Woods set to return at Hero World Challenge after 135-day layoff
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - JULY 15: Tiger Woods of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the 18th hole during Day Two of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 15, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Tiger Woods might not have played since receiving an emotional reception after missing the cut in The Open at St Andrews, but rumours of his demise appear much exaggerated as he prepares to play three events in a row next month.
The 15-time Major winner announced yesterday he will tee it up in his season-ending Hero World Challenge Woods at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas from December 1-4, where Shane Lowry is also set to make his debut.
"I am excited to announce that I will be in the field for this year's #HeroWorldChallenge," tweeted Woods, who hasn't played in Albany since 2019.
Lowry will be looking to round off a great year in style against a field featuring six of the world's top 10 – Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick – and 16 of the top 20 with Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth and Tony Finau joined by Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young, Sungjae Im, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner and Tommy Fleetwood.
Three more exemptions have yet to be announced but given his physical struggles this year, when he finished 47th in the Masters, withdrew from the PGA Championship after a third-round 79 and missed the cut at the Old Course, there will be much interest in Woods' fitness.
Set to turn 47 next month, he's still recovering from severe leg injuries sustained in that 2021 car crash.
"Tiger is just steadily finding ways to get a little bit more stability in his leg," his close friend Notah Begay told SiriusXM last month. "I know as soon as he feels like he can be competitive … we'll see him."
He remains the needle-mover in the game and as one of the faces of opposition to LIV Golf, he's scheduled to team up with McIlroy against Spieth and Thomas in The Match VII at Pelican Golf Club in Florida on December 10 and also expected to play with son Charlie in the PNC Championship from December 18-19.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, returns to Sun City after a three-year wait to defend his Nedbank Golf Challenge title at Gary Player Country Club.
The penultimate event in the 2022 DP World Tour season offers New Zealand's Ryan Fox that chance to leapfrog McIlroy to the top of the DP World Tour Rankings with a win.
Scheffler is also keen to leapfrog McIlroy, but if he's to snatch back the world number one ranking, he must win the PGA Tour's Cadence Bank Houston Open this week.
"Well, it definitely matters to me," Scheffler said at Memorial Park yesterday. "It was definitely fun being No. 1 in the world, and it's something I hope to get back to, but all my motivation's always been internal."
Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow play the LPGA's final full-field event, the Pelican Women's Championship at Belleair, looking to further climb the Race to CME Globe points list.
Maguire is 17th and seeking her second win of the season, but 81st-ranked Meadow needs to win to make the top 60 who qualify for next week's $7 million CME Group Tour Championship.
