World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is set to defend his title at the Hero World Challenge in December as the tournament announced 17 competitors in the 20-man field. No word on whether tournament host Tiger Woods will compete and start his latest comeback from his latest surgery.
This year’s field features five of the top 10 players in the world. In addition to Scheffler, who also won the Masters in April, Olympic Gold in Paris in July and the FedEx Cup in August, No. 7 Hideki Matsuyama, the 2016 tournament champion, returns after an absence, as does No. 9 Patrick Cantlay, who starred at the Presidents Cup last month. Nine members of the United States’ victorious 2024 Presidents Cup team and three members of the International team (Matsuyama, Sungjae Im and Tom Kim) will compete at Albany.
Six players will make their Hero World Challenge debuts this December – Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Aaron Rai and Matthieu Pavon. The 2024 field represents golfers from seven different countries (U.S., Republic of Korea, Japan, England, Scotland, France and Sweden).
Woods, a five-time past champion of the event, had microdecompression surgery on his lower back Sept. 13 to relieve nerve impingement and back pain. He hasn’t announced when he plans to try to play again. He often has used the Hero World Challenge as a barometer of how his body is feeling in a 72-hole, no-cut event and work off some rust after a layoff. Woods last played at the British Open in July. The 2024 edition of the tournament returns to Albany for the ninth year, from Dec. 5-8.
The remaining three sponsor invites into the field will be announced at a later date. It’s not unusual for Woods to wait to announce his participation in the event. He typically also plays in the PNC Championship with son Charlie, which will be played the weekend before Christmas this year.
After second place finishes at Albany in 2021 and 2022, Scheffler capped off his second straight year as PGA Tour Player of the Year with a victory in the 2023 Hero World Challenge. Following an opening-round 69, Scheffler took control of the tournament with rounds of 66 and 65 on Friday and Saturday – both the low rounds of the days. A final-round 68 Sunday sealed the victory.
Live television coverage of the Hero World Challenge will be provided by Golf Channel during all four rounds and by NBC Sports during the third and final rounds.
| Golfer | OWGR | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 1 | U.S. |
| Ludvig Aberg | 5 | Sweden |
| Wyndham Clark | 6 | U.S. |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 7 | Japan |
| Patrick Cantlay | 9 | U.S. |
| Sahith Theegala | 12 | U.S. |
| Keegan Bradley | 13 | U.S. |
| Russell Henley | 15 | U.S. |
| Robert MacIntyre | 16 | Scotland |
| Sam Burns | 17 | U.S. |
| Brian Harman | 19 | U.S. |
| Sungjae Im | 20 | Korea |
| Tony Finau | 21 | U.S. |
| Tom Kim | 23 | Korea |
| Aaron Rai | 24 | England |
| Billy Horschel | 25 | U.S. |
| Matthieu Pavon | 26 | France |
| TBA tournament exemption | ||
| TBA tournament exemption | ||
| TBA tournament exemption |
