Scottie Scheffler highlights initial Hero World Challenge field; no Tiger Woods yet

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler highlights the initial field for this year’s Hero World Challenge, which was announced Tuesday.

Scheffler will be joined, so far, by six other top-10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking at Tiger Woods’ Dec. 1-4 event at Albany in the Bahamas: Xander Schauffele (5), Jon Rahm (6), Justin Thomas (7), Collin Morikawa (8), Will Zalatoris (9) and Matt Fitzpatrick (10).

Zalatoris hasn’t competed since he withdrew from the BMW Championship with two herniated discs in his back. He also missed the Tour Championship and Presidents Cup. A timetable for Zalatoris’ return wasn’t provided at the time, but Zalatoris’ agent, Allen Hobbs, said that Zalatoris “is fully focused on getting healthy and back onto the course as soon as he is able.”

Other notable commitments include defending champion Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim. Three spots in the 20-player remain unfilled and will be announced later.

Woods has yet to hint at whether he will compete. He played in three major championships this year after badly injuring his right leg in a car accident in February 2021. He last played the Hero in 2019, when he finished fourth.