Tiger Woods has been excluded from the Hero World Challenge tournament due to a recent surgery on his lumbar discs, and the date of his return is uncertain.

Tiger Woods, the host of the Hero World Challenge, will not participate in the event taking place between December 4 and 7 in Albany, Bahamas. Although there were initially hopes that Woods could be added later to the list of players, he underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery, and his return to the field remains uncertain. The last tournament he participated in was the Open Championship in July 2024, and in March he underwent another surgical procedure to repair a torn Achilles tendon. In his absence, Jordan Spieth, Akshay Bhatia, and Billy Horschel have been announced as the three players completing the list of 20 participants in the tournament. Woods will turn 50 on December 30.