Tiger's Bahamas invitational returns with expanded field

Tiger Woods announced the return of his Bahamas golf event in December after missing last year due to Covid-19, with a field expanded from 18 to 20 players.

There was, however, no indication from Woods, still recovering from injuries in a single-car crash last February, that he would be able to compete in the Hero World Challenge, to be played at the Albany resort from 2-5 December.

"Excited to welcome an expanded field to the Hero World Challenge at Albany this year," Woods tweeted on Monday.

Excited to welcome an expanded field to the Hero World Challenge at Albany this year. https://t.co/hguYVEdSX1

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) August 2, 2021

Woods suffered severe injuries to his right leg in the crash but was spotted on crutches last week.

The Challenge added an automatic invitation to the winner of the Players Championship, which this year was American Justin Thomas.

The defending champion, Sweden's Henrik Stenson from 2019, also receives an invitation along with the current year's major winners.

The remainder of the field consists of players from the top 50 of the world rankings.

"We're excited for the tournament's return to Albany and adding two more players to one of the strongest fields in golf," tournament director Mike Antolini said.