Tiger Woods is finally making a comeback with the Hero World Challenge scheduled to take place at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, and fans are more excited than ever.
Woods withdrew from the Masters in April after making the cut owing to an unbearable pain in his right leg, for which he later underwent ankle surgery. But after a nine-month long hiatus, the golf GOAT is finally ready to tee up with his own tournament.
Tiger Woods reaches to grab a ball at the practice facility during a practice round for The Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on April 4, 2023. Pga The Masters Practice Round
This 20-man field is an unofficial PGA Tour event that credits OWGR points but not FedEx points. The tee time of the 15-time major winner is 11:52 a.m., and he is paired with Justin Thomas. Even though the prize money is available for this event, it is not on the money list. Let’s take a look at the prize money distribution in the field.
Prize Money Distribution for the 2023 Hero World Challenge
The purse of the event is relatively smaller as compared to other PGA Tour events, which is $3.5 million. But it still is a better purse than the two DP World Tour events lined up during the same dates: the ISPS Handa Australian Open (AUD $1.7 million) and the Investec South African Open Championship (AUD $1.5 million). The winner of the Hero World Challenge will bag a hefty paycheck of $1 million, with the runner-up getting $350,000. Since there is no cut in the field, the 20th position holder will also be getting a cut from the purse, i.e. $100,000. Here’s the entire breakdown of the purse:
Position
Prize Money
1st
$1,000,000
2nd
$375,000
3rd
$225,000
4th
$150,000
5th
$135,000
6th
$120,000
7th
$115,000
8th
$113,000
9th
$112,000
10th
$110,000
11th
$109,000
12th
$108,000
13th
$107,000
14th
$106,000
15th
$105,000
16th
$104,000
17th
18th
$102,000
19th
$101,000
20th
$100,000
The event’s field will be compact but will have quality. Woods has six of the world’s top ten golfers in his field which include, Scottie Scheffler (world no. 1), Viktor Hovland, Max Homa (7), Matt Fitzpatrick (8), Brian Harman (open champion), and Wyndham Clark (10).
There were also a few big names who withdrew from the tournament a few weeks ago. like Jon Rahm, who is in talks of joining LIV Golf, and Ryder Cup stars Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. The vacant spots were eventually filled by Justin Rose and Lucas Glover, and for the 20th seat, Tiger Woods went on to register his name, as speculated. Other big names in the field include Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth (the new player director), Rickie Fowler, and Will Zalatoris. The field consisted of 16 players from 2000 to 2008, then was raised to 18, and now has 20 men.
Will Tiger Woods be able to revive his lost mojo? Stay tuned to find out!