Scottie Scheffler headlines commitments for 2024 Hero World Challenge; no word on Tiger Woods

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.

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.