On Saturday evening, Tiger Woods revealed the news that we have all been waiting for, with the 15-time Major winner announcing his return to golf by committing to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Along with Woods, it was also announced that Justin Rose and Lucas Glover had been given tournament exemptions, with the Englishman and American joining Woods in completing the 20-man field.
The two players in question that Rose and Glover replaced turned out to be Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, with the American duo now not listed in the Hero World Challenge field.
Cantlay and Schauffele during the 2023 Ryder Cup
Currently, it is unclear as to why Cantlay has withdrawn from the event, but Schauffele did reveal a week or so ago that he had withdrawn from the tournament at Albany Golf Club, stating that he wanted some time off from golf to allow him to unwind for the first time since the pandemic.
Both men played in the Ryder Cup at the tail-end of September, with Cantlay involved in a huge amount of drama that was labelled 'HatGate.' At the tournament, it was reported that he was unhappy that US players weren’t being paid for their appearances in the Ryder Cup, with Cantlay not wearing the US hat in a reported protest.
The report went on to say that there was friction in the side, with the American allegedly leading a split in a “fractured” US Ryder Cup team room. It was claimed that both Cantlay and Schauffele were also camped in a different area of the dressing room. After the event, Cantlay dismissed the report, claiming "it's totally false. It couldn't be further from the truth."
Since the event, Schauffele has played in just one tournament, the Zozo Championship, where he finished in a tie for 38th. Cantlay, on the other hand, has not featured in any tournaments since the Ryder Cup, but did post to his social media a few snaps of him playing golf with the caption "Excited to get back out there!"
Cantlay has also been announced as a player in the TGL, with the eight-time PGA Tour winner joining Atlanta Drive GC alongside Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel and Glover. Cantlay married his long-term partner, Nikki Guidish, the day after the Ryder Cup, with the ceremony taking place in Rome.
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