Hero World Challenge
Course: Albany Golf Course (7,449 yards, par 72)
Purse: $5,000,000
Winner: $1,000,000
Tournament Preview
The Hero World Challenge might not count as an official PGA Tour event, but every year it features a stacked field of some of the best players in the world hoping to notch a victory. It helps when the tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods to be able to land some big-time commitments. The event now is up to 20 total players, with the top 17 available in the OWGR following the TOUR Championship and then three spots reserved for tournament invites. All players will be guaranteed four rounds with the winner walking away with a cool $1 million.
Scottie Scheffler will be looking to make it three straight Hero World Challenge victories this week. He'll be the third man to ever attempt to do so in this event after Tiger Woods and Viktor Hovland previously failed to three-peat. Scheffler did also finish second to Hovland in 2021 and 2022 prior to his wins in 2023 and 2024. This will be the World No. 1's first appearance anywhere since the Ryder Cup.
Three other top 10 players in the OWGR join Scheffler in the field this week in J.J. Spaun, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose. U.S. Open Champion J.J. Spuan will be one of three players making their tournament debut along with Chris Gotterup and Andrew Novak. Akshay Bhatia, Billy Horschel and Jordan Spieth received the three tournament exemptions. All in all seven different countries will be represented in this 20-man field.
2025 will mark the 10th time that the Hero World Challenge has been hosted at Albany GC in the Bahamas. It's an exciting course where there are plenty of birdie and eagle possibilities. Albany features five par-5s and two potentially drivable par-4s. While a lot of the U.S. has been hammered by cold weather and snow in some cases, the weather out in Nassau is going to be just beautiful for this stellar field. Temperatures will extend into the 80s with plenty of sunshine. The winds should average in the 10-15 mph range throughout the event, but could see higher gusts off the nearby coast. It has taken at least 16-under-par to win at Albany each year and that should remain true after this week.
Recent Champions
2024 - Scottie Scheffler (-25)
2023 - Scottie Scheffler (-20)
2022 - Viktor Hovland (-16)
2021 - Viktor Hovland (-18)
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Henrik Stenson (-18)
2018 - Jon Rahm (-20)
2017 - Rickie Fowler (-18)
2016 - Hideki Matsuyama (-18)
2015 - Bubba Watson (-25)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- Proximity to Hole
- Par-5 Scoring/Driving Distance
- SG: Putting/Birdie Average
Champion's Profile
You will not have success this week if you are not locked in with your approach play. Some venues recently you could get away with it, but it's not going to work here. The best iron players routinely find themselves at the top of the leaderboard at Albany GC. A big reason for that is because the fairways are wide, so everyone is going to be coming out of the short grass for the most part, and it's a very difficult golf course to chip around. The Bermudagrass runoff areas always seems to make a lot of these players who haven't been in competition recently look foolish. So to that I say, find players who are going to hit a lot of greens.
Players will have to go low to be in contention come Sunday, which means the putter will also need to be in a good spot. A strong approach play and putting combination could go a long way this week. Par-5 scoring has typically been highly correlated to success at Albany considering there are five of them on this course, all of which can be reachable in two shots depending on the wind direction. Lastly, there won't be a ton of pressure on the driver, but there could be a slight advantage to those who are on the longer end, as that could set up easier birdie opportunities.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Scottie Scheffler ($14,200)
This is a ridiculous price compared to the competition, but it's hard to say Scheffler isn't worth it. He has finished top-2 in each of his four appearances at Albany. As previously mentioned, this is one of the highest correlated courses in terms of approach play, and nobody is in the same zip code as Scheffler in that department. He's also gained strokes with the putter in 14 of his last 16 starts.
Cameron Young ($10,600)
Young was one of the hottest players the second half of the season. His driving and putting combination have always been extremely strong, but these improved results had a lot to do with his approach play down the stretch. Young has finished 11th or better in his last five starts, including a win at the Wyndham Championship. This will be his fourth straight appearance at Albany where he has a best finish of third in 2022.
The Middle Tier
J.J. Spaun ($10,100)
Spaun has been one of the most consistent players in this field with 10 top-25s over his last 13 starts, that includes a recent T11 in Mexico at another resort-style course. Spaun ranks fifth in SG: Approach, 21st in proximity and 25th in total driving this year. He also hasn't lost strokes off the tee since late March. This will be Spaun's first appearance at Albany, but this golf course lines up extremely well for his game.
Sepp Straka ($9,600)
Straka is one of the best approach players in this field, which should give him a big advantage at Albany. Straka ranks seventh in SG: Approach on the year and he's also top 10 in par-5 scoring. He has never finished outside the top 10 in three previous appearances in this event, including a runner-up in 2023. Straka has also been known to really pop with the putter on occasion.
The Long Shots
Chris Gotterup ($8,400)
If you're looking for a player with a ton of firepower, look no further than Gotterup. Albany should be a great place for him to let it fly and attack these par-5s. Gotterup has also gained strokes on approach in eight of his last nine starts. For as much power as the 26-year-old has, the touch and feel he has around the greens is impressive, as he sits inside the top 20 in scrambling on Tour.
Brian Harman ($8,200)
Harman comes into the week with finishes of T26 or better in five of his last six starts. During that stretch the iron play has been by far the best it has been all year. Harman also features a very reliable short game and a putter that can heat up with the best of them in this field. These wide open resort-style venues might not be the first type of course that comes to mind for a player like Harman, but over the last few years he's thrived on this type of setup.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
I can't remember ever seeing a $3,400 gap from the top priced player to option No. 2, but it puts DFS players in an interesting spot. Taking Scheffler means you have an average $9,160 for your remaining five selections, but that's still extremely doable considering that pretty much every player in this field is fully capable of being there on Sunday. Fading Scheffler means you could easily access all four players in the $10K range, but that might be a dangerous game as well. Scheffler is going to be extremely highly owned, so you are going to have to separate yourself with some bold picks at the bottom half of your lineup.
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