Twenty of the best players in the world have congregated in the Bahamas for this week’s Hero World Challenge.
That includes tournament host Tiger Woods, who will compete for the first time since withdrawing from the Masters in April. The event begins Thursday at Albany, and our golf experts preview the event while sharing their favorite props and best bets to win this week.
HERO WORLD CHALLENGE
Location: Albany, Bahamas, Nov. 30-Dec. 3
Course: Albany (Par 72, 7,449 yards)
Purse: $4.5M (Winner: $1M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland (2022-23)
FedEx Cup Champion: Hovland
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-4:30 p.m. (NBC)
X: @TigerWoods
PROP PICKS
–Brian Harman to Beat Lucas Glover Round 1 (-120 at DraftKings): Harman has teed it up only once since the Ryder Cup, finishing T44 in his hometown at the RSM Classic. However, he did knock the rust off and closed with three rounds of 68 or better after opening with a 71. Glover’s two fall starts against modest fields resulted in a T59 and a T45.
–Viktor Hovland to Finish Top 10 (+108 at BetMGM): Hovland only needs to beat half the field for this prop to pay out. Considering he’s going for a three-peat and is the hottest player on the planet over the past four months, that’s a solid bet.
–Sam Burns to Beat Wyndham Clark (-120 at DraftKings): Clark has not played well since struggling at the Ryder Cup, posting a T56 in Spain on the DP World Tour and a T37 at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan. This is Burns’ first stroke play event since the Tour Championship, so the rust factor is a bit of a concern.
2023 Prop Picks Record: 47-50-2
BEST BETS
–Viktor Hovland (+400 at BetMGM), up to No. 4 in the world rankings, is not only the two-time defending champion. He won the final two FedEx Cup playoff events in August, the Ryder Cup in September and is coming off a T2 at the DP World Championship.
–Scottie Scheffler (+450) finished solo second to Hovland each of the past two years. However, this is his first stroke play event since the Tour Championship.
–Collin Morikawa (+750) is the only player in the field who has won this fall, claiming the Zozo Championship in Japan.
–Max Homa (+800) is coming off a win at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finished T7 at the Fortinet Championship in his lone FedEx Cup Fall start.
NOTES
–Woods’ only other start in 2023 was a T45 at The Genesis Invitational. Woods has won this event five times, the most recent being in 2011.
–Will Zalatoris is competing for the first time since going 0-3-0 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event. The first round will be 251 days since Zalatoris’ last competitive round.
–World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler tees it up for the first time since the Ryder Cup in September. He is one of 13 players in the field who competed in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
–Players do not earn FedEx Cup points for this event but are awarded world rankings points.
–Jordan Spieth holds the tournament record of 262 set in his 2014 victory.
–Rickie Fowler holds the 18-hole record of 61 set in the final round in 2017.
PURSE PAYOUT
Winner: $1 million
Runner-up: $375,000
3rd: $225,000
4th: $150,000
5th: $135,000
6th: $120,000
7th: $115,000
8th: $113,000
9th: $112,000
10th: $110,000
11th: $109,000
12th: $108,000
13th: $107,000
14th: $106,000
15th: $105,000
16th: $104,000
17th: $103,000
18th: $102,000
19th: $101,000
20th: $100,000
–Field Level Media