Kim Si-woo, Kim Joo-hyung to compete at Hero World Challenge; Tiger Woods' participation uncertain

Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung will both compete in the Hero World Challenge, an invitational event hosted by golf legend Tiger Woods.

The tournament organizing committee Tuesday announced the first wave of 17 players — selected based on world rankings — from the 20-man field for the Hero World Challenge.

The Hero World Challenge is an unofficial PGA Tour event hosted by the TGR Foundation and will be held over four days beginning Dec. 3 at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. Though not an official stroke-play event, it awards world ranking points and carries a $5 million purse. Only 20 of the world's top players are invited, giving the tournament the feel of a champions-of-champions showdown.

The most notable aspect of the announcement is the simultaneous inclusion of Korea's two leading players, Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung. Invitations were extended based on the world rankings as of Aug. 31.

Kim Si-woo, who had a standout PGA Tour season and was ranked 13th in the world on the cutoff date, will make his debut at the event. His invitation confirms his standing among the world's elite after consistently performing at the top level on tour.

Kim Joo-hyung, ranked 30th in the world on the cutoff date, also secured his spot in the Bahamas, reaffirming his star power on the global stage. It will be his first official competition since winning a gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

A storyline drawing international attention is the race for a third Albany title between world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan. Scheffler won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, while Matsuyama claimed his first victory in 2016 and added a second last year, defeating Alex Noren of Sweden in a playoff. Since the tournament moved to Albany in the Bahamas in 2015, no player has won the event three times.

The field is star-studded, with seven of the world's top 10 confirmed. Scheffler (No. 1) leads the group, joined by Cameron Young (No. 3), Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 4), Russell Henley (No. 6), Chris Gotterup (No. 7), Sam Burns (No. 9) and Xander Schauffele (No. 10).

The 17 confirmed players have combined for 106 PGA Tour victories, with six of them holding a total of 11 major championship titles. The field also includes 11 players who competed in the 2026 Presidents Cup, among them Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung, adding another layer of intrigue to the event.

Three of the 20 invitations have yet to be announced. Local media and golf fans are closely watching whether Woods himself will use one of the remaining spots to compete as a player in his own event.