Jason Day To Play High Profile Skins Event
Thursday 19 September: GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR has today announced an upcoming high-profile, live competition featuring global golf icon Tiger Woods to be named The Challenge: Japan Skins.
Woods will go head to head with reigning FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year Rory McIlroy and multiple-time PGA TOUR winners Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama in a globally-televised skins game.
The high-stakes exhibition event kicks off the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP week, the first-ever official PGA TOUR event to be played in Japan. Both events will be played at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, during the week of October 21, 2019.
The Challenge: Japan Skins marks the first in a series of annual Challenge events that are set to become a thrilling addition to the global golf calendar, and tees off at 2:00pm AEDT on October 21.
Endorsed by the PGA TOUR and produced in partnership with Excel Sports Management, The Challenge: Japan Skins unites four of the top players in the world from separate continents, who will also participate in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, in an exciting competition format that’s sure to thrill audiences around the globe.
Alongside special in-match challenges and surprises, and finishing under floodlights, each hole will be assigned an increasing monetary value as the competition plays out. Players need to win a hole outright to take a “skin” (tied holes result in a “push” of the skin to the next hole), so golf fans can expect to see aggressive play from start to finish.
The Challenge and the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP brings Tiger Woods back to Japan for the first time in more than 13 years. It is also the first televised exhibition match of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama’s careers.
Looking ahead to the event, Woods said: “After discussing The Challenge with Discovery and GOLFTV, I wanted to be a part of it. I haven’t been back to Japan since 2006 and the golf fans there are some of the best in the world. It’s a unique format and a top field with Rory, Jason and Hideki. I can’t wait to play against them on a global stage.
“I haven’t played a skins format in quite some time, so it will be fun to try something a little different and add a few strategic elements as we compete. There has already been some friendly banter between us and that will continue until we get to the first tee.”
Day added: “I can’t wait to get out there and play in Japan. We don’t get the opportunity to play skins throughout the year and I’ve never actually played in an exhibition event like this, so The Challenge certainly stood out to me.
“It’s going to get really competitive between the four of us and that’s one of the great things about skins. The winner is going to be the guy who best executes an aggressive strategy on every hole, so there’s going to be plenty of twists and turns throughout the competition.”
