The PGA Tour may have begun its Christmas break but there is one more tournament in that part of the world this week and it is the Hero World Challenge, an event hosted by the great Tiger Woods and with him at the helm decent fields are guaranteed.
That is most definitely the case this week even though Jason Day pulled out of the tournament recently. The tournament is an invitational event and features just 18 players teeing it up but that doesn’t make it any less competitive. The event still has the world number one Jordan Spieth in it and he will defend the title he won by a landslide last year.
He will defend on a different course to the one he won the event on though. He won at Isleworth but in a bit of a quirky decision Tiger and the officials have decided to take this tournament to the Caribbean and to the Bahamas in particular where the Albany club will host the event.
We don’t really know what to expect from the golf course as a whole but if Tiger is prepared to host the event here then it won’t be shabby that much we do know.
We also know the par 72 layout which measures 7400 yards has five par 5s and five par 3s so it is a little different to the traditional 72 shot courses. Often you would say that will suit length but there isn’t anything to suggest that will be the case here.
The course is designed by Ernie Els and he claims it is a mix between links and desert golf and length isn’t too much value in other of those spheres so perhaps accuracy and control of the golf ball is more of a necessity, especially if the breeze gets up which I’m sure it will at some point in the four days given that this is island golf.
Spieth begins the week as the warm favourite to retain his title. He is a 7/2 shot with Dustin Johnson 7/1. Justin Rose is next in the betting at 17/2 with Bubba Watson at 11/1. It is 12/1 bar that quartet in what is a really strong field.
In a way we have to play some guesswork this week. Not only are we guessing because nobody truly knows how the golf course will play but we are also guessing about who will be fully interested and who is just turning up to fulfil commitments and have a bit of a jolly up.
I’m going to trust players who we know can play in the wind and who can control their golf ball as I think they are going to be the major factors.
My first bet is going to be on Patrick Reed. Some of the field this week we are guessing about their form but that isn’t the case with Reed as he has played in the European Tour’s Final Series recently and concluded the season with four top 10 finishes including a playoff defeat in the BMW Masters so he’s clearly in good touch.
Reed is a winner in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii so island golf suits him and the way he’s hitting the ball right now can only be a positive. He was one of Spieth’s closest pursuers in this tournament last year and you only have to look at his red/black dress code on Sunday to know Tiger is his hero so he will fancy winning his tournament and I’m expecting big things from the American this week.
Another player who we know is good in the wind is Zach Johnson. He showed that in July when he won The Open and he’s also a former winner in Hawaii so we know he will have full control of his golf ball.
Zach is a former winner of this tournament and twice a runner up in it so he doesn’t come here just for a pay day and a jolly up and when we’re taking him that is clearly a positive. He’s a world class iron specialist which is likely to serve him well this week and at 22/1 he’s well worth each way support.
Back P.Reed to win Hero World Challenge (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 13.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-4)
Back Z.Johnson to win Hero World Challenge (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-4)
