Tiger Woods welcomes 20 of the top players in the world to the 2024 Hero World Challenge, the event hosted annually by the 15-time major winner in the Bahamas. Remaining on the sidelines due to his sixth back surgery this past September, Woods will instead play host and let his peers swing the sticks inside the ropes.
The field is headlined by none other than defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who seeks his ninth worldwide victory of the year. Having not played since the Presidents Cup, Scheffler should have no issues shaking off the rust as he arrives at Albany GC for the fourth time in his career having lost to only one man (Viktor Hovland, twice).
A multiple-time winner at golf courses such as Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale and Bay Hill, Scheffler seeks to add Albany GC to this list. Standing in his way is young Swede Ludvig Åberg, who rebounded nicely from knee surgery at the RSM Classic and notched a ho-hum top-20 result.
Åberg was not the only player to flash some form this past fall as Justin Thomas continued to knock on the door of the winner’s circle. Finishing runner-up at the Zozo Championship, the two-time major champion looks to end his winless drought that stretches back to his 2022 PGA Championship victory at Southern Hills.
Tom Kim continues to play some strong golf and is joined in the field by Presidents Cup teammates Sungjae Im and Jason Day, while U.S. Presidents Cup participants Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Sahith Theegala round out the action.
2024 Hero World Challenge schedule
Dates: Dec. 5-8
Location: Albany GC — Albany, Bahamas
Par: 72 | Yardage: 7,449
Purse: $5,000,000
2024 Hero World Challenge field, odds
Golf betting odds below provided via DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out the latest DraftKings promo to get in the game.
- Scottie Scheffler (5/2)
- Justin Thomas (10-1): Thomas is among the most experienced in this event as he tees it up in the Hero World Challenge for the seventh time. After forgettable starts in his first two attempts, he has since finished inside the top five in four straight, including a podium result a season ago behind Scheffler and Sepp Straka. His tee-to-green play has appeared to rebound from the lows of the 2023 season, but his putter remains a real issue. Thomas checked in as a bottom-11 putter on the PGA Tour in 2024.
- Ludvig Åberg (10-1): Åberg’s return at Sea Island went about as well as it could have gone. Getting off to a brutal start, he battled back to make the cut, flashed his tee-to-green prowess over the weekend and notched an easy top-20 finish in his title defense. Now he takes to Albany GC for the first time where he will welcome the warm climate and easy walk. After a sensational 2023 that saw him win on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Åberg has gone winless in 2024.
- Patrick Cantlay (12-1): Will his Presidents Cup performance lead to more, or is it just another flash in the pan? Cantlay confirmed he is America’s top dog with his clutch play at Royal Montreal, but it has now been north of two years since he has entered the winner’s circle. His ball-striking was poor this season compared to his long-term averages, and his putter lagged behind as well. This week will mark his first start in Albany since 2019.
- Sungjae Im (14-1)
- Sam Burns (14-1): Burns looks primed to take a leap in 2025, and a win in a field of this quality would only bolster that case. Finding a different gear with his iron play over the summer, the smooth-swinging right hander starred for the U.S. Presidents Cup team and experienced a couple close calls in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He has struggled at Albany GC the past two years, but if he keeps the ball in play, he has as good a chance as anyone.
- Russell Henley (14-1)
- Wyndham Clark (18-1): His tournament debut in 2023 was one to forget as Clark failed to break 70 and finished ahead of only Will Zalatoris. It proved to be a bump in the road as Clark found the winner’s circle at Pebble Beach and finished runner-up to Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship in 2024. While he currently checks in at No. 6 in the Official World Golf Rankings, he will need to find more consistency moving forward to enter the conversation of being an elite player.
- Tom Kim (20-1)
- Sahith Theegala (22-1)
- Jason Day (22-1)
2024 Hero World Challenge expert picks
Who will win the Hero World Challenge, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that’s nailed 13 golf majors and is up nearly $9,500 since June 2020.
Read the full article here
