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Hero World Challenge names 17 players; no word on Woods
Scheffler and Matsuyama, two-time winners at Albany, head the initial field for 3–6 December. McIlroy and Fleetwood are not in it, and three places are left for exemptions.
Akshay Bhatia, 33rd in the world ranking on the 31 August cut-off date, is one of 17 players named on Monday for the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas on 3–6 December. Collin Morikawa (11th), Viktor Hovland (12th), Justin Rose (15th) and Ludvig Åberg (16th) are not, Golf Channel pointed out, and the two best-ranked absentees are Rory McIlroy, second on that date, and Tommy Fleetwood, eighth. The last three of the 20 places are exemptions to be announced later.
Seven of the top ten are playing, starting with Scottie Scheffler, who won at Albany in 2023 and 2024. Hideki Matsuyama won there in 2016 and again last December, beating Alex Noren at the first play-off hole with a 166-yard 9-iron to three feet on the par-4 18th. Whichever of the two wins this year becomes the first three-time winner at Albany.
| Player | World ranking (31 Aug) |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler (USA) | 1 |
| Cameron Young (USA) | 3 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick (England) | 4 |
| Russell Henley (USA) | 6 |
| Chris Gotterup (USA) | 7 |
| Sam Burns (USA) | 9 |
| Xander Schauffele (USA) | 10 |
| Si Woo Kim (South Korea) | 13 |
| J.J. Spaun (USA) | 17 |
| Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) | 18 |
| Justin Thomas (USA) | 21 |
| Ryan Gerard (USA) | 22 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) | 26 |
| Jacob Bridgeman (USA) | 28 |
| Tom Kim (South Korea) | 30 |
| Sepp Straka (Austria) | 32 |
| Akshay Bhatia (USA) | 33 |
Eleven of the 17 are American, and eight played on the US side that won this year’s Presidents Cup. Si Woo Kim, Ryan Gerard and Jacob Bridgeman are making their debuts in the event. Bridgeman won the Genesis Invitational in February and the Biltmore Championship Asheville in September, and earned the winning point at the Presidents Cup.
The announcement said nothing about Tiger Woods, the host, who is 50 and has not played an official tournament since missing the cut at the Open at Royal Troon in July 2024. Golf Channel reported that he was filmed hitting balls at Monterey Peninsula Country Club during his foundation’s charity event last week. He has not announced any playing plans. Golf Channel also named Jordan Spieth, the 2014 winner, as a likely choice for one of the remaining places; he had a sponsor’s invitation last year.
Sources
- Hero World Challenge: Seven of the world’s top 10 players headline initial field for the 2026 Hero World Challenge
- Hero World Challenge: Hideki rides high with second Hero World Challenge victory
- Golf Channel: Hero World Challenge field set with three spots open; Tiger Woods could claim one
- Sky Sports: Tiger Woods not listed in initial Hero World Challenge field
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