Hero World Challenge 2023 Preview: Can Hovland complete hat-trick of wins?

A 20-strong field made up of Tiger Woods and his mates will tee it up at Albany in the Bahamas for the Hero World Challenge - an event that’s been running to help Tiger’s charity since 2000. Viktor Hovland 5.0 is looking to find his third win in a row here. He comes off a T2 at the DP World Tour Championship.

Viktor Hovland’s bridesmaid at Albany the last two years has been world no. 1 Scottie Sheffler and he is second in the market too at 6.0. Will Zalatoris makes his first appearance since a long-term injury setback and major champions Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark will be making their Hero World Challenge debuts.

Official World Golf Ranking points will be awarded based on finishing positions in the Hero World Challenge, but no FedEx Cup points will be handed out. There is no cut in this event so we will see 20 of the world’s best for four days.

The Course

Albany Golf Course is a par 72 playing around 7,450 yards. It’s a links style Ernie Els design, and it hosts the Hero World Challenge for the ninth time. Dunes, water, and the wind are the defence of the course which boasts five par 5s and five par 3s. Greens are also small at Albany and measure only 4,500 feet on average which adds to the test.

We are expecting winds around 15 mph throughout the tournament which should equate to just over a shot in scoring differential compared to a relatively calm tournament. When they reach 30 mph at times (which is suggested by the early forecast) this will move to around a 3 shot difference in scoring average. The greens at Albany Golf Club are TifEagle Bermuda set to run about 12’ on the Stimp. The 14th hole is a drivable par 4 and premium will be on approach to the small targets and the short game.

The Albany tournament record at the Hero World challenge is 263, set by Bubba Watson in 2015. Fowler won the event in 2017, hitting the current course-record 61 in the final round.

The Contenders

Collin Morikawa’s (9.2) iron play was on point to win at the Zozo Championship and he’ll need more of the same this week in Albany. Morikawa found form at the end of the season and bookended at the ZOZO with rounds of 63 and 64. He was 2nd in strokes gained: approach for the season. The American has a couple of appearances at Albany, finishing 6th and 5th the last two years.

Max Homa (9.8) pegs it up after his win at the Nedbank Challenge and we’ll stick with these two in form guys to take on the two market leaders. Max Homa is now 7th in the World Golf Rankings and was the main man for the US in the Ryder Cup. Homa was 9th in strokes gained total for the 2022-23 season and fifth in strokes gained approach when bagging the Nedbank challenge, adding to 6 wins over on the PGA Tour. “Having a Dutch bet on Collin and Max at the Hero World Challenge might provide dividends at just under 5.0 on total outlay.”

Recommended Bets

Back Collin Morikawa @ 9.2
Back Max Home @ 9.8