Sanford International tees off Friday with 78 players chasing $2 million purse

The Sanford International returns for its fifth year this weekend at Minnehaha Country Club, with 78 players including all four past winners competing for the PGA Tour Champions event’s $2 million purse, with $300,000 going to the winner.

Darren Clarke was last year’s champion, edging K.J. Choi and Steve Flesch in a playoff, and those two are also in the field again this year, joining 2020 champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2019 champion Rocco Mediate, and the event’s inaugural winner, Steve Stricker, who won in 2018.

Jimenez holds the tournament record for lowest score, carding a 14-under 196 on the par-70 course when he won, while Stricker’s 4-stroke win in the first Sanford International remains the largest margin of victory. Jimenez has won three PGA Tour Champions events this year to rank fifth on this year’s Champions money list at over $1.8 million. Leading the way in the Charles Schwab Cup standings are Steven Alker ($2.565 million), Padraig Harrington ($2.43 million), Jerry Kelly ($1.89 million) and Stricker ($1.87 million). All five will be competing in Sioux Falls this weekend.

Sanford International: What to know before you go to the golf tournament when it starts Friday

The field also includes six World Golf Hall of Famers – Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Colin Montgomery and Jose Maria Olazabal. The 78 competitors in the field have combined for 279 PGA Tour wins, including 14 majors, as well as 250 wins on the Champions Tour.

Other well known players who will be on the course this weekend include Rich Beem, Tom Byrum, John Daly, David Duval and Y.E. Yang, who are both making their Sanford International debut, Fred Funk, Lee Janzen, Jeff Maggert, Corey Pavin and Mike Weir.

The first round begins Friday at 11:15 a.m. Gates open at 8 a.m., with Opening Ceremonies set for 10:30.

About the Sanford International

Site: Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Course: Minnehaha CC. Yardage: 6,729. Par: 70.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.

Television: Friday-Sunday, 9:30-11:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

Defending champion: Darren Clarke.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.

Last week: Padraig Harrington won the Ascension Charity Classic.

Notes: Padraig Harrington has won two of his last three starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He can move atop the Charles Schwab Cup standings if he were to win this week. ... Harrington joined Steven Alker, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jerry Kelly as three-time winners this year. They are the top four in the Schwab Cup. ... Justin Leonard made his PGA Tour Champions debut last week with a tie for 19th. Leonard is not in the field this week. ... Davis Love III is in the field a week before he is captain of the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup. ... Steve Flesch has been runner-up in the Sanford International each of the last two years, losing in a three-man playoff last year. ... Mario Tiziani, the brother-in-law of Steve Stricker, is playing on a sponsor exemption. ... David Duval has yet to finish in the top 30 on the PGA Tour Champions this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sanford International tees off Friday in Sioux Falls