There is one solo event left on the PGA Tour in 2025 and it takes place in the Bahamas this week when Tiger Woods once again plays host to the Hero World Challenge, a select field event which is always a lot of fun to watch.
Scottie Scheffler made a successful defence of the title last year and he is back in the field this time around to look to complete the three-peat but this event always attracts a decent cast list and that is no different this year.
Recent Winners
2024 – Scottie Scheffler
2023 – Scottie Scheffler
2022 – Viktor Hovland
2021 – Viktor Hovland
2019 – Henrik Stenson
2018 – Jon Rahm
2017 – Rickie Fowler
2016 – Hideki Matsuyama
2015 – Bubba Watson
2014 – Jordan Spieth
The Course
We are back at the Albany Course in the Bahamas for the latest staging of this event. The event has been held here since 2015 which means the regular players will be used to it by now. No major damages have taken place since we were last here so the course remains a par 72 which measures 7,449 yards and which is very much one for the longer hitters, as highlighted by the list of winners since 2015.
There is no rough to speak of here and the ball flies miles through the air so it is wise to favour those who can get it out there off the tee. There is a school of thought that you have more chance of controlling approach shots from the fairway but I don’t think it has much significance. This is always a low scoring event with the pins generally placed in spots where they are accessible so a very good short game and a hot putter is never a bad thing around here. All 20 men play all four rounds so birdies is the order of the day and lots of them.
The Field
Once again we have 20 players teeing it up this week. This tournament used to have anyone who is anyone in the game here but the way the calendar plays out now the very elite players in the main take December off or are playing elsewhere. We do have the world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler in the field though but he isn’t the only current major champion in it as the US Open winner J.J. Spaun is here too.
There is a strong American contingent in the field this week including Ryder Cup players from earlier in the year in Harris English, Cameron Young and Sam Burns while the captain Keegan Bradley tees it up too. Europe’s Ryder Cup team is represented by Justin Rose, Sepp Straka and Robert MacIntyre with one of the vice-captains Alex Noren also here. Hideki Matsuyama and Corey Conners will be representing the rest of the world while Akshay Bhatia and Jordan Spieth are other notables in the field.
Market Leaders
Scottie Scheffler generally finds a way to win whenever he tees it up and he has done that in each of the last two years here. The two years prior to that, his first two spins around here, he was second to Viktor Hovland so in four tournaments on this track, Scheffler is yet to finish outside the top two. That is probably why he is no bigger than 6/4 to win the tournament this week and while that is plenty short enough, the chances are you’ll get more than a run for your money if you invest in that price.
Cameron Young ended the season very well with his win at the Wyndham Championship which elevated him to a new level. He was also one of the few bright spots for the USA team at the Ryder Cup as well and you get the feeling that 2026 will be a big one for the tee-to-green machine. Young has played this event before and it wouldn’t be a surprise were he to land the goods at 12/1 although he hasn’t teed it up since the Ryder Cup which is a concern.
With that in mind, Robert MacIntyre might be better suited this week at 14/1. The DP World Tour season only finished a couple of weeks ago so he hasn’t had any time to build up rust and we know that the exposed conditions won’t worry him as he is an excellent player in the breeze. He was seventh here on debut a year ago and now that he has had a spin around the track you would imagine better will come from the man who won the Alfred Dunhill Links on home soil just two months ago.
The US Open champion J.J. Spaun comes next in the betting at 15/1. He was always going to be invited into this tournament as a major winner on the year but this is his debut in the event and there is a school of thought that you need a go around here to know how to play the course the best. He has spent all year delivering good showings in events he hasn’t been used to contending in so I wouldn’t write him off on that evidence but I wonder if others will just outgun him with their length.
Betting
You never truly know who is here for a jolly up and who is here looking to win but the way that Keegan Bradley spoke about what happened at the Ryder Cup recently makes me think that he is going to put everything into the next two years to ensure that he is on the USA team to put things right in Ireland in 2027 and that motivation might serve him well here. Bradley does have the added advantage of having played something resembling a competitive round of golf recently when he earned more than a few quid at the Skins game last week and given that he was hitting the ball well there, I see no reason to think he won’t go well here so he is my first bet.
My other bet is a man I took last year who I see no reason can’t go as well if not better this time around and that is Akshay Bhatia. Bhatia was fourth here on debut a year ago and having had a spin in the tournament and knowing a little more of what to expect I think the American can go well here. He has taken on board Max Homa’s former caddie who is a shrewd cookie and that is a partnership I think will do well over the next few months. Bhatia is an aggressive iron player and if he can get the ball rolling nicely on the greens, which he did last year, then there is no reason why he can’t be in the mix here.
Tips
Back K.Bradley to win Hero World Challenge (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 19.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-4)
Back A.Bhatia to win Hero World Challenge (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-4)
Back them here:
