Tournament host Tiger Woods has released the field for this year’s Hero World Challenge which again takes place on the Albany Course in the Bahamas.
Heading this 24th hosting of the limited field event will be World number one Scottie Scheffler, while three-time 2024 winner and reigning FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland leads the small number of Europeans to tee-up in the 20-player field.
In total, eight of the top 10 in the world rankings are set to compete, however, there will be no Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm, while Shane Lowry, who finished 18th in last year’s staging, has not been afforded an invitation this year.
Woods, a five-time winner of the event with the last coming in 2015, is not listed in the 20-man field though with a “TBA tournament exemption” listed as the final player, there is still a slim chance that Woods may make his competitive return at the event.
If Woods did play it would be the 15-time major winner’s first event since withdrawing after just seven holes of his third round at this year’s Masters. He was seen last week hitting wedge shots while at Pebble Beach for his TGR JR Invitational and Tiger Woods Invitational. Reports on social media said he played The Hay, a nine-hole par-3 course adjacent to Pebble Beach that was renovated by Woods’ TGR Design, being accompanied by his son, Charlie.
What role Woods will play at the Hero, which is scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at Albany Golf Club, remains to be seen. While injuries have limited his ability compete over the past several years, his December appearances at the Hero and PNC Championship have become annual traditions.
Woods last contested the Hero in 2019, finishing fourth.
Tiger’s 2023 got off to a promising start after he finished T45 at his Genesis Invitational, including an opening-round 69 and a 67 in the third round. He had to withdraw from the Masters, though, as he clearly struggled to walk in cold, rainy conditions at Augusta National
Overall, this year’s Hero World Challenge field features three members of the winning European Ryder Cup team – Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka and eleven members of the losing USA Ryder Cup side, with only LIV player Brooks Koepka not included.
Three players are making their debut in the event, including U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and The Open Championship winner Brian Harman, and there will be nine major winners in total who have won a combined 13 of golf’s most eagerly sought prizes. The addition of Woods would make it a perfect 10 and increase the major tally to 28.
Rickie Fowler, who ended a four-year winless drought at this year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, and Justin Thomas have received two of the three tournament exemptions into this year’s field. The other 17 spots were determined by the highest available players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Hero could mark the return of another player who has had a microdiscectomy. Will Zalatoris is listed in the field. It would mark his first competitive appearance since the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in March. Zalatoris herniated a disk in his back at the 2022 BMW Championship, one week after he earned his first PGA TOUR title at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris took off the remainder of 2022 before returning to the TOUR. He played seven times before withdrawing shortly before his first-round tee time at the Masters and then opting to have back surgery.
Name (Official World Golf Ranking as of 8/27/23 eligibility date), Country
Scottie Scheffler (1), USA
Viktor Hovland (4), Norway
Patrick Cantlay (5) USA
Xander Schauffele (6), USA
Max Homa (7), USA
Matt Fitzpatrick (8), England
Brian Harman (9), USA
Wyndham Clark (10), USA
Jordan Spieth (12), USA
Cameron Young (17), USA
Keegan Bradley (18), USA
Collin Morikawa (19), USA
Tony Finau (20), USA
Sam Burns (21), USA
Jason Day (22), Australia
Sepp Straka (23), Austria
Will Zalatoris (24), USA
Justin Thomas, tournament exemption
Rickie Fowler, tournament exemption
TBA tournament exemption
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