Only three men occupied the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2022. Switching between a few stars, Rory McIlroy is the player currently holding the position as he regained the title for the ninth time in his career with a victory at The CJ Cup in South Carolina in October. Having relinquished it before, and with the OWGR taking on a relatively new shape, will the Northern Irishman be able to hold on to the pole position for the entirety of 2023, or will someone else usurp him?

This prior year began with Jon Rahm atop the golf world. Beginning his 2022 in impressive fashion, Rahm finished runner-up at the Tournament of Champions and added another podium finish a few weeks later at the Farmers Insurance Open. Tacking on a top-10 result at the WM Phoenix Open, it was that very event which kickstarted Scottie Scheffler’s march to the top.

Beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff in Phoenix, Scheffler went on to experience a historic run in the spring that included a victory two weeks later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Making his way through the WGC Match Play, the Texan officially claimed the world No. 1 with his victory in his collegiate backyard of Austin, Texas. 

Adding some breathing room between him and the rest of professional golf, Scheffler notched his first career major championship at The Masters. Four wins in a six-week stretch cemented him as the best player in the world. His status would hold steady with runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open and the Charles Schwab Challenge but began to show cracks in the latter stages of the summer. Unable to convert his 54-hole lead at the Tour Championship into the FedEx Cup crown, Scheffler slowly saw an object grow larger in his rearview mirror. That object? Rory McIlroy. 

His win at East Lake accompanied another at the Canadian Open as well as four top-10 finishes at the major championships. With his victory this past fall in South Carolina, McIlroy completed his trek to the top but nearly gave it up during the winter months. Had Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, where he ultimately finished second, he would have momentarily regained what he had lost.

With such fluidity in the rankings, 2023 has the potential to see numerous players make meaningful runs towards world No. 1. Previous holders like Scheffler and Rahm pose significant threats to McIlroy, as do Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Will those closest to McIlroy chase him down or will an outsider similar to Scheffler in 2022 make his mark?

Best potential paths to world No. 1

1. Patrick Cantlay (Current rank: 4)

He reached as high as world No. 3 multiple times throughout 2022 but was never able to crack inside the top two. Cantlay is consistently among the best players in the world, and it may be a change to the PGA Tour schedule which ultimately propels him to new heights. Looking at the OWGR website, there is only one player inside the top 50 (non-LIV division) who has less than 40 official events contributing to their ranking, and that player is Cantlay.

With all the top players likely to play in 13 elevated events, four major championships and a handful of other tournaments, Cantlay’s typical schedule of roughly 20 tournaments a season may become the new norm. If so, it will only aid him as his game remains as sturdy as ever. Posting +2.08 strokes gained per round the last two years, some variance went against him in 2022 as he lost in playoffs at the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage and collected runner-up finishes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Shriners Children’s Open. Cantlay is good enough to post a four-win season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if does just that in 2023.

2. Jon Rahm (5)

Beginning this past year as world No. 1, Rahm did all the right things early on, and it looked as if a repeat of his 2021 was on the horizon. Plans were halted when he relinquished his No. 1 ranking at the WGC Match Play, and things went from bad to worse when he dropped out of the top five in the world for the first time in three years. 

Rahm bounced back with three wins in his last 14 worldwide starts of 2022, and while he is technically trending in the wrong direction from a strokes-gained perspective (+2.41 SG per round in 2019, +2.40 in 2020, +2.37 in 2021 and +2.20 in 2022), this year presents a prime bounce back spot. The Spaniard is still the best driver of the golf ball in the world, and over his last five measured tournaments he averaged +1.45 strokes gained putting per round. Unsustainable? Yes. But also potentially a sign of things to come.

3. Scottie Scheffler (2)

Well, he’s the closest to McIlroy to begin 2023 and nearly leapfrogged him had it not been for Viktor Hovland at the Hero World Challenge. Regardless, Scheffler’s downturn in quality after his red-hot spring was primarily a result of his short game. With his putter letting him down more times than not, the 26-year-old was still able to contend on a regular basis, thus displaying just how strong the rest of his game remains.

In his 16 starts since slipping on the green jacket at Augusta National, Scheffler has finished on the podium six times including runner-up finishes at the Charles Schwab Challenge, U.S. Open, Tour Championship and Hero World Challenge. During this stretch, Scheffler averaged -0.35 strokes gained putting per round, and while golf is hardly simple, a return to form on the greens in early 2023 may mean a return to world No. 1.

4. Xander Schauffele (6)

The way in which Schauffele’s peers gush about him and his game should hold weight and in 2022, he finally showcased what they have been preaching about for years. After squandering a 54-hole lead at the WM Phoenix Open for the second consecutive year, Schauffele hit a lull with the low point coming in the form of a rare missed cut at The Masters. 

Since the hiccup at Augusta National, Schauffele has rattled off three wins, four top fives and five additional top-20 finishes in his last 13 tournaments. This is the consistency we should expect to see from the 29-year-old — the consistency which allowed him to post greater than +2.10 strokes gained per round in 13 of his 22 starts in 2022. With consistency comes contention, and if the monkey is truly off his back, the opportunity to reach world No. 1 will come for Schauffele.

5. Justin Thomas (8)

Ask yourself this: Is there a player who, when on, can get it quite like JT? The answer is no. The 15-time winner on the PGA Tour hasn’t racked up wins in bunches the last two seasons, but expect that to change in 2023. His last two victories are the 2021 Players Championship and the 2022 PGA Championship, and while impressive, even Thomas understands that given his caliber, two wins a season should be the bare minimum.

Thomas’ three best strokes gained season were 2020 (+2.27 SG per round; 3 wins), 2018 (+2.27 SG per round; 3 wins) and 2017 (+2.22 SG per round; 5 wins). In 2022, Thomas eeked his way closer to the +2.20 range and posted +2.02 strokes gained per round thanks in part to a solid putting campaign. His typically strong iron play lagged ever so slightly, and should it return to historical levels, Thomas could reign atop the world for the third time in his career.

6. Tony Finau (12)

You know who the 12th-ranked player in the world was at the end of 2021? Scottie Scheffler. It is certainly within the realm of possibilities that Finau could match such a breakout, especially with the manner in which he culminated his 2022. Winning three times in his last seven starts, Finau’s quality shined through after a rough start to his season that included zero top-10 finishes in his first 10 events.

He is the eldest name on this list at the age of 33, but age is just a number; let us not forget that Phil Mickelson didn’t win his first major championship until the age of 34. His rolling strokes gained averages show the potential for him to roll to the world No. 1. Over the last 12 months, he ranks 10th in total strokes gained, fourth the last six months and fourth again over the last three months with only McIlroy, Cantlay and Rahm ahead of him.

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The European Challenge Tour has announced its schedule for 2023, with Europe’a second tier tour set to feature a record overall prize fund and a minimum of 29 tournaments staged across three continents in 18 different countries.

Players will compete for total prize money of €8.2m, which will begin with the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open in February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

India returns as a host country for the first time since 2013 with two events in March, the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge followed by The Challenge presented by KGA.

The Challenge Tour also returns to the UAE in April for the first time since 2018 with back-to-back events, including the Abu Dhabi Challenge, as part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation.

It will then head to Spain in May for the Challenge de España, which will kick-start a run of 20 tournaments in 22 weeks and see the Road to Mallorca travel through 15 countries in Europe, including Italy for the Italian Challenge at Golf Nazionale, the venue which will then host the first two days of the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in September.

The 2023 season will conclude with the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, at Club de Golf Alcanada from November 2-5, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.

Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2024 season if they play in 15 or more events. The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.

The full Challenge Tour schedule for 2023 can be viewed by clicking here.

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Saturday’s The Match 7 wasn’t the most competitive night of golf this year, but it was entertaining, which is always the intended outcome with these events. 3 and 2 at Pelican Golf Club before spiking the football, doing the Griddy and then following that by performing the Waddle all over two of the best to ever do it. 

As far as exhibition golf goes, it was perfect.

There have been many iterations of this type of golf with more ideas coming to fruition along the way. In fact, seemingly every generation has its variation of The Match, and this one is no different. What has changed over the last 10, 20 and 30 years, however, is the technology available to deliver the golf to a captivated audience.

The Match has appropriated this technology and delivered good player-broadcaster interviews, put cameras all over the courses involved and delivered on having a microphone and camera on players at all times (including selfie-taking times while driving golf carts). It’s better now than it was 20 years ago because we’re closer to the action than we’ve ever been.

While I’m not positive how much the technology part of The Match should — or even could — expand, there are still a few ideas floating out there that would make this property even more valuable going into the future. This is about combining the currently-used technology with some alternative options for this style of televised golf. Following J.T. and Spieth downing Tiger and Rory, I compiled a few of those ideas for future matches and what they could feasibly look like.

1. More unique formats

The one-club challenge on Saturday only worked because all four of the competitors are professional (I don’t need Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers playing a 450-yard hole exclusively with a 4-iron), but it was so incredibly compelling that you could make the entire event a one-club challenge; I would absolutely be more interested than if guys were playing with all 14 sticks.

There are myriad variations of this you could run — make the losing team of each hole take a club out, three-club challenge, driver only on one hole and so on — but the crux is the same regardless: Make pros show us how talented they are by playing holes with one club better than the rest of us could with all of them.

2. Title belt

This is not an original idea to me, and in fact it’s not even original to Shane Bacon (who tweeted about it on Monday). Rick Gehman brought this up on the First Cut Podcast last week, and I think it’s brilliant. Make The Match a title belt. The options this gives you are as limitless as they are obvious. If J.T. and Spieth are the current belt holders, a different twosome can be pitted against them to try and win the belt away from them.

Eschew those The Match bracelets the duo won on Saturday and go full 1860s Open Championship by handing out belts. You wouldn’t even need to pit two golfers against them as long as you implemented handicaps. This would provide a bit of an edge to something that, at times, perhaps lacks it.

Furthermore, as Joseph LaMagna pointed out, you could establish some rivalries that we rarely get at regular events. Obviously, they wouldn’t be played with the same intensity of a Players Championship or a Memorial, but it would still provide a fun wrinkle to this series of events.

3. Skills challenge

Speaking of LaMagna, he has (and others have) been big on this idea.

While this is not a variation of The Match, it is somewhat an extension of it. LaMagna has pointed this out, too, but something like an all-star challenge could be a better (and certainly more transparent) way to distribute the $100 million PIP fund than just … online mentions and television time throughout the season. You could field your all-star weekend through a fan vote, or a combination of superior play plus a fan vote, and basically arrive at the PIP — except you would be monetizing it, and it wouldn’t function as a top-secret endeavor.

4. More player commentary

One way to rev up the interaction on the broadcast is to have a current player who’s not a broadcaster as part of the team. This was done a few years ago with J.T. on the microphone, and he was fantastic. It’s too risky for a current broadcaster to really go at players, but if they’re getting it from peers, it could provide even better banter for the show.

5. Go to better courses

The way this exhibition is constituted lends itself to going to the Bandons and Sand Hills’ of the world. That’s a great thing, and something I hope the institution of The Match leans into. You don’t need 10,000 people there to make it exciting. Hell, you don’t need anybody at all. You don’t need massive infrastructure or anything like you would need at a normal PGA Tour event. This frees the event up to go to some golf courses we rarely (if ever) get to see on television — sort of like the U.S. Amateur or U.S. Women’s Amateur but with (presumably) four of the best players on the planet.

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Viktor Hovland held his nerve to see off a spirited challenge from Scottie Scheffler and retain the Hero World Challenge title in the Bahamas.

Scheffler also bogeyed the 18th after his chip from a waste bunker caught the edge of the hole and ran 15 feet past. That left Hovland to celebrate an unexpectedly dramatic two-shot win on 16 under par, after a closing 69.

Hovland had a three-shot lead over Scheffler going into the final round, but set up a nervy finish on Sunday’s final hole after pulling his second shot from an awkward lie on the edge of a bunker into the water, before managing to get up and down for a priceless bogey.

“It’s freaking nerve-racking,” said Hovland. “I was leading by five, I think, after the turn and didn’t play all that great on the back nine, but it was good enough. It made it a little bit exciting, I guess.”

Scheffler, who needed to win to reclaim top spot in the world rankings from Rory McIlroy, momentarily held a share of the lead when the Masters champion followed birdies on the second and fourth by chipping in for eagle on the sixth. However, playing partner Hovland holed from 20 feet on the same hole to edge back in front and Scheffler’s hopes looked to have disappeared with a bogey on the seventh and double bogey on the par-five ninth. Scheffler then kept the pressure on with four birdies on the back nine, which almost paid off on the 18th.

Hovland joins tournament host Tiger Woods (2006-07) as the only players to win back-to-back titles in the limited-field event, which is restricted to just 20 players. Woods was set to play in this year’s event, but pulled out due to a foot injury just days before the tournament.

For the final leaderboard, click here. 

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There was a brief moment in the final round of the 2022 Hero World Challenge when Viktor Hovland was joined atop the leaderboard. When playing competitor Scottie Scheffler holed out for eagle on the par-5 6th, the event’s defending champion was forced to answer, and answer he did.

Converting an opportunity of his own from roughly 15 feet, Hovland carded his second birdie in his opening six holes to remain out in front by a single stroke. Tacking on another birdie on the following hole and rounding out his inner nine with a pair of pars, Hovland saw his lead balloon to as many as five.

While his closest pursuer would change throughout the second nine among Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young, who were making runs ahead of the final pair, Hovland stood pat. A few nervy moments — namely on the 72nd hole — ultimately resulted in a back-nine 36, but was enough for the 25-year-old to finish the week at 16 under and successfully defend his Hero World Challenge crown from a year ago.

“It’s frickin nerve-wracking,” Hovland said on trying to close out a tournament. “I was leading by five after the turn and you’re just never that comfortable. I didn’t play all that great on the back nine but it was good enough.”

Joining only Tiger Woods in winning the Hero World Challenge in back-to-back years, it may now be time to remove Hovland from the best young player of this generation conversation and insert him into the best player in the world debate. Having previously reached as high as world No. 3, he is now seven times a winner worldwide — more than Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns. While his triumphs lack the lore of some of his counterparts, the quantity is nevertheless impressive.

Twice a winner in The Bahamas, twice at Mayakoba, two more in Europe and once in Puerto Rico, it is a kid from Norway who has staked his claim as the king of the tropics. As strong a ball striker you’ll find, consistent improvements around the green combined with the implementation of aim point on the greens make the now world No. 9’s future prospects all the more intriguing.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Hovland said on what this win will do for his 2023 season. “The short career that I’ve had, I’ve tend to play very well later in the year and earlier in the year. The next goal is to try keep playing like this throughout the year. It’s fun to end the year with a win and kind of sit on the couch for a couple weeks with a smile on your face.”

While his demeanor on the golf course and ever-present wide smile may not match the ferociousness of his music selection, perhaps soon it will. An emphatic fist pump following his winning putt gave us a glimmer of this and showed the meaningfulness of finishing atop a 20-man field in The Bahamas. While not a PGA Tour event nor DP World Tour event, it was a tournament filled with the best players in the world and served as a strong reminder that Hovland is firmly among them. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the leaderboard at the 2022 Hero World Challenge

2. Scottie Scheffler (-14): What a good ending to what was truly one of the great years in modern PGA Tour history. Though this doesn’t count toward his PGA Tour total of 13 top 10s in 2022, it’s still emblematic of the 12 months Scheffler has put together. Though he’s not technically the best player in the world at this moment, you could (and I probably would) argue that if you look at the last year of golf, nobody on the planet has been better. Grade: A

6. Collin Morikawa (-9): Morikawa didn’t really need a nice week, but a year after he kicked away a chance to take the No. 1 ranking in the world, it was good to see him thrive even if he came up a bit short of his first title of 2022. A confidence-boosting event after an up-and-down year will be useful to Morikawa, who goes into 2023 a bit on the undervalued side. Not much has changed with him, though. He hasn’t fallen off a cliff statistically, nor is he in a bad spot. If anything, public opinion went too far after he won two of his first eight majors and now it has swung too far the other way. This is a good opportunity to buy low on somebody I believe is one of the eight best players in the world. Grade: A-

T8. Jon Rahm (-5): It wasn’t the tournament I expected from Rahm given that he came into the week having been beaten by four players in his last four starts worldwide. Was it a bad week? I don’t know about that. Rahm still tied or beat 12 of the 20 best players in the world this week and goes into 2023 with probably the highest ceiling of anyone not named “McIlroy.” Grade: B-

15. Jordan Spieth (+1): Should we draw some broader conclusion as it relates to Spieth’s 15th place finish this week in the Bahamas? History says no, but also Spieth’s history says no. He finished last at this tournament this time a year ago and went on to have a solid 2022 that included a victory and six top 10s. A bad week for him at the Hero, but it doesn’t change my (always?) bullish outlook for him over the next few months. Grade: D

Tiger Woods (N/A): Big Cat unfortunately did not play in a week in which he was slated to, but it was still awesome to see him cruising around the course, jumping in the booth with Dan Hicks and Paul Azinger to offer commentary and staring down players trying as they tried to somehow hit good shots in front of the best to ever do it. If that’s all we get from Tiger going forward, I’m still going to be a big fan of that dynamic (and perhaps even more so than if he was playing). Grade: A

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The conditions were ripe for the picking at Albany in the third round of the 2022 Hero World Challenge. With players jockeying for position for much of the day, it was the overnight leader Viktor Hovland who ultimately made the biggest of moves. Carding 10 birdies against two bogeys, the world No. 12 enjoyed the round of the tournament, signing for an 8-under 64 to sit at 13 under and extend his lead to three strokes.

“It was great, I just kept making birdies,” said Hovland. “It was weird. Midway through the round I made a lot and it didn’t really feel like I had made that many. I kind of just kept playing golf and kept making putts. I stood on the 18th hole 9 under par. That was pretty sweet.”

Hovland was the beneficiary of some luck as well; players played the ball down for the first time all week. With Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and many more experiencing noticeable mud on their golf balls throughout their rounds, Hovland was able to avoid such fate.

The result for Hovland is a three-stroke lead as he attempts to successfully defend his crown from a year ago. Proving to be capable in this setting, the 25-year-old has already gone back-to-back on the PGA Tour — the 2020 and 2021 World Wide Technology Championship — and looks prime to do so once again.

The leader

1. Viktor Hovland (-13)

Entering the third round with a one-stroke lead, Hovland saw himself drift as many as two strokes behind during his front nine. Riding six back-nine birdies to the round of the tournament, he is now in an enviable spot three clear of the field. Crediting his putting and the calm conditions for the strong play, if the wind continues to lie down on Sunday, another low round could be in store.

“I kind of putted terrible the first two days, but I attribute that a lot to the wind,” said Hovland. “My strengths are really feeling the slope with the feet and when it starts blowing 30 mph, it’s hard to feel balanced enough to feel some of the nuances. Then as well, you have to play with the wind, so it was a lot easier today when it wasn’t as windy and I started everything on line and just felt like I was going to make everything.”

Other contenders

2. Scottie Scheffler (-10)

T3. Justin Thomas, Cameron Young (-8)

T5. Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele (-7)

7. Jon Rahm (-4)

8. Sepp Straka (-3)

T9. Sam Burns, Tony Finau (-2)

Morikawa entered the final round a year ago with a six-stroke advantage only to implode and be tracked down by Hovland. One year later, perhaps the two-time major champion can return the favor as he will begin Sunday six off the pace set by the Norwegian. While a victory won’t mean an ascension to world No. 1 like it would have last year, it would mark his first trip to the winner’s circle in more than a year.

“Just go low,” Morikawa said of his game plan for the final round. “I’ve got to make birdies and if I just kind of get things rolling like I did at the beginning of that kind of back nine, hopefully we can just put together 18 of those and post a low number. That’s all I can do really tomorrow. Can’t control those guys.”

Tiger steals show from broadcast booth

The 15-time major champion may not be competing this week, but that doesn’t mean Tiger Woods is out of the public eye. Joining the television broadcast on Saturday, Woods spoke on his motivational level to win again, his son Charlie and even revisited the emotional 150th Open at St. Andrews.

“It all of a sudden just started hitting me that I might not be back here again as a competitor and I started to kind of tear up a little bit,” Woods said of his memorable walk up the 18th hole at the Old Course. “I said, ‘Would you just suck it up and make a birdie here?'”

2022 Hero World Challenge updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Viktor Hovland: 4/6
• Scottie Scheffler: 14/5
• Justin Thomas: 11-1
• Cameron Young: 16-1
• Xander Schauffele: 20-1
• Collin Morikawa: 28-1

Three strokes is not insurmountable and Hovland is well-aware of this having come back from six in 2021. The dynamic between he and Scheffler in the final pair should be interesting as they were in a similar position at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which ultimately went the way of the Texan. I think it will come down to just them two as it did last year, and the result will be the same with Hovland raising the trophy. 

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Albany is biting back as the highest 36-hole lead in tournament history was turned in at the halfway point of the 2022 Hero World Challenge. While the seven previous editions of this tournament held in The Bahamas featured birdies in bunches and halfway leads in the double-digits under par range, this year is a stark contrast. Yet despite this change in the scoring environment, it is Viktor Hovland, the man who finished atop the leaderboard a year ago, who is in the same position after 36 holes.

Signing for a 2-under 70 on Friday, the Norwegian stands at 5 under as he was able to separate himself ever so slightly from a stacked leaderboard. With Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young trailing Hovland by a single stroke, the 25-year-old admitted he expected scores to be better in spite of the conditions. 

“It was tough,” said Hovland. “We are kind of grinding over every 3 or-4-four footer out there, and they certainly don’t feel like gimmes. This wind just makes everything just a little bit harder, even those basic chip shots, they’re not so basic anymore. I still would have expected the scores to be a little bit lower.”

With the wind expecting to persist, world-class ball strikers should only continue to gravitate to the top of the leaderboard. PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, former world No. 1 Jon Rahm and the red-hot Tony Finau are right behind the initial chasing pack in what is setting up to be a memorable Hero World Challenge to wrap up 2022.

The leader

1. Viktor Hovland (-5)

There have been only three eagles through the first two rounds, and two of them belong to Hovland. Nearly acing the par-4 14th on Thursday, Hovland holed out on the par-5 6th on Friday for his second of the week. With a clear comfort level in the wind and on coastal golf courses, it is no surprise see his name occupying the top spot on the leaderboard, even if he was his biggest critic after his second round.

“I put myself in the fairway a lot, but it’s kind of strange, like I knew it was windy and I feel like I missed so many putts. And I still don’t feel like I’m hitting it very good, like I’m not comfortable over the ball, but the ball’s going straight and I’m giving myself looks,” said Hovland. “It just doesn’t feel that great, and I’m missing a lot of putts, and somehow we ended up at 2 under today, so yeah, happy with that.”

Other contenders

T3. Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa (-4)

6. Tom Kim (-3)

7. Justin Thomas (-2)

T8. Billy Horschel, Sepp Straka (-1)

T10. Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Tony Finau (E) 

Not all motivations are the same this week as some spend quality vacation time with their families while others put on a serious face. Put world No. 2 Scheffler in the latter category as the Texan has his eyes on the prize amid his second appearance in the Hero World Challenge. Standing only one stroke back, a win would put Scheffler back atop the world of golf — albeit only temporarily as Rory McIlroy will finish 2022 as world No. 1 no matter what.

“I’m definitely not showing up to finish 20th or whatever it is. I’ve been practicing. I like to practice,” said Scheffler. “I took a nice break before we went to South Carolina. I was pretty worn out after the FedExCup, and then the Presidents Cup, so there was a period there for a good five, six weeks where I wasn’t practicing too much. I still go out and play for fun and stuff, but not too much heavy practice. Last probably month or two I’ve been getting after it fairly decent.”

A tale of two nines for Tony Finau

At first glance, it was a ho-hum round of even-par 72 for Finau. However, upon closer inspection, the contrast between his front nine and back nine couldn’t be more different. Carding five bogeys on his outward half, the four-time PGA Tour winner turned in 4-over 40. 

Drifting outside the top 15 of this 20-man field, Finau found his stride coming home. With four birdies against zero dropped shots over his final nine holes, Finau clawed his way back to even par for the tournament and in with a slight chance over the weekend.

2022 Hero World Challenge updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Viktor Hovland: 4-1
• Scottie Scheffler: 4-1
• Xander Schauffele: 4-1
• Collin Morikawa: 7-1
• Cameron Young: 7-1
• Tom Kim: 11-1
• Justin Thomas: 14-1
• Jon Rahm: 18-1
• Tony Finau: 28-1

It is not often there are three favorites heading into the weekend of a golf tournament. While Hovland holds the slight edge, he is matched on the odds board by Scheffler and Schauffele. With still so much golf to be played and the conditions expecting to continue, I don’t mind taking a shot at a couple players in the chasing pack. Justin Thomas at 14-1 is interesting given his ability to play in the wind, and the same logic goes for Tony Finau at 28-1.

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The best player of one generation had to bow out of the Hero World Challenge earlier this week, but the best player of another one, perhaps, leads the golf tournament after Round 1. Tiger Woods looked on from the television booth Thursday as Tom Kim shot a 3-under 69 to co-lead with Sepp Straka, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland after the first day of this stacked tournament in the Bahamas.

Let’s take a look at Kim’s round and who will be chasing him over the next three days at Albany Golf Club.

The leaders

T1. Tom Kim, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Sepp Straka (-3): On a windswept day off the Pacific Ocean, ball-strikers shined. And while I’m exaggerating about Kim being the best player of his generation, I might also not be exaggerating. He had the cleanest card of the day with 15 pars and three birdies as he looks for what would be his third win since August.

It’s fair to say that nobody even knew who Tom Kim was eight months (maybe even five months ago), and now he’s on the precipice of having three OWGR wins in the last five months of the year, including an event hosted by Tiger Woods.

“I’m very grateful for it,” he said. “I definitely don’t take it for granted and I’m extremely grateful to be 20 years old and to play on the PGA Tour. “But I’ve worked really hard for it and I’m enjoying every moment out there, so it’s really fun.”

Other contenders

5. Sam Burns (-2)

T6. Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa (-1)

T9. Tony Finau, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler (E)

As is evident from the scoring on Thursday — which was about as tough as this golf course gets), this board is bunched and there should be a ton of movement on Friday and Saturday going into Sunday. Fleetwood interests me here and not just because he was one of my picks coming into the week. He’s been as hot as anyone in the world over the last few months (three top fives in his last three starts), and he could take some year-end momentum into what I believe could be a monstrous 2023.

J.T.’s card, it should be mentioned, was a beautiful disaster. Six birdies were offset by two bogeys and two doubles. Add it all up, and you get an even-par 72. He’s very much still in the mix.

Morikawa’s redemption

This time last year, Collin Morikawa — who got married recently — took a six-stroke lead into the final round of this event. With a win, he would have become the No. 1 player in the world. He lost, Hovland won and Morikawa has yet to reach that top spot. He can’t do so this week, but after a year in which he felt like he was answering a ton of questions about what’s wrong with his game (answer: nothing), it would be sweet for him to seal the deal on his first win of the year.

“Getting engaged last year, coming back as a married man, it really [is a special place to me],” Morikawa said. “It’s obviously a beautiful location to be in the Bahamas beginning of December and obviously to end this season hopefully on a good note, it’s just kind of give it all you’ve got. 2022’s been a weird year for me, golf-wise it’s been a weird year, but hopefully we can kind of turn that around and slowly start to see some things towards the end of the year.”

2022 Hero World Challenge odds, picks

• Viktor Hovland: 13/2
• Collin Morikawa: 7-1
• Tom Kim: 7-1
• Jon Rahm: 10-1
• Tony Finau: 11-1
• Sam Burns: 11-1
• Scottie Scheffler: 11-1

Rahm is getting a ton of respect after shooting a 1-over 73 and deservedly so. You could make the case that he’s been the best player in the world for the last four months. I prefer somebody a bit down the board, though. Fleetwood is still 18-1 despite a nice start, and there’s more value in playing him than in Morikawa, Hovland or Rahm. Finau at 11-1 is also sneaky nice after the year (and fall) he’s had.

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