2023 Hero World Challenge Picks & Odds: Tiger Returns, Hovland Eyes Three-Peat
While Viktor Hovland returns to Albany looking to complete the three-peat, all eyes will be on Tiger Woods as he makes his first competitive start since the Masters in April. Read more in our full Hero World Challenge betting preview below.
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports
While Viktor Hovland returns to Albany Golf Club looking to three-peat, there's no need to bury the lead: Tiger Woods is back.
Also this week's tournament host, Tiger hasn't teed it up in a competitive round since the Masters last April, where he made the cut but withdrew on Saturday with issues in his right foot.
He's also expected to play the PNC Championship with his son Charlie, but all signs point to this being an uphill climb. He recently dropped to the lowest world ranking of his career (1,328) and he sits last on this week's odds board.
We break down the favorites, Tiger's chances, the course, and more in our Hero World Challenge betting preview below, including live golf odds, free golf picks, and more.
Odds to win 2023 Hero World Challenge
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Hero World Challenge field and favorites
Considering this is a 20-man field of the top-ranked players in the world, it shouldn't come as too much of a shock to see Tiger Woods at the bottom of the board.
His 50/1 odds this week are similar to what we've seen when he's teed it up over the last couple of years, and while he won this event four times between 2004 and 2011 and finished fourth here in 2020, it's hard to back him in any fashion without having seen him compete.
Meanwhile, the top of the board is lined with back-to-back defending champion Viktor Hovland and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Hovland might just be the hottest golfer on the planet. He finished last season with back-to-back victories at the BMW and TOUR Championship before helping Team Europe dominate the Americans at the Ryder Cup.
This will be his first Tour start since East Lake but he has played twice otherwise since then, finishing fifth at Wentworth and T2 at the DP World Tour Championship.
For Scheffler, it's been a wild ride of close calls. He's finished worse than T12 just twice in the last 12 months but somehow hasn't won since THE PLAYERS in March. He also fell short at East Lake again despite starting with the lead for the second straight year.
Max Homa and Collin Morikawa make up the third and fourth spots on the board at +750 apiece, with Justin Thomas (+1,400) rounding out the Top 5 after maybe the worst season of his pro career.
Hero World Challenge course notes and weather
The Ernie Els-designed Albany Golf Club is a Par-72, 7,309-yard desert-links hybrid with five Par 5s and five Par 3s. Four of the last six events finished with a winning score of exactly 18-under.
Weather projects to be pretty solid, with the temperatures ranging between 75-80 degrees and winds not expected to surpass 15mph at any point in the week.
