Scottie Scheffler will return to the Bahamas in December to defend his Hero World Challenge title, highlighting a field that includes six of the top-10 players in the world.

The initial field for the 20-player event was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7, with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley set to headline at Albany GC on Dec. 4-7.

Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel and Akshay Bhatia were later added as tournament exemptions.

Scheffler won the event in 2024 by three strokes while debuting a new claw putting grip that aided the world No. 1’s best putting season of his career in 2025.

Two players – 2025 U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun and 2025 Genesis Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup – will make their Hero World Challenge debuts. The 2025 field represents golfers from six different countries (U.S., Scotland, England, Austria, Japan and Canada).

Notably, the event’s host, Tiger Woods, is not in the field. Woods had surgery in March after rupturing his left Achilles tendon while training at home. The surgery was “minimally invasive,” per Woods’ surgeon, Dr. Charlton Stucken. Woods announced on Oct. 11 that he had undergone another surgery, this time an L4-L5 disc replacement surgery on his lumbar spine by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Woods has not given a timeline for his return.

Here’s a complete look at the initial field:

• Scottie Scheffler
• Xander Schauffele
• Justin Thomas
• J.J. Spaun
• Robert MacIntyre
• Harris English
• Keegan Bradley
• Justin Rose
• Sepp Straka
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Cameron Young
• Patrick Cantlay
• Sam Burns
• Corey Conners
• Chris Gotterup
• Wyndham Clark
• Brian Harman
• Jordan Spieth
• Billy Horschel
• Akshay Bhatia