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Horse Racing Hero World Challenge Tip: 15.00 Pick For This Weekend’s Action
Hero World Challenge Tip: Thursday, November 30th
Albany Golf Club is once again the venue for the Hero World Challenge. We have analysed the betting markets to bring you our best Hero World Challenge tip.
Odds via bet365 as at 11.55 November 28th 2023. Odds may now differ.
In this article:
Hero World Challenge Overview
Thursday, 30th November, 11:00 (UK)
The regular season events may have come to an end on the PGA Tour but Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf ensures continued interest. Woods hasn’t played competitively since withdrawing from the Masters earlier this year and it is fair to say there is much excitement surrounding his return. Whatever happens this week, Woods is likely to fare better than he did at Augusta. Warm weather and a relatively flat course is much more conducive to a positive showing than the cold and undulating terrain of the Masters in the Georgia spring.
It should come as no surprise that Woods makes his return at the Hero World Challenge given he is host for the event. Only twenty players tee it up this week, all of whom are guaranteed world ranking points and four rounds of golf.
An Ernie Els design, Albany Golf Club has five par five holes and five par three holes. As you would expect given its location in the Bahamas, it is a coastal course with wind and water testing the players. A fraction short of 7,500 yards, it plays as a par 72.
The current weather forecast suggests a pleasant week in the Bahamas. The sun will shine on all four days and the wind isn’t expected to rise above 15 miles per hour.
All eyes will be on Woods this week but it is also worth mentioning that Will Zalatoris also makes his return to action. The former world number seven has been on the sidelines since the WGC Match Play in March and it will be interesting to see how his game fares against some of the world’s best.
Hero World Challenge Tip
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler rightly jostle for favouritism at the front of the market, with the Norwegian edging the American at the time of writing. Hovland has taken home the tiger themed trophy in each of the past two years and he’s a tempting favourite at 4.75. Winner of the FedEx Cup in August, Hovland has kept himself sharp since with a couple of appearances on the DP World Tour. A runner up finish at the DP World Tour Championship was the perfect preparation for his bid for a hat trick of titles in the Bahamas.
The same can’t be said for Scheffler though and for that reason Hovland is preferred out of the two. Scheffler has been runner up to Hovland in each of the last two years but it should be noted that he continued to play tournament golf after the Tour Championship in each of those years. Scheffler teed it up five times between the Tour Championship and this event in 2021. In 2022, he made three starts in between. The world number one hasn’t played since the Tour Championship in August and there may be an element of rust in his game this time around.
Six of the last seven winners of the Hero World Challenge have taken fewer than a three week break before winning at Albany GC. Selecting a player who isn’t on holiday mode is half the battle and I’m favouring those players who have kept themselves sharp in the off season. Ten of this week’s field haven’t played competitively in the past five weeks and I’ve given them short consideration as a result.
Motivation will be a key factor this week and Justin Thomas is one player who is expected to be fully focused. The former world number one has won at least one tournament in each of the past nine calendar years and finds himself needing a win this week to keep that run going.
There can be no doubt it has been a poor year for the former world number one. However, signs of his recovery have been evident the past few weeks. He was a fast finishing fifth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge two weeks ago and prior to that had recorded top 12 finishes in his previous two PGA Tour starts.
Three consecutive top five finishes in this event indicate his liking for the test and I see it as a positive that he has been drawn with friend and mentor, Tiger Woods, for the opening round. Woods will no doubt be needling Thomas before the round and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that bring the best out of him.
I did give consideration to playing Thomas in the Finishing Position market offered by bet365. Odds of 1.80 on Thomas finishing ninth or better seem more than fair given the aforementioned concerns over the field’s rust following the Tour Championship. However, I’m inclined to think that Thomas will go better than that and can challenge for the win. Take the 15.00 with bet365 on JT winning for a tenth year in a row.
Odds via bet365 as at 11.55 November 28th 2023. Odds may now differ.
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