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. Along with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley headline the field at Albany GC on Dec. 4-7.

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).

Three openings remain for tournament exemptions that have not been announced. 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 has not given a timeline for his return. Last year, Bernhard Langer tore his left Achilles tendon and returned three months later. Woods will be roughly nine months post-surgery when the Hero World Challenge rolls around in December. Woods has staged a comeback at this event before, playing in 2023 after undergoing ankle surgery earlier that spring.

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
• Tournament exemption (TBA)
• Tournament exemption (TBA)
• Tournament exemption (TBA)