In early October, 17 of the 20 places in the field for the Hero World Challenge were revealed.
All 20 slots have now been filled, but two of the players named in the initial field, US Ryder Cup stars Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, will no longer play in the event, with Andrew Novak and Alex Noren taking their places.
It’s not the first time Cantlay and Schauffele have been down to play at the Tiger Woods-hosted tournament before withdrawing.
In 2023, Schauffele opted against playing at the Albany Golf Club tournament, stating that he wanted some time off from golf to allow him to unwind for the first time since the pandemic.
No reason was given for Cantlay’s withdrawal, although in both cases, it fueled rumors that the pair could be bound for LIV Golf. However, that speculation turned out to be unfounded.
Two years on, and there is no suggestion the pair could be set to join the PGA Tour rival, although the reasons for their withdrawals have not been confirmed.
What we do know is that Schauffele has recently become a father, with his announcement in September that his wife, Maya, had given birth to their son, Victor.
Since then, Schauffele has played twice. The first appearance came for the US at the Ryder Cup, where he linked up with good friend Cantlay in both foursomes sessions at Bethpage Black on the way to the team’s 15-13 defeat to the Europeans.
His second appearance came at the Baycurrent Classic in mid-October, where he beat Max Greyserman by one for his first title since the 2024 Open.
Xander Schauffele won the Baycurrent Classic earlier in the month
Cantlay hasn’t played since the Ryder Cup, whereas his most recent PGA Tour event came at September’s Procore Championship, where he placed T30.
Novak will make his debut at the unofficial PGA Tour event. Noren, who won September’s BMW PGA Championship, will play in the tournament for the first time since 2018, where he finished T8.
Andrew Novak will make his maiden appearance at the tournament
The remaining three players confirmed for the event are Jordan Spieth, Akshay Bhatia and Billy Horschel.
Spieth plays in the event for the first time since 2023, when he placed T6.
Bhatia will play for the second successive year, having placed fourth in 2024, while Horschel makes his first appearance since 2022, when he finished T13.
When the initial field was revealed on 7th October, there remained optimism that tournament Woods would take one of the remaining places in what would have been his first event since undergoing achilles surgery in March.
Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion
However, just four days later, the 15-time Major winner announced he had gone under the knife for the third time in just 13 months, this time for disc-replacement surgery in his back.
The announcement of the final field confirms the inevitable – for the second successive year, Woods will not play in the event.
Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, with his bid to claim his seventh title of the year getting underway on 4th December.
Hero World Challenge Field
- Scottie Scheffler'
- Justin Thomas
- JJ Spaun
- Robert MacIntyre
- Harris English
- Keegan Bradley
- Justin Rose
- Sepp Straka
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Cameron Young
- Sam Burns
- Corey Conners
- Chris Gotterup
- Wyndham Clark
- Brian Harman
- Andrew Novak
- Alex Noren
- Akshay Bhatia
- Billy Horschel
- Jordan Spieth
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