and three majors – though the majors belong to Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen, who are competing on the same team.
QBE Shootout: First-round pairings, tee times, TV
Take a look at the teams and how their resumes stack up:
Rory Sabbatini — Kevin Tway
(Combined seven PGA Tour wins and 2019 QBE Shootout)
Sabbatini will be playing in his 11th Shootout and Tway in his second. In addition to his win, Sabbatini finished runner-up in both 2011 and 2012 with two different partners. They will attempt to become the first team since 2004 to successfully defend its QBE Shootout title.
Louis Oosthuizen — Bubba Watson
(26 worldwide wins including three major championships)
The South African will be playing in his first Shootout, while Watson will be making his sixth appearance. Watson defeated Oosthuizen in a playoff to win the first of his two Masters in 2012.
The only time these two faced each other in a Presidents Cup was 2015 when Oosthuizen and Branden Grace defeated Watson and J.B. Holmes in four-ball.
Harris English — Matt Kuchar
(11 PGA Tour wins and two QBE Shootout wins as a team)
Playing together for the first time since 2017, Kuchar and English will partner for the sixth time. One of the most successful pairings in Shootout history, this team has won twice (2013, 2016) and also has two runner-up finishes (2014, 2015). The duo holds the Tournament record for largest margin of victory, which was seven strokes when they won in 2013.
Daniel Berger — Steve Stricker
(15 PGA Tour wins and two QBE Shootout wins)
Paired together for the first time. Stricker won the 2011 Shootout with Jerry Kelly and the 2017 title with Sean O’Hair. Stricker, the current U.S. Ryder Cup Captain, snapped a streak of 11 consecutive appearances from 2008 through 2018 last year when he served as assistant captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Berger is making his fourth start and first since 2017 when he and Gary Woodland finished tied for fourth.
Sebastian Munoz — Joaquin Niemann
(Both secured first PGA Tour title in 2019)
This pairing marks the first Latin American team in Shootout history; Muñoz representing Colombia and Niemann representing Chile. One of the young gun teams this year, both are in their 20s. The last time a rookie team won the Shootout was Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele in 2011.
Abraham Ancer — Matthew Wolff
(Two worldwide wins)
Ancer, age 27 and Wolff, 21, is the youngest team in the Shootout and they also boast the highest combined world ranking in the field (Wolff, 14th; Ancer, 23rd). This will be Ancer’s first appearance while Wolff returns after finishing sixth last year with Viktor Hovland. Ancer was the first Mexican player to crack the top 50 in the world in 2019 and the first Mexican player to participate in the Presidents Cup.
Billy Horschel — Brendon Todd
(Eight PGA Tour wins)
This team tied for third last year. Horschel will be making his eighth consecutive start and Todd his second. Both players qualified for the Tour Championship in September. During the 2019-2020 season, they combined for 10 top-10 finishes.
Ryan Palmer — Harold Varner III
(Five worldwide wins)
Playing together for the second straight year, having tied for third last year. Both are making their third start in the QBE Shootout. Palmer has skyrocketed up the World Golf Rankings in 2020 from No. 91 to start the year to currently No. 30.
Marc Leishman — Cameron Smith
(16 worldwide wins)
This Australian duo is another rookie team in the Shootout. It is also the first all-Australian team since 2005 when Steve Elkington and Greg Norman played together. Ten years separate these two with Leishman, 37 and Smith, 27. Smith tied for second in the Masters last month.
Cameron Champ — Tony Finau
(Three PGA Tour wins)
Regarded as two of the longest hitters on Tour, Champ and Finau are back at the QBE Shootout after missing the 2019 event, and will be paired together for the first time. Both finished in the top 10 at the PGA Championship and by season’s end were qualified for the Tour Championship.
Lanto Griffin — Mackenzie Hughes
(Two PGA Tour wins)
Another rookie team to the Shootout. Hughes was the first rookie in 20 years to win wire-to-wire when he won the 2016 RSM Classic, in only his fifth PGA Tour start. Griffin earned his first Tour victory at the 2019 Houston Open in his 33rd start.
Kevin Na — Sean O’Hair
(Eight PGA Tour wins and two QBE Shootout wins)
O’Hair, a two-time champion, returns for his 10th consecutive appearance. O’Hair has won at Tiburón with two different partners so it could be a good sign for Na, who is making his second appearance. Na tied for third in 2018 with Bryson