World No 1 Scottie Scheffler makes his return to action after a nine-week absence as defending champion at the Hero World Challenge, live from Thursday on Sky Sports.
Scheffler tees it up for the first time since featuring in the United States’ victorious Presidents Cup team in September, with the Masters champion headlining the 20-player field for the Tiger Woods-hosted event in the Bahamas.
The 28-year-old won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, The Masters, RBC Heritage, Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour in 2024, before securing gold for Team USA at the Olympics ahead of claiming a maiden FedExCup title with victory at the Tour Championship.
Scheffler claimed a three-shot victory over Sepp Straka in last year’s contest at Albany, having finished runner-up to Viktor Hovland in each of the previous editions, with Scheffler now looking to sign off his remarkable 2024 with a ninth worldwide title.
Who else is playing?
Scheffler is one of nine players from Team USA’s Presidents Cup team in action, with Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley, Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Tony Finau and Keegan Bradley – the 2025 Ryder Cup captain – also in the field.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is among the eight debutants invited, along with Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Åberg, with England’s Aaron Rai and France’s Matthieu Pavon – a winner in his rookie season on the PGA Tour – making their first appearances.
Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Jason Day are the three members of the International team involved, with Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Akshay Bhatia and Nick Dunlap completing a line-up containing 20 of the world’s top 35.
Why is Tiger missing the event?
Woods – a five-time winner of the event – will sit out of the tournament for a third time in four years as he continues to recover from undergoing back surgery in September.
The 15-time major champion has not played since The Open in July, with Woods only competing all 72 holes of a tournament four times since sustaining career-threatening injuries in a car crash in February 2021.
Woods’ sixth back surgery in 10 years means he has only managed 11 competitive rounds in 2024, but the former world No 1 will be in attendance as tournament host and will hold a press conference on Tuesday
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host,” Woods wrote on X.
What else is up for grabs?
The total prize purse up for grabs is $5m (£4m), with the winner receiving $1m (£800,000).
Although the tournament does feature on the PGA Tour schedule, there are no FedExCup points on offer and the money will not go towards a player’s season-long totals due to it being an unofficial event.
The no-cut event is recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), meaning players can earn world ranking points.
How can I watch the Hero World Challenge?
Sky Sports will show live coverage from all four tournament rounds, with three hours of action over each over the first two days before five hours of coverage over the weekend.
Coverage starts at 6.30pm on Thursday and Friday before starting at 5pm on Saturday, while the final round is live from the earlier time of 4.30pm on Sunday.
The Hero World Challenge is one of two tournaments live on Sky Sports this week, with the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge – co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour – also live from 9am each morning.
Who will win the Hero World Challenge? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports! Live coverage begins on Thursday from 6.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
