Tournament host Tiger Woods has released the field for this year’s hosting of the Hero World Challenge again taking place on the Albany course in the Bahamas.
Heading this 24th hosting of the limited field event will be World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and with double tournament winning and FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland leading the small number of Europeans to tee-up in the 20-player field,
However, there will be no Rory McIlroy teeing-up while Shane Lowry, who struggled last year ending in 18th place but who was on the winning European Ryder Cup team, has not been afforded an invitation this year.
Tiger Woods and host of the Hero World Challenge (Photo – @TourMiss)
Woods, and winner of the event on five occasions with a last in 2015, is not listed in the 20-man field though with one place in the field still be announced there is a slim chance Woods may play.
If Woods did play it would be the current World No. 1,269th players first event since withdrawing after two rounds of 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, with 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 f2019, finishing fourth in 2019
Tiger’s 2023 got off to a promising start after he finished T45 at his Genesis Invitational, including an opening-round 69 and 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
This year’s Hero World Challenge field features:
+ Eight of the the top 10 players in the world.
+ Three members of the winning European Ryder Cup team – Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka.
+ Eleven members of the losing USA Ryder Cup side
+ Three players making their debut in the event – U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark and The Open Championship winner Brian Harman.
+ Nine players who have won a combined 13 majors,
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.
Good to see Will Zalatoris in the field and it would mark his first competitive appearance since the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in March.
He 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
+ Thank you to PGA Tour
