Tiger Woods: Hero World Challenge tournament host not listed ‌in initial player field

The 15-time major champion ‌has not competed in an official event since The Open at Royal Troon in July 2024, where he missed the cut.

A potential return in 2026 appeared possible when Woods discussed the prospect of playing at the Masters.

The 50-year-old accepted ​a five-year suspension of his ⁠driver's licence last month ⁠after reaching a deal with prosecutors in his impaired-driving case.

There has been no subsequent confirmation of when he might return to competitive golf.

World ‌No 1 Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama are among the 17 players who ‌have officially committed to the Hero World Challenge's 20-man field.

Scheffler, who won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, and Matsuyama are ⁠both looking to become the ​first three-time winner at Albany.

In total, ​seven of the top 10 players ​in the world are among those in ⁠the field, a group that in addition to Scheffler includes Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, ⁠Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, ​Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele.

The rest of ​the field will be announced at a later date.

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