Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland highlight Hero World Challenge field

The field for this year’s Hero World Challenge, the exclusive, end-of-year event hosted by Tiger Woods in the Bahamas, has been announced.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland headline the field. Hovland is the Hero’s two-time defending champion and the only player other than Woods to win the tournament multiple times.

Woods is not listed in the 20-man field but there is a glimmer of hope for those hoping his return to competitive golf could be approaching. One spot remains for a ‘TBA tournament exemption’ that will be announced at a later date.

This year’s Hero field features eight of the top 10 players in the world. Three members of the winning European Ryder Cup team – Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka -- will compete at Albany, joined by 11 members of the U.S. team. Two major champions from the 2023 season will make their debuts in the tournament - U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark and The Open Championship winner Brian Harman. The 2023 field features nine players who boast a total of 13 major victories.

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.

Woods has held a spot in the field for himself in the past when his return has remained uncertain. He has not competed since withdrawing after the second round of this year’s Masters Tournament and undergoing a subtalar fusion in his ankle later that month.

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, a five-time winner of his Hero World Challenge, has not played the event since finishing fourth in the event in 2019. Even when Woods is unable to play, he appears at the tournament and holds a pre-tournament press conference as part of his hosting duties. Tiger and Charlie have been the headliners for the past two editions of the parent-child PNC Championship, which will be played two weeks later, as well.

Tiger and Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son, John II, in their PNC debut in 2021. The Woodses made a tournament-record 11 consecutive birdies in the final round to finish two shots back of the Dalys. The PNC was Woods’ first competitive appearance since his car accident in February 2021 and preceded his return to competitive golf at the 2022 Masters.

Woods played three majors in 2022, making the cut in the Masters and PGA Championship before his emotional send-off after the second round of The Open at St. Andrews. Tiger and Charlie finished eighth in last year’s PNC.

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.

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.

2023 HERO WORLD CHALLENGE FIELD

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