It was supposed to be Tiger Woods’ first competitive round since July. Instead, sports bettors and golf fans will have to settle for a star-studded field of 20 players vying for a $1 million winner’s check in the Bahamas. And mix in a great sportsbook for great fun: Bet365: Bet365: Bet $1 Get $200.
Not too shabby, all things considered. The Hero World Challenge, running Thursday through Sunday, features a stacked field that includes five major champions and two FedEx Cup winners. The odds favorite to win is Jon Rahm, +500 at bet365, who last week bested a galaxy of other European stars to win the DP Tour World Championship in Dubai. But he’s hardly the lone player capable of going very low on the Championship Course at Albany Resort.
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Though the 7,309-yard links-style layout is loaded with hazards like sand dunes, ponds and pampas grass, the place was designed to put on a show. Red numbers are there for the taking: defending champion Viktor Hovland carded back-to-back eagles on Sunday to secure last year’s title, three players in 2019 went as low as 64, and Rickie Fowler closed with a course record 61 on his way to winning in 2017.
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Tiger On The Mend
Woods was entered in the event, which benefits his foundation. It would have been his first competitive tournament since missing the cut at the Open Championship. Instead, he withdrew. Plantar fasciitis in his right foot made it difficult to walk. Woods is still working his way back from serious leg injuries suffered in an automobile accident in February 2021.
Woods wasn’t likely to be a threat to win; his opening odds of +4000 were second-lowest on the board, exceeded only by the +7000 of Kevin Kisner. Previously in 2022, Woods finished 47th at the Masters, he withdrew from the PGA Championship, and he missed the cut in both an Irish pro-am and the Open. He said he still plans to compete in The Match on Dec. 10 and the PNC Championship beginning Dec. 15.
Bet365: Bet $1 Get $200: Eyes On Scheffler, Finau
With Woods out, attention turns to the players near the top of the world rankings. World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, the No. 2 odds favorite behind Rahm at +750, finished second last year to Hovland after closing on 66-66. Rahm, ranked No. 5, has finished first and second in two previous appearances in the Hero World Challenge. Third in odds is +900 Tony Finau, the world No. 11 who won his most recent start in Houston and gone as low as 64 at Albany in a runner-up showing in 2018.
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Hovland Eyeing Rare Repeat
Hovland last year became the third first-time winner in the Hero World Challenge, proving you don’t need experience to go low on a course that can be there for the taking if the wind isn’t a factor. First-time entrants to watch this time include +1400 Sunjae Im, who closed last season on a streak that saw him tie for second in three of his last five events. Another newcomer is +2500 Max Homa, who’s been in the 60s in nine of his 12 rounds thus far on the 2022-23 season, and tied for fifth at the Tour Championship to close the previous campaign.
Justin Thomas, a +1200 wager, has tied for fifth in his last Hero World Challenge two appearances, and +2000 Sam Burns tied for third in his debut a season ago. Bettors at bet365 can also find boosted odds on combination wagers involving the tournament favorites – such as +2200 on Scheffler to lead after the first round and win, and +1600 on Rahm to lead after the first round and win. There are also wire-to-wire winner options, such as +3500 for Finau, +5000 for Thomas and +8000 for Hovland – though five-time champ Woods remains the only back-to-back winner of a tournament that traces its beginnings to 2000.
And As For Woods?
We’ll have to wait for The Match, where he and teammate Rory McIlroy have -125 odds of beating the -110 pair of Thomas and Jordan Spieth. This weekend in the Bahamas, seeing him award the trophy on Sunday will have to do.