England’s Aaron Rai will replace Justin Thomas in the field at next month’s Hero World Challenge.

Thomas announced last week via social media that he had microdiscectomy surgery on his back and would “definitely miss some events to start [next] year.”

Rai had another solid season on the PGA Tour with 10 top-25 finishes in 21 events and he beat Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship earlier this month on the DP World Tour.

Rai played the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event which is hosted by Tiger Woods, for the first time last year and finished tied for 14th in the 20-player field.

Like Thomas, Woods is recovering from back surgery and will not play the event at Albany Golf Club, but the field does include world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler who is

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