PGA First Look: Hero World Challenge
The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.
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Hero World Challenge Preview
This week’s Hero World Challenge is not an official PGA Tour event, but there is a large purse to be had and each of the 18 golfers in the field are guaranteed to walk away with six figures. This event has changed locations a number of times through the years and will be held at the Ernie Els-designed Albany Course for the second year in a row. This is a links-style course that is located in the Bahamas. A week in the Bahamas with a guaranteed six figure check doesn’t sound too bad to me. The course is a Par 72 that measures around 7,400 yards. Unlike most Par 72’s, this course features five par fives, five par threes, and eight par fours. For that reason, I am placing a bigger emphasis on par five and par three scoring this week.
Being a links-style course, there is little rough to speak of. If golfers don’t hit the fairway, they will be hitting out of sand dunes, some of which measure up to 30 feet tall. Bubba Watson is the defending champion here and while he is known as a bomber, he excelled on and around the greens. The winning score a year ago was 25-under par and 14 of the 18 golfers were at least 12-under par. Basically, this is going to be a birdie-fest that features some insane scores on DraftKings. I probably could have started with this, but Tiger Woods will be in the field. His charity hosts the event and everyone will be tuning in to see how he fares. I haven’t seen it myself, but I saw a Tweet from a golf bettor that said Tiger Woods was listed at +300 to withdraw. I want Tiger to be great again, but he will not be in any of my lineups this week.
Cut Rule:With only 18 golfers in the field this week, there is no cut.
Recent Winners of this Event: Bubba Watson (2015)
Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)
1) Strokes Gained Tee to Green
2) Birdie or Better %
3) Par 5 Scoring
4) Par 3 Scoring
5) Strokes Gained Putting
Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2011-2015)
| Golfer | Salary | OWGR | Odds | + / – | Cuts | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Johnson | $11,200 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1/1 | 15 |
| Jordan Spieth | $10,300 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1/1 | 4 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $9,900 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1/1 | 17 |
| Henrik Stenson | $9,400 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0/0 | 500 |
| Patrick Reed | $8,600 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1/1 | 2 |
| Brooks Koepka | $8,900 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 1/1 | 7 |
| Rickie Fowler | $7,900 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 1/1 | 3 |
| Bubba Watson | $7,600 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 1/1 | 1 |
| Justin Rose | $8,200 | 14 | 19 | -2 | 1/1 | 13 |
| Matt Kuchar | $7,000 | 20 | 24 | 1 | 1/1 | 14 |
| Russell Knox | $7,400 | 18 | 23 | 0 | 0/0 | 500 |
| Emiliano Grillo | $6,900 | 23 | 26 | 1 | 0/0 | 500 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | $7,200 | 24 | 28 | -2 | 0/0 | 500 |
| Jimmy Walker | $6,500 | 19 | 32 | 1 | 1/1 | 8 |
| Brandt Snedeker | $6,400 | 26 | 30 | 3 | 0/0 | 500 |
| J.B. Holmes | $6,800 | 25 | 33 | -2 | 1/1 | 8 |
| Zach Johnson | $6,300 | 35 | 37 | 0 | 1/1 | 12 |
| Tiger Woods | $6,600 | 861 | 36 | -2 | 0/0 | 500 |