"The Big Easy" is returning to The Old Pueblo, and if history is any indication, he'll be pushing for a Cologuard Classic championship.
The PGA Tour Champions event announced Wednesday that Ernie Els will play in next week's tournament at Omni Tucson National. So will 2018 champion Steve Stricker and 2019 champion Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke and fan favorite John Daly. Clarke and Daly received sponsors exemptions. A total of 78 players will vie for a $1.7 million purse; the winner takes home $255,000.
The rest of the pool will be announced later in the week. Players have until Friday to commit. The three-day competition begins Feb. 28 at Tucson National.
South Africa's Ernie Els hits his second shot on the 6th hole during the opening round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Sydney, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Els, a Champions Tour rookie, has won 71 tournaments — and four majors — in his illustrious career. The South African was voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. Next week's tournament will be his second in what used to be known as the Seniors Tour; in his first, he finished behind Jimenez at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January. Els appeared at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain each year from 2007-13; in 2009, he finished fifth.
The 50-year-old Els is expected to push for a championship on a tour that typically rewards its youngest players. Stricker was 51 when he won the Cologuard Classic two years ago, and Olazabal was 53 when he took home last year's event.
