Tiger Woods makes his return to competitive golf this week in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Tiger has made just 19 starts on the PGA Tour since 2013, the most recent of which came in January at the Farmers Insurance Open where he missed the cut. Tiger is coming off his fourth back operation in the last three years, but all indications are that he is hitting the ball well and that he should be competitive. Oddsmakers are not sold though, as Tiger is listed as the longest shot in the field for the Hero World Challenge at odds of +4546.
Hero World Challenge Odds
Justin Thomas +600
Jordan Spieth +600
Dustin Johnson +600
Rickie Fowler +801
Justin Rose +1003
Brooks Koepka +1005
Hideki Matsuyama +1103
Henrik Stenson +1500
Daniel Berger +1806
Patrick Reed +2008
Matt Kuchar +2008
Tommy Fleetwood +2008
Francesco Molinari +2815
Kevin Kisner +2815
Alexander Noren +2815
Kevin Chappell +3250
Charley Hoffman +3321
Tiger Woods +4546
Odds Analysis
Justin Thomas +600
Thomas is ranked at No. 3 in the latest World Golf Rankings but those rankings are really not very accurate, as Thomas was the best player in the world last year. He has three wins in his last seven starts. The only concern in backing Thomas is that he has never played at Albany.
Jordan Spieth +600
Spieth has finished in the top eight in his last five starts and he did win this event in 2014 when it was held at Isleworth. He has finishes of sixth and fourth in his two starts at Albany.
Dustin Johnson +600
Johnson has played just once since the Presidents Cup but that was a tie for 2nd in China. He finished a poor 15th in this event in 2015 but last year he tied for third.
Rickie Fowler +801
Fowler finished in a tie for 2nd in his season debut at the OHL Classic. He has played Albany well in the past and he always seems to rise to the occasion in marquee tournaments.
Justin Rose +1003
Rose has eight straight top ten finishes, including two wins and he is an Albany resident. He hasn’t had much success in this tournament at Albany with a 13th place finish in 2015 and last year he withdrew because of injury.
Brooks Koepka +1005
Koepka has finished 18th or better in nine of his last ten starts and he is coming off a win in Japan. He has finished tied for 13th and finished 7th in his two previous trips to Albany.
Hideki Matsuyama +1103
The defending champion has a couple of top five finishes in the last three weeks but with Matsuyama you never know what you are going to get. He could finish first or he could finish ten shots back. He finished tied for 17th in this tournament in 2015 and last year he won it.
Tiger Woods +4546
Tiger finished 15th in this event a year ago but I think these odds are way too high. He is reportedly finally healthy and feeling good about his game. Other players have been saying he is hitting the ball long and that he is confident. Brad Faxon said this past week that Tiger was hitting it as far or farther than Dustin Johnson. I am shocked the odds are this high, as it is not entirely out of the question that Tiger could be competitive this week, and wouldn’t it be just like him to announce his return to golf with a win?
Course: The Albany Golf Course in New Providence, Bahamas will be hosting this event for the third time. It is a par 72 that measures 7,400 yards and it plays easy. The scores are going to be low, as the winner shot 25-under par and 18-under par the last two years.
TV Coverage: NBC and Golf Channel
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