Hero World Challenge Golf Prediction: Tiger Woods Faces Long Odds
The Hero World Challenge is held at Albany Golf Course in New Providence, Bahamas. It’s a typical tournament in terms of being played over four days and with a stroke-play format. However, it’s an invitation-only event with just an 18-player field and thus no cut. It also is not an official PGA Tour event – although world ranking points can be earned — and it benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Hero World Challenge Golf Odds And Predictions
It has been around since 1999 under different names and at various locations. Long story short: it’s a silly-season tournament, meaning guys go to relax and are guaranteed to cash some sort of check. The winner gets $1 million.
But because Tiger is playing in a tournament for the first time since early February and following yet another back surgery, this is far from your typical silly-season event. He last played in a PGA Tour event in late January in California, missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open following rounds of 76-72. The next week, Woods flew over to Dubai to play the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour – an event, not coincidentally, that pays Woods a large appearance fee (not allowed on PGA Tour).
Perhaps it was the long flight or it was going to happen regardless, but Tiger’s troublesome back acted up following an opening-round 77 and he withdrew. He hasn’t played a tournament since, undergoing a fourth back surgery in April – not to mention another embarrassing off-the-course incident a couple of months ago.
Tiger Woods Golf Odds
Tiger has 79 PGA Tour wins and 12 more internationally. His last victory was at the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Arguably the most dominant golfer in history and who spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone by far is now ranked 1,199th in the world.
Woods has downplayed his return in that he doesn’t expect to win, although by all accounts he’s driving the ball a mile and is 100 percent pain free. Tiger will be paired with 2017 PGA Tour Player of the Year Justin Thomas for Round 1 on Thursday in the Bahamas, with the duo teeing off at 12:05 p.m. ET. Woods was priced at +1600 to win this event, but has dropped to +1200 on the golf odds board. He has done so a record five times, but not since 2011 at a different location.
Last year, Woods also returned from another lengthy absence at the Hero World Challenge and tied for the tournament lead with 24 birdies overall. However, he also had six double bogeys and finished 15th at 4-under 284.
Hero World Challenge Betting Odds
It’s a very good field at the Hero World Challenge, although there are no Canadians. Thomas, also the winner of this year’s FedEx Cup and PGA Championship in addition to being named the PGA’s top player, is the +612 favourite as he plays the event for the first time.
World No. 2 Jordan Spieth, who won this tournament in 2014 in Florida, is +655. Spieth was T6 last year in the Bahamas. No. 1 Dustin Johnson is +675; he was T3 last year. England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who recently won the Race to Dubai title on the European Tour, is +1800.
The defending champion is Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, and he’s +1100. He tied Woods for the birdie lead last year in the Bahamas and won at 18-under 270, two shots ahead of Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Only Tiger has repeated at the tournament, and only Woods and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell have won it multiple times. History has shown you will have to go really low to win this tournament. Organizers aren’t going to make it hard on players, or they won’t bother showing up.
Hero World Challenge Picks and Predictions
An ideal finish for Woods would be a Top 10, which is doable with the limited field. Winning isn’t realistic. Go with Rickie Fowler at +900 to win. He has been third in the Bahamas the past two years.