Tiger Woods returns to Albany for the Hero World Challenge
Tiger Woods returns to host the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club with a $5,000,000 prize purse. The 20-man field features Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, though the event offers no FedEx Cup Fall points.
The Host and the Field
Tiger Woods will return to the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club from December 3 to December 6. He has not played a competitive tournament since the Open Championship in July. The tournament host, Tiger Woods, fills one of the three remaining spots in the 20-man field after tournament officials announced that Kevin Kisner and Tommy Fleetwood would occupy the other two available exemptions. Shane Lowry replaces Will Zalatoris, who remains in recovery from a back injury. Woods, who is soon to turn 47, also dealt with a DUI arrest in March near his home on Jupiter Island. He pleaded no contest to reckless driving and accepted a five-year suspension of his driver’s license. He also dealt with an Achilles rupture in March 2025 and a disc replacement in October. He has played a total of nine competitive rounds this year. The tournament is an unofficial PGA Tour event that takes place at the Albany Golf Course in New Providence, The Bahamas. It is a stroke play competition. Tiger Woods and his father Earl established the event in 2000 to benefit the TGR Foundation. I find his sudden appearance after such a difficult year in March and October somewhat jarring.
Money and Rules
The total prize purse is $5,000,000. The winner receives $1,000,000, while the second-place finisher takes home $450,000. Third place earns $300,000. The fourth-place finisher receives $250,000, the fifth-place player gets $225,000, and the sixth-place finisher takes $220,000. The seventh-place player receives $215,000, the eighth-place finisher takes $210,000, and the ninth-place player earns $205,000. The tenth-place finisher gets $200,000, the eleventh-place finisher takes $195,000, the twelfth-place finisher receives $190,000, the thirteenth-place finisher earns $185,000, and the fourteenth-place finisher takes $180,000. The fifteenth-place player gets $175,000, the sixteenth-place finisher takes $170,000, and the eighteenth-place finisher earns $160,000. The nineteenth-place player takes $155,000, and the twentieth-place finisher receives $150,000. The winner does not receive FedEx Cup Fall points, a rule that matches the practice for all fall events throughout 2025. You should note that 31 Official World Golf Ranking points are available to the winner. In 2025, Hideki Matsuyama won after a playoff against Alex Noren.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Albany, The Bahamas |
| Course Length | 7,414 yards |
| Par | 72 |
| Total Purse | $5,000,000 |
| Winner’s Share | $1,000,000 |
The Players
Scottie Scheffler leads the field as the world number one. He won the event in 2023 and 2024. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama also competes at Albany. Other names in the top ten include Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, and Xander Schauffele. Several players ranked higher than the field’s lowest-ranked player, Akshay Bhatia, are missing. Si Woo Kim, Ryan Gerard, and Jacob Bridgeman will make their tournament debuts. The roster also includes players like Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Robert MacIntrae, Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Aaron Rai, Billy Horschel, and Matthieu Pavon. Several other top players are not on the list, including Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose, and Ludvig Aberg. The absence of Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark makes the field less competitive than previous years. I think the lack of these two top-five players makes the event feel incomplete. Will Woods manage to win his sixth title at the course?
