Steve Stricker is among the latest set of golfers to join the field for this year’s Chubb Classic, set for Feb. 17-19 at Tiburón Golf Club’s Black Course in Naples, Florida.
A former Naples resident and 2021 Chubb champion, Stricker won the season-opening PGA Tour Champions event last week at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii. Despite an illness causing him to miss the first half of last season, including the opportunity to defend his Chubb title, Stricker won four Champions tournaments, including a senior major.
Joining Stricker in the latest wave of early commitments are major champions Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Tom Lehman.
Els, a 2010 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, has 74 pro wins, including four major championships. He made his Champions Tour debut in 2020 and has two senior wins. He finished tied for 10th place at the 2022 Chubb Classic.
Furyk has 29 pro wins, including the 2003 U.S. Open and the 2021 U.S. Senior Open. Lehman, a 12-time Champions winner, is a former World No. 1 ranked player and the only golfer to receiver player of the year honors on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour.
The trio, as well as defending champion Bernhard Langer, will be among the 78-player field competing in the 54-hole championship for a share of the $1.8 million purse. All three rounds will be televised live on the Golf Channel.
Now in its 36th year, the Chubb Classic is the longest-running Champions Tour event in the same metropolitan area, getting its start in Southwest Florida at The Club Pelican Bay in 1988. Tiburón has hosted the tournament since 2021.
Limited general admission and exclusive hospitality tickets are still available for the Chubb Classic. All service personnel, including military, police, fire and EMS, and a plus one will receive free admission, compliments of SERVPRO. Children under 18 will also be admitted free to the tournament with a paid adult.
A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to local charities throughout Southwest Florida. The Chubb Classic has supported more than 39 charitable organizations in the area since its inception in 1988.