Hero World Challenge Overview
The 2022 Hero World Challenge field has been confirmed, with Tiger Woods hosting the limited-field PGA TOUR event in Albany, Bahamas. Fans will be delighted to get a glimpse of Tiger as he continues his recovery to compete in the 2023 Major Championships.
We have 20 players in attendance at this prestigious invitational-only event after the field was permanently increased in 2021. Notable new attendees include The Open Championship runner-up Cam Young, PGA Tour winner Tom Kim and President cup winners Kevin Kisner and Max Homa. The other stella players in the lineup include Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Recent Euro Tour winner Tommy Fleetwood, 3 times winner this year Tony Finau and last year’s winner Viktor Hovland is also back to defend his title. A superb field, on a picture-perfect course, a delightful way to close out stroke play golf for 2022.
Since 2015, the Hero World Challenge has been held at the ultra-exclusive Albany resort and championship course, which was designed by Ernie Els in 2010, as you can imagine with Big Ernie behind the design this is a ball strikers’ course that rewards elite-level iron play, much like Tiger would want.
Albany’s low fairways are positioned between windswept dunes and sandy waste regions, combining the finest of links and desert elements. A lake wraps around the left side of the flagship hole at No. 17 – a Par 3 hit 180 yards over water to a tiny green – providing a gorgeous and strategically tricky water feature.
The course has below-average-sized greens averaging nearly 4,500 square feet. Scoring is there for the taking with five Par 5s, but also five Par 3s. The three toughest scoring holes are Par 4s at No. 18 and 16 and the Par 3 at No. 12.
Low scoring, birdies galore, beautiful scenery let’s round off this remarkable year with an outright winner.
Let’s break down the key skills required.
Key Skill Sets Required
-
- Birdie or better % – With the winning score being circa 20 under par, making birdies and plenty of them is the order of the day. The player who is striking it well and more importantly converting those birdie opportunities has an outstanding chance of success this week.
- GIR Gained – When we looked at the recent winners and the stats it is apparent that GIR gained is a key metric. If you wish to take home the trophy, you will need plenty of birdie looks this week. One way to ensure that is to hit the majority of greens in regulation.
- SG Around The Green – Getting up and down will be of key importance this week and statistically this has been a really important factor when determining previous winners. Players who excel with their short game will stand a better chance of getting up and down and keeping their round going, which is a key importance in these low-scoring affairs. This could explain why Patrick Reid has been such a feature on the leaderboard at this event previously with 4 top-five finishes in six events. This year see short-game specialists like Shane Lowry and Major Champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
- Par 5 Scoring – Given we have five Par 5’s on the course this week, we should pay particular attention to the score in stat. Winners of this event in the past have scored very well on the Par 5’s. This week will be no different and the player who lifts the trophy will have excelled in this area.
- SG Putting on Bermudagrass – When we face low-scoring contests like we will this week, putting will always be a factor. Last year’s winner isn’t renowned for being the best with the flat stick so albeit important this isn’t to say your player must be a world-class putter. If you’re struggling to fine-tune your final selections it’s an area I would use to narrow down the field.
