The Tribune

Major championship winners Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Zach Johnson headline the field for the 2015 Hero World Challenge, featuring 18 of the world’s top-ranked golfers, it was announced yesterday.

Moving outside of the United States for the first time, the 17th-annual Hero World Challenge will be played at the luxury resort community of Albany in The Bahamas December 2-6 and will feature Spieth – winner of both the Masters and US Open – alongside PGA Championship winner Day, British Open winner Johnson and 15 other golfers who produced some of the biggest highlights of 2015.

Hero MotoCorp brand ambassador Anirban Lahiri will be the first-ever player from India to play the Hero World Challenge. Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is the title sponsor of Hero World Challenge.

Spieth, the defending champion, will play the event for the third time, hoping to cap a dream 2015 on the golf course while competing against an elite international field representing the United States, Australia, England, India and Japan.

Already this year, the 22-year-old Spieth has won his first two major championships, claimed the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup title, captured PGA TOUR Player of the Year honours and ascended to the No. 1 world ranking. Spieth and 2013 Hero World Challenge winner Johnson are the only two past event champions in the field. Johnson, who also finished runner-up in 2007 and 2011, will be making his eighth appearance in the event, which is the most of anyone in the field.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase an elite field that, with its international players, represents the success of golf worldwide,” said tournament host Tiger Woods, whose Tiger Woods Foundation is the event’s charitable beneficiary along with the Tavistock Foundation and Albany Scholars Programme. “I’m looking forward to bringing the Hero World Challenge to a world-class venue in Albany, and I am glad to continue our partnership with Hero MotoCorp as the tournament’s title sponsor. Hero’s global presence helps elevate the profile of our event across the world.”

Pawan Munjal, the chairman, CEO and managing director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, added: “Hero’s association with Tiger Woods and the Hero World Challenge is reflective of our rapidly growing global footprint. Our association with the event has been an exciting one, and this year, we are happy to introduce Hero ambassador and Indian talent Anirban Lahiri to this prestigious marquee event. We have had a great first season in 2014, and we are looking forward to hosting this season with Tiger.”

The Hero World Challenge is a four-round, 72-hole stroke play event with a $3.5 million purse, a $1 million winner’s prize and Official World Golf Ranking points awarded. It will be held at the challenging par-72, 7,267-yard Albany for the first time.

Live television coverage of the Hero World Challenge will be provided by Golf Channel during all four rounds and by NBC during the third and fourth rounds. Good-any-day grounds tickets and a limited number of luxury hospitality packages for the Hero World Challenge are available for purchase at www.HeroWorldChallenge.com.

The field of 18 PGA TOUR players is invited as follows: the current four major championships winners, the top 11 players available from the Official World Golf Ranking as of September 28, 2015 (following the TOUR Championship), the defending champion and two special-exemption players.

This year’s special exemptions are Lahiri and American Bill Haas. Lahiri, who earned his PGA TOUR card for the 2015-16 season, made headlines in 2015 after winning twice worldwide, including the Hero Indian Open, and became the first player to represent India in the Presidents Cup last month.

Haas, a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR, helped lead Team USA to its sixth consecutive Presidents Cup triumph after winning his final singles match in dramatic fashion.