Billy Horschel, fresh off a comeback year and a major hip surgery, has earned one of Tiger Woods’ final invited to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas
Billy Horschel looking for a win after getting an invite from Woods into Hero World Challenge (Image: Getty Images)
Billy Horschel had a strong finish last year, as he finally hoisted the trophy on the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly two years at the Corales Puntacana Championship — and now Tiger Woods is giving him one of the final invites to his tournament in the Bahamas.
Horschel is joined by Jordan Spieth and Akshay Bhatia as the three to get one of the final invites to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December. Horschel has had a rollercoaster of a career and went on to play a thrilling playoff at the BMW PGA Championship after his victory in Puntacana, and came out on top over Rory McIlroy.
Horschel then started to feel pain in his hip and had to get surgery in May of 2025, following the RBC Heritage as a preventative measure, and only returned in September at the BMW PGA Championship, which Horschel won in 2021 and 2024.
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But he said he really believed 2025 was going to be the year he won a major.
“I felt this was going to be the year I get over the hump and make the Ryder Cup team, win a major, check some things off of my career goals,” Horschel said.
“And I wasn’t playing bad but look back and swing-wise, it was a little bit of a struggle and I didn’t know why. And the Monday after Hilton Head I woke up with a sudden pain in my hip that I had never felt before.”
Horschel earns one of three final spots into Hero World Challenge
Now, Horschel is taking a spot in place of Woods at his own tournament.
The 20-player field will include five of the top-10 players in the world. Scheffler is just one of three past champions in the field for 2025, as he’s joined by 2016 champion Hideki Matsuyama and Spieth.
Nine Ryder Cup players will also be in the Bahamas, including some champions from Europe such as Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka. Team USA captain, Keegan Bradley, will also be in the field.
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Some people are also making their debut at the Hero World Challenge, including J.J. Spaun, Chris Gotterup, and Andrew Novak, but this isn’t Horschel’s first go around at the tournament.
Horschel has played 14 tournaments on the Tour this season and has had two finishes in the top 10. He also competed at the Bank of Utah last week and settled at T-11, and will look to come out on top at Woods’ tournament in December.
