Washington—Tiger Woods said Wednesday he would be returning to action at the Hero World Challenge in what will be the golf great’s first tournament since the British Open in July.
The 15-time major champion posted a Twitter message confirming his involvement in the 20-man tournament, where he is the host, at the Albany course in the Bahamas, from December 1-4.
Woods, a five-time winner of the event, is joined by American compatriot Kevin Kisner and England’s Tommy Fleetwood in completing the field.
“I am excited to announce that I will be in the field for this year’s #HeroWorldChallenge,” Woods said. “A big welcome to @K_Kisner and @TommyFleetwood1 for joining us as well. See you soon at Albany!”
This week has seen Woods caddying for son Charlie this week and he recently said
The intended to take part in ‘The Match’, a 12-hole exhibition, with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas on December 10 in what could be a busy finish to a restricted 2022 schedule following his recovery from a career-threatening car crash.
The exhibition is set for the weekend before the PNC Championship in Orlando where Woods has previously played alongside Charlie.
Woods missed the cut at this year’s British Open at St Andrews, having twice won the sport’s oldest major at the Scottish course in 2000 and 2005.
The 46-year-old has appeared in just three professional tournaments this year, all of them majors.
Woods, who needed screws and metal rods to hold together his shattered right leg, made his return to competition 14 months after the accident at this year’s Masters.
He finished 47th at Augusta but achieved a victory of sorts simply by walking 72 holes over the difficult layout.
He then withdrew from the PGA Championship after 54 holes, struggling with stamina issues after making the cut.
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari were named Tuesday as playing captains for the Hero Cup, a new team matchplay competition aimed at boosting Europe’s bid to regain the Ryder Cup.
The Hero Cup will take place in Abu Dhabi from January 13-15 between two teams of 10, with England’s Fleetwood leading Great Britain and Ireland against a Continental Europe side skippered by Italy’s 2018 British Open champion Molinari.
The tournament will feature foursomes, fourballs and singles matches, with all 20 players taking part in each session in an event overseen by Luke Donald, the captain of the Europe team at next year’s Ryder Cup in Italy.
Molinari and Fleetwood won all four of their matches together in the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris as Europe won the trophy.
But the most recent edition of the biennial event, the Covid-delayed 2021 competition, saw the United States thrash Europe 19 points to nine at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
The Hero Cup effectively replaces the Seve Cup, a similar competition, which was held eight times from 2000-2013. AFP
