15x major champion Tiger Woods paired with longtime friend and former World No. 1 Justin Thomas at Hero World Challenge

Woods previously teed off with Thomas at the Genesis Invitational in February 2023 where controversy soon surrounded the two golfers.

15x major champion Tiger Woods paired with longtime friend and former World No. 1 Justin Thomas at Hero World Challenge

Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas (Pic Credit: AP)

As the return of Tiger Woods draws ever close, the excitement level among fans has reached new heights. The 47-year-old has now featured in the competitive scene since April. He will make his grand return to golf at the Hero World Challenge while being paired with longtime friend and former World No. 1 Justin Thomas.

The American duo of Woods and Thomas are scheduled to tee off at 11:52 am Eastern Time from Albany, Bahamas. They are one of the ten pairs of golfers who will take part in this annual event hosted by Woods.

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Woods and Thomas have been close friends for a while now. They have shared several successes together and even went 2-0-0 at the Presidents Cup in 2019. Thomas also played alongside Woods at the Genesis Invitational along with Rory McIlroy in February 2023, where controversy soon took over them.

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In a prank, Woods would pass a tampon to Thomas at the ninth hole. This action was caught on camera and soon went viral. Social media would start slamming Woods for his actions. The 82-time PGA Tour winner later issued an apology on this matter. Fans would be hoping this duo stays away from controversy this time and not spoil another return of Woods.

Who are the other pairings for the Hero World Challenge?

This year the excitement for the Hero World Challenge has been on a different level. A major reason for this has obviously been the return of Tiger Woods. Fans will finally get to see one of their favorites this week as he pairs up with Justin Thomas. The other nine pairs have also been announced for the tournament.

The first round will start at 10:46 am Eastern Time. as reigning Open Championship winner Brian Harman gets things underway with FedEx St. Jude Championship winner Lucas Glover. They will be followed by Cameron Young and Sepp Straka.

Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland, the defending champion (Pic Credit: AP)

The other pair of friends starting together will be Sam Burns and current World No.1 Scottie Scheffler. The duo paired up together at the 2023 Ryder Cup as well. However, things did not go their way in Rome and Scheffler was even spotted breaking down in tears after their loss

Another pair of teammates who appeared in Rome and will be teeing off together here are Matt Fitzpatrick and two-time defending champion Viktor Hovland. Check out the other pairings from the tweet shared on X below:

Another significant development regarding this tournament is that Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) points will be awarded. This topic dominated the spotlight when the OWGR committee declined to allot points to LIV Golf. The winner of the Hero World Challenge will walk away with a $1 million prize in this no-cut event which will take place from November 30 till December 3.

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