Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose in action at the Frys.com Open

Tiger Woods was due to compete this week but has been ruled out until 2016 due to a second back operation.

The last PGA Tour season ended 17 days ago and the European Tour season has another six weeks to run, but Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose are among the players starting the new PGA Tour season this week.

The Frys.com Open would not usually be able to call on players ranked third and seventh in the world given its position in the calendar, coming so soon after the Tour Championship in Atlanta and before the lucrative Final Series.