Tiger Woods Returns: A Hero World Challenge Preview

After a break in the action for the PGA Tour over Thanksgiving, the Hero World Challenge is being held at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas The event begins on Thursday, December 1st.

The Hero World Challenge 20-man field is eligible for the total prize purse amounting to $3,500,000.

The Hero World Challenge is not an official PGA Tour event and therefore awards no FedExCup points. However, it does count towards the Official World Golf Rankings.

The Hero World Challenge and PNC Championship are prestigious golf tournaments featuring top-tier professional players, including the legendary Tiger Woods. The Hero World Challenge is an exclusive event hosted by Tiger Woods himself, bringing together elite golfers from around the world to compete in a thrilling showcase of skill and sportsmanship. The PNC Championship, formerly known as the PNC Father-Son Challenge, is a unique tournament where professional golfers team up with a family member, often their child, in a heartwarming display of family bonds on the golf course. Tiger Woods‘ participation in these events adds an extra layer of excitement and anticipation for fans, as they eagerly watch one of the greatest golfers of all time compete against the best in the sport.

 

Hero World Challenge – The Return of the Big Cat

After playing just nine rounds of golf over the first in 2022, Tiger Woods is planning to nearly match that over the next couple of months. Woods, who is the tournament host, announced that he would play in the Hero World Challenge.

Woods joins Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim. Nearly all of the top 20 golfers in the world will be in attendance for this event at Albany Golf Course. After the Hero World Challenge, Tiger will tee it up on Dec. 10 at the seventh edition of The Match alongside Rory McIlroy. Those two will square off against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in a 12-hole match at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Tiger has not played the Hero World Challenge since 2019.

 

Hero World Challenge – Picks

Jon Rahm (+550)

Jon Rahm has been in incredible form of late.

He has won twice in his last four starts. His most recent was this last weekend at the DP World Tour Championship. The two other finishes were a T-2nd place at the BMW PGA and T-4th at the CJ Cup.

The former World No. 1 golfer has been putting up some impressive scores lately, making him the player to watch at the Albany this week.

 

Scottie Scheffler (+750)

Scottie Scheffler is coming off the best year of his career on the PGA Tour and continues to find his place among the world’s elite golfers. He finished inside the Top 10 at both the Houston Open and World Wide Technology Championship this fall.

He dominated the field by winning four tournaments last year, including one Major Championship in the Masters Tournament, and was second here at the Hero World Challenge. He’s going to pose a threat again.

 

Max Homa (+2,500)

It would be a bit of a reach to call any of these people longshots, but Max Homa stands out from the crowd.

On top of winning the PGA Tour season-opening Fortinet Championship for the second straight year, Homa went 4-0-0 in his Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. He then finished Top-25 twice before a well-deserved break in November after the birth of his first child.

With so much talent and determination, Homa should be considered for any tournament he enters

 

Tiger Woods (+3,300)

We can’t ignore the tournament host himself. The 15-time major winner announced his decision to play in the Challenge earlier in November.

Since Tiger hasn’t competed since missing the cut at St. Andrews, we haven’t really been able to see him compete. But he has won four times before at this event and will also be playing in The Match later in November as well as with his son Charlie Woods at the PNC Championship.

 

Hero World Challenge – Field & Odds

Jon Rahm +550

Scottie Scheffler +750

Tony Finau +1000

Justin Thomas +1100

Xander Schauffele +1100

Matt Fitzpatrick +1200

Viktor Hovland +1200

Sam Burns +1600

Sungjae Im +1600

Collin Morikawa +1800

Shane Lowry +1800

Tommy Fleetwood +1800

Cameron Young +2000

Jordan Spieth +2000

Tom Kim +2000

Max Homa +2500

Billy Horschel +2800

Hideki Matsuyama +2800

Tiger Woods +3300

Kevin Kisner +5000