AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 27: Jason Day of Australia proudly holds the Walter Hagen Cup with his wife Ellie Day, and his children Lucy and Dash after his 5&4 victory over Louis Oosthuizen in the championship match of the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play at the Austin Country Club on March 27, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Defending champion Jason Day makes 2016-2017 PGA TOUR debut

Day among 18 players in the Tournament of Champions field who would be qualified for Dell Technologies Match Play

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 27: Jason Day of Australia proudly holds the Walter Hagen Cup with his wife Ellie Day, and his children Lucy and Dash after his 5&4 victory over Louis Oosthuizen in the championship match of the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play at the Austin Country Club on March 27, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Austin, Texas – Jason Day, the winner of last year’s Dell Technologies Match Play and the No. 1-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, will make his PGA TOUR season debut this week at the SBS Tournament of Champions in Maui. Of the 32 players in the prestigious field made up only of players who won PGA TOUR events in the 2016 calendar year, 18 would currently be qualified inside the top 64 in the world if the Dell Technologies Match Play were held today. The Dell Technologies Match Play returns to Austin Country Club on March 22-26, with tickets currently on sale.

Day is set to debut after being sidelined in the fall while rehabilitating a back injury. The Australian qualified for the SBS Tournament of Champions with three victories last season. Day’s first victory of the year came the week before Austin with a one-shot win over Kevin Chappell at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The following week, Day battled through soreness to win all three of his group stage matches before his run through the knockout rounds at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Day defeated Rory McIlroy, 1-up, in a thrilling semi-final match before handily taking care of Louis Oosthuizen in the final, 5-and-4, for the second Dell Technologies Match Play victory of his career. The win moved him to second in the FedExCup and No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in his career.

Day added a win THE PLAYERS Championship -- becoming just the fifth wire-to-wire winner in tournament history and the first since Hal Sutton in 2000. With the win, Day joined Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Martin Kaymer as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship, a major championship and a World Golf Championships event in their career.

Joining Day in the SBS Tournament of Champions field from the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking are Dustin Johnson (3rd), Jordan Spieth (5th), Hideki Matsuyama (6th), Patrick Reed (8th) and Bubba Watson (10th).

Players in SBS Tournament of Champions field who are also inside the top 64 in the Official World Golf Ranking and would be qualified to play at Austin Country Club:

Rank - Player

A limited number of tickets remain available and can be purchased at www.WorldGolfChampionships.com or by calling 844-868-7465. Tickets available include weekly grounds badges that grant access to the Austin Country Club grounds and all public venues, fan activations and bleachers. Additionally, Capital City Club badges are available. Located on the 12th fairway, the Capital City Club offers an upgraded venue to sit, mingle and enjoy a choice of food and beverages for purchase. Several large-screen televisions keep guests in all the action with the open-seating, relaxed sports bar setting.

Those who purchased tickets are reminded that youth 18 and under will be admitted free all week when accompanied by a ticketed adult (one free youth ticket per each adult ticket will be available). This free ticket only applies for grounds tickets and not upgraded hospitality options. Limited hospitality opportunities remain available. For more information on corporate hospitality venues, call the tournament office at 512-949-5885.

The Dell Technologies Match Play is one of the most elite and exciting tournaments on golf’s calendar. Established in 1999, the Dell Technologies Match Play is one of four tournaments in the World Golf Championships series (Dell Technologies Match Play, Mexico Championship, Bridgestone Invitational, HSBC Champions) that are sanctioned and organized by the operational committee of the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour and are official events for all Tours across the globe (PGA TOUR, European Tour, Asian Tour, South African Tour, etc.).

Only the top 64 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are invited to play in the Dell Technologies Match Play, a strict qualification guideline that ensures the field in Austin annually consists of the very best players from around the world from all Tours. It is a given that fans attending the Dell Technologies Match Play will see players like Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott in the field.

The Dell Technologies Match Play has generated more than $16 million for charity since its inception, part of the more than $54 million raised for global charities since the advent of the World Golf Championships in 1999. For more information, visit www.WorldGolfChampionships.com or follow the event on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.