By Vik Chokshi
FOX Sports Gambling Lead
This week, we turn our attention to the Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas for the 2023 Hero World Challenge.
The biggest storyline going into the event is that the 15-time major winner, Tiger Woods, is back! The legendary golfer will play in his first professional tournament since withdrawing from The Masters in April.
“I have none of the pain that I had at Augusta … The surgery was a success,” Woods told reporters.
Despite hosting the event and being fully healthy, Woods is a huge long shot to take it down. In fact, at +8000, his odds of winning are the lowest of all participants on the oddsboard at FanDuel Sportsbook.
“Woods” and “last” have not been synonymous during the golfer’s career.
Per FOX Sports Research, Tiger’s odds were never longer than +1400 in any of his 15 major victories.
“It is rare to see Tiger as the longest shot on the board, but it’s a limited-field event, and you have to remember that we have all found out in the last few years that he is indeed a mortal like everyone else,” said Thomas Gable, director of race and sports at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
“Woods had one of, if not the most dominant run in the history of golf, but as he gets older and the injuries keep taking a toll on his body, you have to be realistic about what to expect out of him. He’s been Superman for a long time, but time catches up to everyone.”
As for gambling on the tournament, we’ve got you covered with everything you need, from the odds to best bets.
Let’s dive into the action.
FAVORITES
Many of the game’s best will be playing this week. Viktor Hovland, the two-time defending champion, is the favorite to win again at +400.
Following Hovland are Scottie Scheffler (+450), Max Homa (+800) and Collin Morikawa (+800) in a loaded field.
The course itself is a par 72 and approximately 7,450 yards long, with Bermudagrass greens.
Now that we teed off with the basics, let’s approach the top favorites and my betting portfolio for this tournament.
ODDS & FIELD
Viktor Hovland: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Scottie Scheffler: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
Max Homa: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Collin Morikawa: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Justin Thomas: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Matt Fitzpatrick: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Cameron Young: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Rickie Fowler: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Tony Finau: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Sam Burns: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Jordan Spieth: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Wyndham Clark: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
OUTRIGHT BETS TO MAKE
Justin Thomas +1400
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I love betting on golf long shots. There’s just something thrilling about holding a lottery ticket deep into Sunday. It also presents multiple hedging opportunities if you want to eliminate some of your risk.
Here are a couple of guys worth sprinkling some pizza money on.
LONG-SHOT BETS TO MAKE
Cameron Young +1600
Rickie Fowler +2200
Justin Rose +4000
Will Zalatoris +4000
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