The initial field for the 2026 Hero World Challenge is out, and Tiger Woods is not on it. Seventeen of the 20 spots are filled, and three tournament exemptions will be announced later.
The tournament host has neither committed to play nor been ruled out. The event runs Dec. 3-6 at Albany in the Bahamas, its 11th year there.
Woods has not made an official start since the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he missed the cut. He had surgery after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in March 2025, then underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in October 2025, his seventh back procedure.
TGR Live posted video of Woods hitting shots on Oct. 13 at Pebble Beach, a day after the TGR Junior Invitational wrapped up. The caption read: “Back on your feed, right where this swing belongs.”
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The confirmed field includes seven of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking as of the Aug. 31 eligibility date. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler leads the group. Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele round out the top-10 contingent.
Three top-10 players are not in the initial field: Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood.
Scheffler won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama won in 2016 and 2025. Either one would become the first three-time winner at Albany.
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. He also earned the winning point for the U.S. at the Presidents Cup.
The field features 106 combined PGA Tour wins and six players with 11 major championships between them. Eleven 2026 Presidents Cup players are in the field, including eight from the winning U.S. team. Golfers from six countries are represented.
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Here is the initial field, with world rankings as of Aug. 31:
Scottie Scheffler (1), USA
Cameron Young (3), USA
Matt Fitzpatrick (4), England
Russell Henley (6), USA
Chris Gotterup (7), USA
Sam Burns (9), USA
Xander Schauffele (10), USA
Si Woo Kim (13), Republic of Korea
J.J. Spaun (17), USA
Robert MacIntyre (18), Scotland
Justin Thomas (21), USA
Ryan Gerard (22), USA
Hideki Matsuyama (26), Japan
Jacob Bridgeman (28), USA
Tom Kim (30), Republic of Korea
Sepp Straka (32), Austria
Akshay Bhatia (33), USA
Woods has used the event for a comeback before. He returned to competition at the 2017 Hero World Challenge after spinal fusion surgery, then won the 2018 Tour Championship.
Golf Channel will air all four rounds, and NBC will carry the weekend. Proceeds benefit the TGR Foundation, the Tavistock Foundation and the Bahamas Youth Foundation.
