Click here to for opening Hero World Challenge odds (via DraftKings)
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| Collin Morikawa | +750 |
| Justin Thomas | +900 |
| Viktor Hovland | +1100 |
| Jordan Spieth | +1100 |
| Xander Schauffele | +1200 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +1200 |
| Sam Burns | +1400 |
| Scottie Scheffler | +1600 |
| Abraham Ancer | +1600 |
| Webb Simpson | +1800 |
| Daniel Berger | +1800 |
| Tony Finau | +2200 |
| Matthew Fitzpatrick | +2500 |
| Justin Rose | +2500 |
| Brooks Koepka | +2500 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +2800 |
| Patrick Reed | +3000 |
| Harris English | +3500 |
| Henrik Stenson | +6500 |
The golf season never really ends and even without an official stop on the PGA Tour this week, many of the top players in the world are in the Bahamas taking part in the Hero World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods.
In all, 20 players will tee it up this week in the exhibition in what will be the final event of 2021 for many of them.
The Course
Albany Golf Course can play as a bomber’s paradise with five par 5s on a 7,400-yard, par-72 track. Unless the wind picks up, there isn’t much trouble and we can expect the winner to get to around 20-under par. It's the classic resort course right on the water.
Jon Rahm and Bubba Watson both have wins here, along with Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler, so we’ve had a couple of long hitters and a couple of strong iron players take the tournament on this course.
The Field
Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa top the betting odds at +750 apiece. Both are coming off strong performances in the DP World Tour Championship, won by Morikawa. The young American can also reach No. 1 in the world for the first time with a win, so there is a little added motivation for him to focus this week.
That next tier between +1000 and +1200 is made up of a handful of stars. Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth all show up on the board in this range. Spieth does have a win in the event but that was prior to the move to Albany in 2015.
As for the plays, I have two guys I'm looking at this week just below these big names. I'll start with Webb Simpson at +2000 on BetMGM. He gained nearly 10 strokes with the approach at the RSM two weeks ago and if it wasn't for a below average putter, he'd have been in contention there.
Distance is an edge, but guys like Fowler and Henrik Stenson have won here and Simpson fits that profile of solid, accurate driver coupled with really good irons.
I'll also go with Brooks Koepka at +2500 on PointsBet. Koepka usually isn't much of a play during an event like this but at this number in a 20-person field, we'll take a crack.
Koepka made short work of DeChambeau during their match over the Thanksgiving holiday, so maybe we'll get a different Brooks this time around, where these exhibitions are the new majors and he just rolls. At that price, I'll pay to see if he shows up ready to go.
The Hero Card
- Webb Simpson +2000 (1.65 units)
- Brooks Koepka +2500 (1.32 units)
Total Stake: 2.97 units
