Tiger Woods has every other loaded field for his Hero World Challenge within the Bahamas.
Woods on Tuesday introduced 17 avid gamers for the 20-man field, and all however 4 are from the highest 21 on the planet score. Still to be introduced is whether or not the participant at No. 1,195 on the planet — Woods — will tee it up at Albany.
Woods stored 3 spots for event exemptions, and it’s broadly anticipated he will play for the primary time since 2019. He performed 3 majors this yr, maximum not too long ago on the British Open in July.
For the event to qualify for global score issues, the exemptions should be a few of the height 50 on the planet score. The exception is for the event host if he isn’t already eligible.
Woods didn’t play the Hero World Challenge final yr whilst recuperating from his February 2021 automobile crash that badly injured his proper leg, despite the fact that he led to a large stir when he was once noticed hitting complete photographs at the again of the variability. He returned two weeks later on the PNC Championship along with his son, Charlie.
Among the novices to the vacation tournament are Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Sungjae Im, Max Homa and 20-year-old Tom Kim. The handiest avid gamers from the highest 21 who selected now not to play had been Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry. British Open champion Cameron Smith isn’t eligible as a result of he signed with Saudi-backed LIV Golf and it is a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament.
The event is Dec. 1-4.
The fields lately options 10 of the 12 Americans from the Presidents Cup crew. Cantlay isn’t going and the opposite is Kevin Kisner, who perhaps gets one of the crucial event exemptions to be introduced later.
Three of the 5 certified avid gamers from the International crew who will likely be within the Bahamas are Im, Kim and Hideki Matsuyama.
KORN FERRY SCHEDULE
The trail for 30 avid gamers to achieve the PGA Tour begins within the Bahamas subsequent yr as a part of a Korn Ferry Tour agenda that has the similar collection of tournaments, just about $8 million extra in prize cash and a made over finish of the yr.
The Korn Ferry Tour launched its 2023 agenda on Tuesday with adjustments that already were within the works, beginning with a minimal $1 million handbag for the common season, with $180,000 to the winner.
The alternate comes on the finish of the yr.
Instead of 25 avid gamers incomes PGA Tour playing cards on the finish of the common season, the Korn Ferry is going to a playoff device an identical to the FedEx Cup with higher issues and lowered fields after every of the 4 weeks.
The height 156 avid gamers qualify for Albertson Boise Open, with 144 avid gamers on the Simmons Bank Open in Tennessee, 120 avid gamers advancing to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Ohio and the highest 75 going to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana. All playoff occasions have $1.5 million handbags ($270,000 for the winner).
“I am thrilled with the momentum we’re carrying into this next chapter of our tour’s history,” mentioned Alex Baldwin, who enters her 5th season as Korn Ferry Tour president.
The Korn Ferry Tour in the past awarded 25 PGA Tour playing cards from the common season and 25 playing cards from the postseason of fields that had been a mixture of Korn Ferry and PGA Tour avid gamers. Now there will likely be 30 playing cards, with a minimum of 5 playing cards from a conventional Q-school and 10 playing cards to be had to the main avid gamers from the European excursion.
As for the Korn Ferry Tour agenda, two Louisiana tournaments and one in Maine are not at the agenda. They had been changed by means of new tournaments in Chile, Oklahoma and New Jersey.
The season opens in January with two tournaments within the Bahamas, two in Latin America (Panama and Colombia), after which it’s off 5 weeks prior to resuming in overdue March.
LPGA CARDS
The developmental Epson Tour wraps up its season this week in Daytona Beach, Florida, with handiest 3 avid gamers confident LPGA Tour playing cards for subsequent season. Linnea Strom tied for 8th final week to transfer to No. 3, becoming a member of Xiaowen Yin and Lucy Li as clinching playing cards.
Celine Borge moved up 11 spots to No. 5 by means of profitable in Alabama final week.
“I didn’t expect it. I didn’t look at the order of the money list, so I didn’t know how far it was to the different positions,” mentioned Borge, who mentioned her objective now was once to “try not to think too much” about her status.
Among the ones at the bubble are former Duke participant Gina Kim at No. 7 and 18-year-old Alexa Pano at No. 10. Pano has a lead of $1,072 over eleventh position.
FOX ON THE MOVE
The Masters is the one main Ryan Fox of New Zealand has yet to play. He made a guess with a few buddies way back that he would take them to Augusta National if he was once ever invited to play. He had no reason why to assume it may well be subsequent yr.
Fox was once coming off a yr wherein he had handiest two top-10 finishes and was once No. 213 on the planet when it ended.
“So to even be talking about going to the Masters is pretty incredible,” Fox mentioned.
Now he is up to No. 25 after profitable the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for his 2nd name this yr, to cross in conjunction with runner-up finishes within the Soudal Open, Irish Open and Dutch Open.
He could be a lock to end the yr within the height 50 and obtain a call for participation to the Masters.
“That would be pretty cool to get that in the mail,” Fox mentioned. “Obviously, I would love to keep playing how I’m playing at the end of the year.”
DIVOTS
Charley Hull and Mackenzie Hughes gained for the primary time at the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour the week prior to Thanksgiving in 2016. Neither gained once more at the the U.S. excursions till final week, Hull at The Ascendant LPGA in Texas and Hughes on the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi. … Jordan Spieth plans to play within the PNC Championship along with his father, Shawn. … Three avid gamers who started the yr out of doors the highest 100 on the planet score are actually a few of the height 25 — Cameron Young, Tom Kim and Ryan Fox. … The winner of the Women’s Amateur Latin America will earn a place in 3 LPGA majors in 2023 — the Chevron Championship in Houston, the Women’s British Open in England and the Evian Championship in France. The Women’s Amateur Latin America is Nov. 17-20 in Buenos Aires. … The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation has donated $500,000 to assist make bigger the Children’s Medical Center Plano in Texas. It’s the most important donation Spieth’s basis has awarded any group.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Three of the highest 10 avid gamers on the planet are enjoying this week on 3 continents. Cameron Smith (No. 3) is in Thailand for LIV Golf, Patrick Cantlay (No. 4) is in Las Vegas at the PGA Tour and Jon Rahm (No. 6) is enjoying in Spain at the European excursion.
FINAL WORD
“I get bored if I don’t go for pins, and when I get bored, I don’t play as good. If I just go after pins, keep myself on my toes, make a few birdies, I find it interesting and exciting, and that’s when I usually play my best golf.” — Charley Hull.
___