The first 16 of 18 spots in the annual Hero World Challenge were announced Wednesday, with Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland and Jon Rahm among the players set to compete Dec. 4-7 at Albany in the Bahamas.
Woods, a five-time Masters champion who will serve as tournament host, will be joined by seven of the eight players who have already qualified for the U.S. Presidents Cup team that he is set to captain the following week at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
There will be two more exemptions added at a later date, but the list of 16 players in the field so far includes:
- Dustin Johnson, USA
- Justin Rose, England
- Justin Thomas, USA
- Jon Rahm, Spain
- Patrick Cantlay, USA
- Tiger Woods, USA
- Xander Schauffele, USA
- Bryson DeChambeau, USA
- Tony Finau, USA
- Webb Simpson, USA
- Patrick Reed, USA
- Gary Woodland, USA
- Rickie Fowler, USA
- Matt Kuchar, USA
- Bubba Watson, USA
- Kevin Kisner, USA
Some potential captain's picks could include Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth, though Kevin Na and Matthew Wolff are also possibilities.
Woods is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee but is set to return to competition later this month in Japan.