Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele have opted to withdraw from this month's Hero World Challenge, after it was announced that the event would play host to Tiger Woods' competitive return.
Cantlay and Schauffele were initially named as two of the 19 players committed to the event taking place at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. One space in the 20-man field had been left vacant with the tag 'TBA Tournament Exemption', and this has since been taken by Woods who has not competed since withdrawing from the Masters in April.
Whilst Woods' long-awaited return was confirmed, there was also news of two tournament withdrawals, with both Cantlay and Schauffele now opting to skip the year-ending event in the Caribbean.
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Their decision to skip the limited-field tournament comes just over a month after the pair were embroiled in controversy at the Ryder Cup in Rome. Both Cantlay and Schauffele were part of the 12-man U.S. team which lost 16.5-11.5 to their European rivals at Marco Simone.
It was a week to forget on and off the course for the Americans, especially Cantlay and Schauffele. On day two of the event it was reported by Sky Sports that the former had led a 'split' within the Team USA dressing room due to players not being paid to compete at the team event.
The report alleged that both Cantlay and Schauffele - who are known to be good friends - were sitting separate to the rest of their teammates in the U.S. locker room, a claim that was later played down by the American camp. It was also reported that Cantlay had chosen to not wear a cap in protest over not being paid to represent his nation.
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Whilst Cantlay ruled out there had been any sort of fallout within the team, the former FedEx Cup champion refused to deny his frustrations at not being paid to play. Quizzed on the subject in Rome, he said: "It's not about that. It's just about Team USA and representing our country.
Pressed on the matter, he once again responded: "That's all I've got to say about that... The hat doesn't fit. It didn't fit at Whistling Straits, and didn't fit this week. Everyone knows that." Schauffele also found himself embroiled in the saga, after his father Stefan insinuated that those representing Team USA should receive a share of the profit made by the PGA of America - the organisation in charge of the U.S. Ryder Cup setup.
Schauffele was quick to jump to the defence of his father in the aftermath, claiming his comments surrounding pay were 'skewed'. The American and his teammate Patrick Cantlay have been replaced by European rival Justin Rose and fellow American Lucas Glover at this month's event in the Bahamas.
