Woods-Thomas highlight 1st-round pairings at Hero World Challenge

The Hero World Challenge is fast approaching and the tee times for the exclusive field have been released.

The event, hosted annually by Tiger Woods, is set to kick off Thursday in the Bahamas.

Here are the pairings to start the tournament (all times are ET).

Pairing 1: Tony Finau, Gary Woodland
Thursday - 11:10 a.m.

Pairing 2: Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama
Thursday - 11:21 a.m.

Pairing 3: Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele
Thursday - 11:32 a.m.

Pairing 4: Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson
Thursday - 11:43 a.m.

Pairing 5: Jon Rahm, Alex Noren
Thursday - 11:54 a.m.

Pairing 6: Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
Thursday - 12:05 p.m.

Pairing 7: Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson
Thursday - 12:16 p.m.

Pairing 8: Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson
Thursday - 12:27 p.m.

Pairing 9: Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau
Thursday - 12:38 p.m.

The tournament isn't an official PGA Tour event and proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation. Rickie Fowler took the title last year at 18-under, but all the buzz surrounded Woods, who launched his 2018 comeback season by making his first appearance since his most recent back surgery.