Two-time defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is set to lead the pack at the Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods.
He’ll be joined by Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel and Akshay Bhatia, all of whom received last-minute invites to the tournament, slated for early December 2025 in the Bahamas. However, Woods will sit this one out due to recent back surgery.
Typically, Woods both hosts and competes in the event on a sponsor’s invite. But his current inability to participate opens up an additional spot, with Spieth among the three who’ve been called up to fill the gap left by Woods’ recovery.
In related news, Kai Trump, granddaughter of President Donald Trump and daughter of Woods’ current girlfriend, Vanessa, is gearing up for her LPGA Tour debut on a sponsor’s invite. She’s expected to cross paths with Caitlin Clark, who hasn’t been shy about expressing her opinions.
The 20-player lineup for the Hero World Challenge will feature five of the top-10 players globally. Jordan Spieth, who last competed in the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship in July where he finished T-31, will return to action.
Spieth, who won the Hero World Challenge in 2014 and set multiple tournament records, was one of the last players to receive an invite to the event.
Scheffler stands as one of only three former winners in the 2025 lineup, alongside 2016 victor Hideki Matsuyama and Spieth. A total of nine Ryder Cup stars will also compete in the Bahamas, featuring European champions like Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka.
Team USA skipper Keegan Bradley will round out the field.
Several players will make their Hero World Challenge debut, including J. J. Spaun, Chris Gotterup, and Andrew Novak, though this won’t mark Spieth’s first appearance.
The former world No. 1 hasn’t tasted PGA Tour victory in three years heading into the 2025 campaign.
Spieth underwent wrist surgery last August before returning at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. His T-4 finish at the following week’s Phoenix Open represented one of just three top-10 showings this season.
Ex-broadcaster and host Gary Williams believes Spieth can rediscover his championship form.
“I look at him, and I thought this past season was encouraging, and I thought he was very transparent,” Williams remarked. “It was Gabby Herzig who asked the question about goal setting when he showed up at Pebble Beach.
“He talked about how it wasn’t so much goals; it was the aspiration of experiencing certain things before he got to the Masters, and I thought he actually did those things. We know, even if he’s in a mummified state at Augusta National, he lives in the top 10 there. He finished tied-14th, which is admirable.
“I think Spieth has not only a state of mind… Look, he has a family. I think that he is incredibly comfortable with who he is, but is also still intensely competitive. I think he’s going to win in 2026. I think that he will contend at Augusta National because he always does.”
