Tiger Woods is not among the 17 players named in the initial field for his own Hero World Challenge, leaving the tournament host’s return to competition unclear with three spots still to be filled. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama headline the field for the 20-player event in the Bahamas from 3-6 December.
The PGA Tour released the initial field on Monday (US time), with seven of the world’s top 10 committed, based on the Official World Golf Ranking at the 31 August eligibility date. The final three places are tournament exemptions that will be announced later.
Woods, the 15-time major champion who hosts the event, could still be added as one of those exemptions, Sky Sports reported, but there has been no confirmation of when he might return to competitive golf.
The 50-year-old has not played a tournament since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. Golf Channel noted he ruptured his left Achilles in March 2025 and had a disc replacement in his back that October, and that he has not yet announced a playing schedule.
Last week, video of Woods hitting balls at Monterey Peninsula Country Club during his foundation’s charity event in California gave fans their first extended look at his swing in months, Golf Channel reported.
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Who is in the field?
Scheffler won the event in 2023 and 2024, while Matsuyama won at Albany in 2016 and again in 2025, so both are chasing a record third title at the venue.
Cameron Young (No.3), Matt Fitzpatrick (No.4), Russell Henley (No.6), Chris Gotterup (No.7), Sam Burns (No.9) and Xander Schauffele (No.10) complete the top-10 contingent. J.J. Spaun, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Thomas, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and Akshay Bhatia have also committed.
Si Woo Kim, Ryan Gerard and Jacob Bridgeman will make their Hero World Challenge debuts. Bridgeman won The Genesis Invitational in February and the Biltmore Championship Asheville in September, and recorded the winning point at the Presidents Cup, according to the PGA Tour.
No Australians in the initial field
There are no Australians among the 17 confirmed players, with the field made up of golfers from the US, England, South Korea, Scotland, Japan and Austria.
Three of the top 10 at the eligibility date are not in the initial list, including world No.2 Rory McIlroy and No.8 Tommy Fleetwood, Golf Channel noted. Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg, all ranked above Bhatia (No.33), are also missing, while Golf Channel named 2014 champion Jordan Spieth, who received a sponsor’s exemption last year, as a natural candidate for an invitation.
The Hero World Challenge will be played at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas from 3-6 December (US time).
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