Hero World Challenge predictions are here! Tiger Woods is back in competitive action for the first time since April as he hosts the 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge.
Despite it being an unofficial event, plenty of people will be tuning in to see the top golfers on display. The tournament also contributes to the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Justin Thomas is featuring too, with a host of big names back in action in the Bahamas this week. That includes 20 top pros and six of the top-10 ranked golfers in the world. The World No.1 ranked golfer in Scottie Scheffler will be taking part as well and will be a common choice in Hero World Challenge predictions. It’s time to get into my preview!
2023 PGA RSM Classic Results
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last previewed golf but the last tournament I looked at was the 2023 PGA RSM Classic. Starting favorite Ludvig Aberg continued his fine form as he won by four strokes, defeating 2016 champion Mackenzie Hughes.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to select the winner, but one of my picks landed as I had Adam Svensson to secure a top-10 finish. The Canadian finished T5 after shooting 8-under during the final round.
Hopefully I will be able to find the winner this time around with my Hero World Challenge predictions. Be sure to take a look at my handicapper page, Ashlee Kiddell, to check out my full list of selections this week.
Run it back 🇪🇺@LukeDonald is set to return as @RyderCupEurope's team captain at Bethpage Black in 2025.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 29, 2023
2023 PGA Hero World Challenge Preview
When: Thursday, November 30th – Sunday, December 3rd, 2023
Where: Albany Golf Club, New Providence, The Bahamas
TV: Golf Channel / NBC / Peacock
Field: 20 Golfers (No Cut)
Purse: $3,500,000 (Winner gets $1,000,000)
The Hero World Challenge presents a great piece of entertainment for golf fans who are able to see some of the best players in action every December. It was originally known as the Williams World Challenge. The first tournament was held in 2000, with Tom Lehman being crowned the winner.
It was first known as the Hero World Challenge in 2014, with Jordan Spieth defeating Henrik Stenson by 10 strokes. However, that edition was held at Isleworth Golf & Country Club. Since 2015, the tournament has been held at Albany Golf Club and was first won by Bubba Watson.
2022/23 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland will also be playing at Albany Resort this week. He is the current tournament holder of the Hero World Challenge and will be very popular amongst Hero World Challenge predictions. The Norwegian won the 2021 tournament as well and has beaten Scheffler on successive occasions.
Albany Golf Club Course Information
Par: 72 / Yards: 7,449
Par 3s: 5 / Par 4s: 8 / Par 5s: 5
Greens: Bermudagrass
Designed by Ernie Els, Albany Golf Course is a lengthy one, located on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. It will favor strong ball-strikers such as Hovland.
However, length is more important than accuracy due to the big fairways in play. The main challenge will be to hit the greens, but a powerful performance with the driver will be essential to secure the victory, especially with five par-5s at Albany.
Scheffler could also be in line for success as he looks to utilize his impressive 2.615 average on SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.021 on SG: Off-the-Tee (both ranked first). Although, he will have to shake off a bit of rustiness since he hasn’t competed since the Ryder Cup.
Expert 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge Predictions for 2023
Although Hovland (+350) is the clear favorite to win this week, it’s hard to not back him to win here. He is searching for his third successive Hero World Challenge victory and is the current FedEx Cup champion. He also helped Team Europe to Ryder Cup success and finished T2 at the DP World Tour Championship earlier this month. It’s no surprise that he is a popular choice for Hero World Challenge predictions.
Thomas’ participation in golf over recent months has been pretty sporadic after failing to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. Nevertheless, after failing to make the cut at the 3M Open back in July, he has recorded three consecutive top-12 finishes.
The 30-year-old finished fifth in last year’s Hero World Challenge and was just six shots behind winner Hovland. With a limited field that fails to show much value, Thomas’ price of +1150 means he could be worth a punt.
Top Contenders to Win the 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge
Alongside Hovland, Scheffler (+400), Max Homa (+700) and Collin Morikawa (+700) are the top contenders for Hero World Challenge predictions. Scheffler was unable to hold on to his lead at the Tour Championship in the final FedEx Cup playoff event of the year. He eventually finished T6. Either way, the statistics prove he is one of the best golfers in the world.
Having won the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the start of the month, Homa enters this one in excellent form. He hasn’t finished outside of the top-10 since the Scottish Open in July, but hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the Farmers Insurance Open in January. His SG: Putting rank of sixth will help here but he ranks just 41st in SG: Off-the-Tee, which could let him down on a course that favors strong skills with the driver.
Morikawa was the champion of the ZOZO Championship this year and will be looking to build on that success at the Hero World Challenge. However, that was the last time he played and so he hasn’t accumulated much match practice of late. Ranking fourth in SG: Tee-to-Green, the 26-year-old will be looking to utilize his fine ball-striking ability. It’s his putting that could let him down, nonetheless, as he ranks 114th in SG: Putting.
Longshots to Win the 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge
Woods (+6000) is the longest priced golfer in the win market. The legend hasn’t featured since the Masters back in April but has since recovered from an ankle injury. He has won the tournament a total of five times but was last victorious back in 2011. His last completed performance saw him finish T45 at the Genesis Open all the way back in February.
After securing a T10 finish in the 2022 Hero World Challenge, Austrian golfer Sepp Straka (+3500) is one of the fellow longshots to win here. He concluded the FedEx Cup playoffs with a T14 finish and has since finished T10 and T22 at the BMW PGA Championship and DP World Tour Championship respectively. The 30-year-old saw success on the PGA Tour in 2023, winning the John Deere Classic.
The illustrious field continues with longshot contender Lucas Glover (+5500). The former major champion has been in good form in 2023 and won the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, he has underperformed in recent outings, finishing T59 and T45 at the WWT Championship and Bermuda Championship respectively.
2023 PGA Hero World Challenge Predictions – Outright Winner
Having previewed the top contenders for the tournament, I’m ready now to confirm my 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge predictions. As usual, I have made three selections for those to go on and win the competition outright.
However, I have also made two selections to secure a top-5 finish in the tournament. Make sure you check out those picks below.
Sign-in to Sports Hub and check out my handicapper page, Ashlee Kiddell, to find out who I am going for!
Best Bet: SIGN IN TO ACCESS PICK
This one-handed putting warmup from @TigerWoods is mesmerizing. pic.twitter.com/45CQxw2zeW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 29, 2023
2023 PGA Hero World Challenge – Top-5 Finish
With just 20 golfers in the field this week, I am moving away from the top-10 finish market. Instead, I have made two picks for golfers to secure a top-5 finish. I was successful with my top-10 selection of Svensson to win the RSM Classic so let’s hope I can find someone to secure a top-5 finish here.
At +400, Woods represents the best price for a top-5 finish. Of course, there is a reason why he is priced so long for success. However, he is known to rise to the occasion and he will be eager to prove he can still compete amongst the best here.
The final pick for my Hero World Challenge predictions sees me take Thomas at +175 for a top-5 finish. He has had past success at Albany before and I like his value compared to the rest of the market.
Best Bet: Tiger Woods (+400) & Justin Thomas (+175)
2023 PGA Hero World Challenge Odds
Here are the odds for the top 20 golfers at the 2023 PGA Hero World Challenge (subject to change):
- Viktor Hovland (+350)
- Scottie Scheffler (+400)
- Max Homa (+700)
- Collin Morikawa (+700)
- Justin Thomas (+1150)
- Cameron Young (+1750)
- Matthew Fitzpatrick (+1750)
- Tony Finau (+1800)
- Wyndham Clark (+1800)
- Sam Burns (+2000)
- Rickie Fowler (+2000)
- Jordan Spieth (+2000)
- Keegan Bradley (+2300)
- Brian Harman (+2800)
- Will Zalatoris (+3000)
- Jason Day (+3500)
- Sepp Straka (+3500)
- Justin Rose (+3500)
- Lucas Glover (+5500)
- Tiger Woods (+6000)
