Golf’s silly season continues this week with the QBE Shootout, the mixed team event that features some of the best players on the PGA Tour, as well as an LPGA star.
Two-time major champion Greg Norman is the host for the year-end event at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, which two weeks ago hosted the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The course also hosts the Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions in February.
The first round begins on Friday, Dec. 10 with a scramble. Saturday’s second round is modified alternate shot, with four-ball for Sunday’s final round.
Meet the 12 two-person teams for the 2021 QBE Shootout.
Harris English — Matt Kuchar
English and Kuchar will partner for the seventh time. The most successful pairing in Shootout history, this team has also recorded two runner-up finishes (2014, 2015). Hank Kuehne-Jeff Sluman won in ’03 and ’04 while Brad Faxon-Scott McCarron won in ’00 and ’01 as the other multiple winners. The duo holds the tournament record for largest margin of victory, nine strokes last year. They also held the previous record when they won by seven in 2013.
Matt Kuchar and Harris English winners of the QBE Shootout at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, on Dec. 13, 2020. (Photo: Chris Tilley/Naples Daily News)
Lexi Thompson — Bubba Watson
Watson will be making his seventh appearance. Thompson will be making her fifth start with her fourth different teammate. Thompson’s best finish was a T4 with Tony Finau in 2017 and Watson’s fifth place last year with Louis Oosthuizen is his best. Thompson has played on five Solheim Cup teams while Watson has been a member of six U.S. national teams — Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
QBE Shootout: Lexi Thompson looking forward to Bubba Watson pairing
Lexi Thompson hits her ball out of the bunker on the 18th hole at the QBE Shootout at the Tiburón Golf Club, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2018 in Naples, Florida.
Jason Day — Marc Leishman
This Australian team will be partnered in the QBE Shootout for the first time. At the 2017 Presidents Cup, they were paired together for the first three matches and came up empty in a U.S. victory that year. Day won here in 2014 with Cameron Tringale. This will be Day’s first appearance since winning that year and Leishman returns for the second consecutive time.
Jason Day (left) and Marc Leishman fist bump on the third hole during the second round four-ball matches of The President’s Cup at Liberty National Golf Course. (Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY)
Sam Burns — Billy Horschel
This SEC team, LSU and Florida, respectively, is one of the nine new teams. Horschel will be making his ninth consecutive start and Burns his first. Both players qualified for the Tour Championship in September and finished in the top 20. Both also won this year. Burns won the Valspar Championship in the spring and Sanderson Farms Championship last month. Horschel, the 2014 FedExCup champion, won the WGC-Match Play in March. Between them, they accumulated 14 top-10 finishes in the 2020-2021 season.
Group of Billy Horschel and Sam Burns walk to the 10th green during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
Jason Kokrak — Kevin Na
Na, is making his third appearance. His best was a T2 in 2020 with Sean O’Hair. Kokrak and J.T. Poston were runners-up in 2019 in Jason’s only appearance prior to this year. Another new team and pairing that won as individuals during the 2020-21 season. Kokrak won the CJ Cup last October and Na won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.
Jason Kokrak (L) and Kevin Na (R) walk to the 10th green during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course) on February 11, 2016 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
Charles Howell III — Ian Poulter
Poulter was scheduled to play with Lee Westwood, but Westwood withdrew due to an illness. Howell III will be making his 12th appearance in the Shootout, so Poulter is getting someone who is very accustomed to the formats. Poulter will be making his eighth start, and won with Dustin Johnson in 2010.
Ian Poulter gives some putting tips on the 4th green during the QBE Shootout Pro-Am in Naples at the Tiburón Golf Club, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. (Photo: Chris Tilley/Special to Naples Daily News)
Max Homa — Kevin Kisner
Kisner will be playing in his fifth Shootout. He played four consecutive before missing last year and his best finish was 4th place with Kevin Chappell in 2016. Homa is a Shootout rookie. One of Kisner’s career titles is the 2019 WGC-Match Play and he was undefeated at the 2017 Presidents Cup with a 2-0-2 record. In September, Homa won the Fortinet Championship to start his season and record his second win in the calendar year.
Max Homa of the United States plays a shot from the 14th tee during the second round of The RSM Classic on the Plantation Course at Sea Island Resort on November 19, 2021 in St Simons Island, Georgia. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Brian Harman — Hudson Swafford
These two Georgia Bulldogs and Sea Island, Georgia, residents, will be playing for the first time together. Harman won with another Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire in 2018. Swafford is another Naples rookie. Both played on the Bulldog golf team that included Harris English, Chris Kirk, Russell Henley and Brendon Todd — all of whom are Tour winners.
Hudson Swafford of the United States reacts on the second green during the third round of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 28, 2021 in Owings Mills, Maryland. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Matt Jones — Ryan Palmer
Playing together for the first time after Jones replaced Harold Varner III, who withdrew with an injury. Palmer and Va rner tied for third in 2019. Jones is making his first appearance. Palmer won the Zurich Classic in New Orleans with Jon Rahm in 2019. Jones won this year’s Honda Classic.
Ryan Palmer plays his shot from the first tee during the final round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Sean O’Hair — Will Zalatoris
O’Hair was scheduled to play with Steve Stricker after the two won the Shootout in 2017, but Stricker withdrew due to a non-COVID-related illness. Zalatoris will play in the Shootout for the first time, but he has a good partner in O’Hair, who also won with Kenny Perry in 2012. Zalatoris is the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Will Zalatoris pumps his fist after making a birdie on the ninth hole of his second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Corey Conners — Graeme McDowell
Another international team representing Canada and Northern Ireland. McDowell is playing in his ninth Shootout while Conners only start was in 2019 when he played with Andrew Putnam. For McDowell, this will be his seventh different partner. He has finished second three times, with Darren Clarke in 2010, Shane Lowry in 2017 and Emiliano Grillo in 2018. Conners accumulated eight top-10 finishes and 19 top 25s in the 2021 season, including a T8 at the Masters.
Graeme McDowell studies his tee shot on the second hole during the first round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club. (Photo: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)
K.H. Lee — Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker, another FedExCup champion in the field, will be in Naples for the seventh time. He won in 2015 with Jason Dufner. Lee is making his first Shootout appearance after a strong 2020/2021 season that included a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Brandt Snedeker plays a shot from a bunker on the 11th hole on the South Course during the final round of the the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course on January 27, 2019, in San Diego. Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images
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