Tiger Woods has another loaded field for the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Woods announced 17 players for the 20-man field on Tuesday, and all but four are ranked in the top 21 in the world.
It remains to be seen whether the player ranked world number 1,195 – Woods – will match him in Albany. Woods saved three spots to qualify for the tournament and is widely expected to play for the first time since 2019. He has played three majors this year, most recently at the British Open in July.
In order for the tournament to qualify for world ranking points, freebies must be among the top 50 in the world ranking. The exception is if the tournament host has already qualified.
Woods did not play the World Championship last year while recovering from a car accident in February 2021 that severely damaged his right leg; He has created quite a stir though, seeing him hit full shots from the back of the range. Two weeks later, he returned with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship.
Newcomers to the holiday lineup include Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Sungjae Im, Max Homa and 20-year-old Tom Kim. Among the top 21 players who chose not to play were Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry.
British Open champion Cameron Smith is ineligible because he has signed with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which is a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
The tournament is December 1-4. The Fields currently have 10 of the 12 Americans on the Presidents Cup team. Canteli doesn’t go and the other is Kevin Kisner, who will probably get one free of charge to be announced later. Three of the five qualified players in the Bahamas are Im, Kim and Hideki Matsuyama.
