Golf fans, mark your calendars for November 29-December 2. You’re not going to want to miss this year’s edition of the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas.
The star-studded, invitation-only field was released on Thursday, and it does not disappoint. The Tiger Woods-hosted PGA Tour event will consist of players representing six different countries, as well as four of the top five players and 16 of the top 23 players in the world.
Three past champions of the event, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, and Bubba Watson, will all participate again in the tournament. The defending champion Fowler shot an 18-under 270 to win last year’s event by four strokes. Matsuyama also shot an 18-under 270 to claim victory at the 2016 tournament, but his win was only by two strokes. Watson’s 2015 victory at the Hero World Challenge came by three strokes when he shot 25-under 263.
World No. 1 Justin Rose, who recently reestablished himself in the top spot in the World Golf Rankings, will partake in the event after his victory last weekend at the Turkish Airlines Open. World No. 3 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Justin Thomas, and No. 5 Bryson DeChambeau will all participate as well in the tournament. Brooks Koepka, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the world, is the lone top five player in the World Golf Rankings to not be in the 16-man field.
Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, and Webb Simpson will round out the American portion of the field in the event. The remaining international players to be invited to the tournament include Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day, and Alex Noren.
The 18-player field will be filled out after two exemptions are issued later this month. The event will be held in Albany for the fourth consecutive year, and fans will be able to watch the tournament on Golf Channel and NBC. Unlike “The Match” that Woods will partake in with Phil Mickelson beforehand, the Hero World Challenge will be open to the public.
The tournament will also be played for charity. Woods’ charity, The TGR Foundation, will be the primary beneficiary from the event. The Tavistock Foundation and Bahamas Youth Foundation will also receive contributions from the tournament.
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