Tiger Woods Appears To Leave Door Open For Return At Hero World Challenge, Which Would Be Ideal Spot To Test The Waters

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Tiger Woods has not played a competitive round of golf since withdrawing from the Masters in April, but in looking at the field of players set to tee it up in his annual Hero World Challenge, it appears there may be a chance he could tee it up in the November event.

A total of 19 players, including eight of the Top 10 in the world, have committed to playing in the Bahamas tournament with one tournament exemption spot left to be announced.

Some are speculating that Woods may be holding onto that final spot for himself.

Tiger Woods may have left the door open for him to play in next month's Hero World Challenge. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

While it would be naive to say the chances of him playing in the tournament are zero, Woods hasn't played in his host event since 2019, when he finished fourth. Woods also underwent right ankle surgery not long after withdrawing from the Masters.

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The 15-time major winner has been spotted on the golf course a handful of times recently hitting shots with his son Charlie and hosting a junior tournament at Pebble Beach. Outside of hitting a few wedges, however, we haven't seen Woods take a serious lash at a golf ball since April.

With the Hero World Challenge being the most-relaxed tournament in professional golf - and one with Woods' name attached to it - it would be an ideal spot for him to get back into his competitive ways, but as of now it still feels like it would be a pretty big surprise to see him play next month.

For what it's worth, the golf course in Albany where the tournament is hosted is an easy walk as well.

Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele headline the field for the Hero World Challenge set to get underway on November 30.

Hovland has gone back-to-back in the limited-field event with Scheffler coming in solo second each of the last two years.

Follow Mark Harris on X @ItIsMarkHarris or email him at mark.harris@outkick.com.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.