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As the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship tees off, the field will look a bit different than initially expected. On Tuesday, November 4, the PGA Tour revealed that Si Woo Kim was among the withdraws just two days before the tournament. Vince Covello replaced Kim in the World Wide Technology Championship field. Kim is among the PGA Tour fan favorites, earning more than $30 million since joining in 2013. Kim would not be the only one to abruptly withdraw from the event. On the eve of the PGA Tour tournament, Aaron Wise withdrew from the event as well as the golfer is dealing with a back injury. Hayden Springer received the late nod replacing Wise in the field. Here’s what you need to know about the World Wide Technology Championship. The Next PGA Tour Season Begins at the Sony Open on January 15, 2026 Fans are still months away from the PGA Tour season heating up with star golfers once again taking the course. The first event of 2026 is the Sony Open in Hawaii on January 15. Yet, the WWTC is still a historic event as the PGA Tour’s first tournament played in Mexico during the modern era of golf. The World Wide Technology Championship became the first official PGA Tour event played in Mexico in the modern era when it debuted in 2007, and holds the distinction as the first official Tour event played outside the U.S. or Canada,” the PGA Tour revealed in an October 31, statement. “This year marks the 19th playing of the event and the third time the tournament will be played at El Cardonal at Diamante.” Rory McIlroy Announced Plans to Play a Lighter PGA Tour Schedule in 2026 The WWTC is not without some stars competing in the tournament. J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin, Wyndham Clark and Matt Kuchar are among the notable golfers competing in the event. Griffin enters the tournament as the favorite at +1100, per DraftKings. Despite being months away from the schedule heating up, Rory McIlroy is already making a strong statement about his future. The defending Masters champion is expecting to play a lighter schedule in 2026 as the star made it clear that his focus is on the majors. “I’ll always look at the schedule at the start of the year and see what best fits me and my life, and everything else that I do with family or other opportunities that I’m pursuing outside of golf,” McIlroy said in August, per BBC. “This year that meant skipping a few signature events. (Next year) I might skip less, I might skip the same amount. “The luxury of being a PGA Tour player is we’re free to pick and choose our own schedule for the most part. I took advantage of that this year and I’ll continue to take advantage of that for as long as I can.”
