Tiger Woods To Return To Golf At Hero World Challenge

The 46-year-old has revealed he will compete in the tournament he hosts in the Bahamas at the end of the month

Tiger Woods takes a tee shot at the 2022 PGA Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)

After weeks of speculation, Tiger Woods has revealed that he will participate in the Hero World Challenge at the end of the month.

The preliminary field for the tournament was announced last month. However, despite 17 of the 20 players being confirmed, there were still three slots available, offering hope that the 15-time Major winner would fill one. 

Woods has not played a competitive tournament since missing the cut at the 150th Open at St Andrews in July. That was the 46-year-old’s third tournament of the year as he recovers from a career-threatening leg injury sustained in a car accident in February 2021.

Woods was spotted playing at Pebble Beach's par-3 course in October, but until this week, there had been no confirmation of when he would resume a competitive schedule. That changed earlier in the week when Woods was confirmed as one of the participants in the made-for-TV exhibition tournament The Match VII in December. Now, he has confirmed that he will also play in the tournament he hosts the week beforehand, at Albany in the Bahamas. 

Woods made the announcement on Twitter, where he also revealed that Kevin Kisner and Tommy Fleetwood would fill the final two slots in the field. He wrote: "I am excited to announce that I will be in the field for this year’s #HeroWorldChallenge. A big welcome to and for joining us as well. See you soon at Albany! @K_Kisner @TommyFleetwood1"

The fact Woods has opted to play two tournaments in quick succession suggests he has recovered significant fitness following his travails in the three Majors he appeared in this year. Despite finishing a creditable 47th in the Masters at Augusta National, Woods was visibly limping by the end. Meanwhile, in May’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills, he had to withdraw after three rounds because of the discomfort caused by his injury. After opting to miss the US Open, he then appeared at St Andrews, where once again, he was far from his best.

Woods will tee it up alongside some of the world’s top players at the event, including defending champion Viktor Hovland, 2018 winner Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The tournament takes place in the week beginning 28 November.

Hero World Challenge Field

  • Sam Burns
  • Tony Finau
  • Matt Fitzpatrick
  • Tommy Fleetwood
  • Max Homa
  • Billy Horschel
  • Viktor Hovland
  • Sungjae Im
  • Tom Kim
  • Kevin Kisner
  • Hideki Matsuyama
  • Collin Morikawa
  • Jon Rahm
  • Xander Schauffele
  • Scottie Scheffler
  • Jordan Spieth
  • Justin Thomas
  • Tiger Woods
  • Cameron Young
  • Will Zalatoris
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.