The real reason why Tiger Woods didn’t invite Rickie Fowler to play in the Hero World Challenge

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Rickie Fowler will not be competing at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in December.

In fact, Fowler may not play competitively until late January now, after Woods did not select him as one of his three special exemptions for the Hero World Challenge.

Fowler has been in the golfing wilderness for far too long now, and has just one PGA Tour win to his name since February 2019.

The 36-year-old from Murrieta, California, showed signs last season that he was getting back to somewhere near his best.

However, inconsistency held him back from ever really contending to win golf tournaments. He cannot have too many complaints about not being in the field at Albany Golf Club next month.

Jordan Spieth received an invite to play the Hero World Challenge, alongside Akshay Bhatia and Billy Horschel.

Why Tiger Woods didn’t invite Rickie Fowler to play in the Hero World Challenge

The real reason why Fowler will not be playing at the Hero World Challenge in December has now come to light.

It seems it was not actually a case of Tiger choosing not to invite Fowler, but rather due to the 36-year-old’s current standing in the game.

Sports Illustrated writer Bob Harig explained the reason why Fowler will not be playing in the Bahamas next month.

He said: “A lot of angst over this but Fowler wasn’t eligible. The three sponsor invites Spieth, Horschel and Bhatia all Top 50 OWGR when qualification period ended after Tour Champ. The rest of the field determined by major winners and going down OWGR list to invite.“

Fowler is currently sitting in 80th position in the Official World Golf Rankings, so there would have been plenty more players ahead of him in the running to play in Tiger’s tournament.

Hero World Challenge field in full

Here is the entire list of players who will be competing at the Hero World Challenge in December:

Spieth is obviously ranked outside the top-50, but he has won three majors throughout his career, which ensured his eligibility to compete in Woods’ event.

Fowler won’t be playing at the Hero World Challenge next month and he’ll be desperate to show some of his best form in 2026 so that he can return to Albany Golf Club at the end of next year.