2011 Northern Trust Open field finalized
Stricker, Mickelson, Couples headline field
With the passing of Friday’s 5 p.m. ET commitment deadline, the field for the Northern Trust Open, February 15-20, has been finalized and will include some of the biggest names on the PGA TOUR. Defending champion Steve Stricker comes to Riviera with hopes of becoming the third player since 2003 to win back-to-back titles at the event. Joining Stricker in the field will be two-
time Northern Trust Open champion Phil Mickelson, who claimed consecutive titles at Riviera in 2008 and 2009. Mickelson, the No. 4 ranked player in the world, will be making his 13th-career appearance at the Northern Trust Open and another win would put him in the company of Ben Hogan (3), Arnold Palmer (3), Lloyd Mangrum (4) and MacDonald Smith (4) as the only players to win the tournament three or more times.
Stricker returns to Riviera coming off another solid year on the PGA TOUR in 2010, capturing the John Deere Classic in July in addition to his victory at the Northern Trust Open. His five victories on the PGA TOUR since the start of the 2009 season trail only Tiger Woods’ six during that span and he leads the TOUR with 25 consecutive cuts made. Stricker recorded top 10s in his only two starts on the PGA TOUR so far in 2011, posting a T4 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and a T9 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Joining them in the field is 1999 Northern Trust Open champion Ernie Els, the No. 11 ranked player in the world and 18-time PGA TOUR winner. In addition to his victory in 1999, Els posted top 10s in 2007 (T3) and 2010 (T10). He enjoyed a resurgent 2010 campaign, winning the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
Fan favorite and two-time champion (1990, 1992) Fred Couples returns to Riviera to play his 29th Northern Trust Open in 2011. Couples has compiled an amazing record at the tournament, which includes 26 made cuts, 19 top-25 finishes and 13 top-10 finishes. He posted a T3 in 2009, two shots off Mickelson’s winning pace. In his first season on the Champions Tour in 2010, Couples won four times and was named Rookie of the Year. He captained the U.S. Presidents Cup Team to victory in 2009 and reprise that role again in November when the matches return to Royal Melbourne.
Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa returns to the site of his first PGA TOUR start and will compete in the Northern Trust Open after receiving a Commissioner’s Foreign Exemption for the third-consecutive year. A member of the 2009 International Presidents Cup Team, Ishikawa missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open in 2009 and finished T32 in 2010. He has won nine times on the Japan Golf Tour and posted his first top 10 on the PGA TOUR at the 2010 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship (T9).
Other notable players in the field include 2010 FedExCup champion Jim Furyk, defending British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, former No. 1 Vijay Singh, FedExCup leader Mark Wilson and PGA TOUR rookie Jhonattan Vegas.
The 2011 Northern Trust Open field includes 23 major championship winners with 34 major titles. There are 10 former Northern Trust Open Champions in the field.
“We are thrilled with the field for this year’s event. There is a wonderful mix of some of the game’s biggest stars as well as some of golf’s best young talent,” said Executive Director Jerry West. “I encourage fans throughout Southern California to come out to Riviera Country Club and enjoy the tournament. With their support, we can continue a great tradition of giving through charitable contributions to the greater Los Angeles community.”
Final field- 142 players
| Blake Adams | Robert Allenby | Stuart Appleby | Arjun Atwal |
| Aaron Baddeley | Ricky Barnes | Cameron Beckman | Rich Beem |
| Matt Bettencourt | Kris Blanks | Jason Bohn | Michael Bradley |
| Joseph Bramlett | Jonathan Byrd | Angel Cabrera | Chad Campbell |
| Paul Casey | Alex Cejka | Greg Chalmers | K.J. Choi |
| Stewart Cink | Tim Clark | ChadCollins | Michael Connell |
| Fred Couples | Ben Curtis | Brian Davis | Jason Day |
| Brendon de Jonge | Chris DiMarco | Luke Donald | Jason Dufner |
| Joe Durant | David Duval | Steve Elkington | Brad Faxon |
| Jon Fiedler | Steve Flesch | Rickie Fowler | Harrison Frazar |
| Fred Funk | Jim Furyk | Tommy Gainey | Robert Garrigus |
| Tom Gillis | Lucas Glover | Retief Goosen | Paul Goydos |
| Nathan Green | Bill Haas | Hunter Haas | Padraig Harrington |
| J.P. Hayes | J.J. Henry | Charley Hoffman | J.B. Holmes |
| Charles Howell III | Yuta Ikeda | Ryuji Imada | Trevor Immelman |
| Ryo Ishikawa | Dustin Johnson | Zach Johnson | Matt Jones |
| Robert Karlsson | Anthony Kim | Kyung-tae Kim | Chris Kirk |
| Matt Kuchar | Martin Laird | Derek Lamely | Marc Leishman |
| Justin Leonard | Spencer Levin | Bill Lunde | Jarrod Lyle |
| Will MacKenzie | Jeff Maggert | Hunter Mahan | Steve Marino |
| Ben Martin | Troy Matteson | Billy Mayfair | Scott McCarron |
| William McGirt | Rocco Mediate | Troy Merritt | Shaun Micheel |
| Phil Mickelson | Bryce Molder | Ryan Moore | Kevin Na |
| Sean O'Hair | Geoff Ogilvy | Louis Oosthuizen | Jeff Overton |
| Ryan Palmer | Jesper Parnevik | Corey Pavin | Pat Perez |
| Tim Petrovic | Carl Pettersson | Scott Piercy | D.A. Points |
| Alex Prugh | Chez Reavie | Chris Riley | John Rollins |
| Andres Romero | Justin Rose | Rory Sabbatini | John Senden |
| Michael Sim | Vijay Singh | Brandt Snedeker | Kevin Stadler |
| Brendan Steele | Kevin Streelman | Steve Stricker | Chris Stroud |
| Daniel Summerhays | Kevin Sutherland | Vaughn Taylor | Josh Teater |
| Roland Thatcher | Peter Tomasulo | D.J. Trahan | Cameron Tringale |
| Marc Turnesa | Bo Van Pelt | Jhonattan Vegas | Jimmy Walker |
| Bubba Watson | Mike Weir | Charlie Wi | Dean Wilson |
| Mark Wilson | Y.E. Yang |
About the Northern Trust Open
What started as the Los Angeles Open is now the Northern Trust Open,
one of the longest-running tournaments on the PGA TOUR. Debuting in
1926 at Los Angeles Country Club, the event had been staged at various
courses throughout the Los Angeles area before permanently settling
at Riviera Country Club in 1973. Outside of the major championships,
the Northern Trust Open is the fourth-oldest event on TOUR, trailing
only the BMW Championship, the Canadian Open and the Valero Texas Open.
About Northern Trust
Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of investment
management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary
services for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide.
Northern Trust, a financial holding company based in Chicago, has offices
in 18 U.S. states and 16 international locations in North America, Europe,
the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of September 30, 2009,
Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$3.6 trillion, and assets
under investment management of US$611 billion. For 120 years, Northern
Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader in combining exceptional
service and expertise with innovative products and technology. For more
information, visit www.northerntrust.com.
