Hero World Challenge Pro-Am event: Tiger Woods and Viktor Hovland to lead the first group, full list of pros explored

The Hero World Challenge will see Tiger Woods return to the courses and fans are eager to see the legend's form. Woods will give a preview of what's to come on Thursday when he takes a turn in the unofficial day before the event.

Tiger Woods will open the tournament alongside Viktor Hovland in the first tee at the Hero World Challenge Pro-Am event. Woods will tee off from hole 1 on Wednesday, November 29, at 8:20 a.m. (Eastern Time).

As is regular in Pro-Am events, one pro will tee off with a group of amateurs from holes one through nine, and from hole 10 onward, another pro will take over the group. In the case of the first group, Tiger Woods will be relieved by none other than the defending champion for two consecutive years, Viktor Hovland.

The Pro-Am event is designed for 13 groups, so six players not participating in the Hero World Challenge will be taking spots in the field on Wednesday. They are Taylor Montgomery, Akshay Bhatia, Lexi Thompson, Tom Hoge, Ben Griffin, and Lee Hodges.

The Hero World Challenge Pro-Am groups will tee off at 11-minute intervals from each other. Woods and Hovland will be followed (in order) by Justin Thomas and Tony Finau, Scottie Schettier and Keegan Bradley, Max Homa and Cameron Young, and Collin Morikawa and Will Zalatoris.

Rounding out the event will be Taylor Montgomery and Sam Burns, Akshay Bhatia and Lexi Thompson, Tom Hoge and Ben Grifin, Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges, Sepp Straka and Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman and Justin Rose, Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler, and Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.

The list of amateurs who will participate in the Hero World Challenge Pro-Am has not been disclosed. However, the official website of the event promoted a service package to participate in the event.

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How does a Pro-Am event like the Hero World Challenge work?

A Pro-Am event is a round of golf where a group of amateurs have the opportunity to play with a professional. This gives the amateurs the chance to receive tips and advice from the accompanying pro.

These are generally one-day events, and a regular round, i.e. 18 holes, is played. The groups are made up of two to four amateurs and a professional.

It is usual for the pro to play the entire round with the group, but it has also become common for two pros to split the round, nine holes each. Such is the case of the Hero World Challenge.

Generally, participation in a Pro-Am event is expensive, although spaces are also reserved for sponsors. For participants who pay for their place, the cost can be between $12,000 and $40,000, depending on the tournament (the cost includes other facilities, such as accommodation, tickets for the official event, etc.).

These events are often taken advantage of by celebrities from both the entertainment world and other sports, who are golf fans. Artists such as Tom Holland and athletes such as Stephen Curry are frequent participants in high-level Pro-Am events.