Tiger Woods Finds Sponsor For His World Challenge Event

Northwestern Mutual is teaming up with Tiger Woods, coming to terms with the number one golfer in the world on a sponsorship deal for his annual tournament that raises money for his foundation 

The event, which has been renamed Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, will be held December 5^th through December 8^th at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousands Oaks, CA. It will include a 18-player field that includes Woods, defending tourney champion Graeme McDowell and second-ranked player in the world Rory McIlroy. The full field will announce at a later date. The winner of the tournament receives a $1 million prize.

Though Northwestern Mutual presented the event last year, the tournament went without a sponsor, with Woods covering the $4 million cost out of his own pocket to bridge the financial gap. Chevron had previously sponsored Woods' tournament since its inception in 1999 up until last year.

"Northwestern Mutual shares a common goal to improve educational success, health and development of children and families so they have bright futures ahead of them," said Conrad York, the company's vice president of marketing.

The Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, inspired by Woods' late father, Earl, offers world ranking points even though it is classified as an unofficial event by the PGA. The event raises money for the Tiger Woods Foundation, which focuses on education, including helping children gain access to college.

"What's important is that if it wasn't for this tournament, we wouldn't have the success with the foundation,'' Woods said at last year's tournament. "'The Learning Center' (in Orange County, CA) would not have happened. We wouldn't have gained the awareness that we have now. There have been so many kids that we have helped just because of this event. It's important to me, to the foundation. This is what got us on the map.''