The 20-man field of the Hero World Challenge is finalized, and Tiger Woods won’t be a part of it. Given the fact that the 15-time major winner went through his sixth back surgery in September, it wasn’t really a surprise.
But other than the tournament host, some of the PGA Tour’s bigwigs will also miss the trip to the Bahamas. Rory McIlroy is an outlier—he played only three times. However, some of the tournament regulars and past champions will skip the Hero World Challenge this year. Here are five of them.
Rickie Fowler
The 35-year-old has been a consistent top performer in Tiger Woods’s event. Fowler, the 2017 champion, has an additional four top-five finishes here. In 2017, the six-time PGA Tour winner fired 11-under 61, a course record at that time, to erase a seven-stroke deficit in the final round and win by four. Rickie Fowler last played in the Zozo Championship, bagging a T4.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth has finally undergone wrist surgery a few months ago. The three-time major winner managed only three top-tens this season, the last of which came way back in early. Spieth has been spending his off-season on charitable activities; he recently hosted the 10th Spieth & Friends event. Spieth, the champion of the 2014 iteration, bagged a T6 in last year’s Hero World Challenge.
Max Homa
Max Homa will be absent from the Albany event after making two back-to-back trips to the Bahamas in the last two years. The six-time PGA Tour winner has slipped outside the top 30 in the OWGR table, hence not earning a spot in the tournament. Homa’s last top-ten finish came at the Wells Fargo Championship in May. In his last appearance at the 2024 Zozo Championship, the 34-year-old settled for a T27.
Viktor Hovland
Hovland’s Hero World Challenge record is quite spectacular. The Norwegian bagged a podium finish on his debut in 2021. Then he went on to defend his title next year as well. Viktor Hovland, however, is recuperating from an injury. His last appearance came at the Tour Championship, where the Palm Beach resident bagged a T12. Interestingly, the rumor is Hovland wants to join LIV Golf next season.
Xander Schauffele
The world no. 2 has been relentless in his pursuit of Scottie Scheffler, but he will not chase the world no. 1 in the Bahamas. Xander Schauffele has skipped the Hero World Challenge after bagging a solo fourth in 2022. The two-time major champion has rarely played after the Tour Championship, coming out of his hiatus only for the Zozo Championship. Most likely, you will see him only at the Sentry in January.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, and Will Zalatoris are a few others from last year’s event who are not in the field this year. The limited-field Hero World Challenge will kick off on December 5. Golf Channel and NBC will broadcast the event live. Tickets are also available for purchase, although only in limited numbers.
