Continental Europe won the first two matches of the day before securing a narrow 3-2 lead over Great Britain and Ireland  against after the opening session of fourballs matches at the Hero Cup, a new team matchplay tournament that is being held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club this week.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Swede Alex Noren defeated GB&I Captain Tommy Fleetwood and Ireland’s Shane Lowry 1up in a thrilling opening clash at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The Continental Europe pairing were 3up at the turn before Fleetwood and Lowry fought back to all square through 15 holes, but Noren – a man with a history of holing important putts on the final hole – rolled in a birdie on the 18th to secure the first point for his side.

Belgian Thomas Detry and France’s Antoine Rozner were two down against English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Jordan Smith after four holes, but recovered well to secure a 2up victory, with Detry finishing in a style with an eagle at the last to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and Frenchman Victor Perez, representing Continental Europe, secured a half against the second all-English pairing of Callum Shinkwin and Matt Wallace in a match of high quality, while Robert MacIntyre and Séamus Power secured the largest margin of victory on day one, defeating Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Austrian Sepp Straka 4&3 to earn GB&I’s first winning point.

With the final match finishing after 15 holes, it was left to Continental Europe Captain Francesco Molinari and Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard to try and extend their team’s lead, however Richard Mansell matched Højgaard’s closing birdie to ensure the Englishman and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson closed day one with a half.

Tommy Fleetwood said: “I think it was a good team performance on the first day. I know we would loved to have finished the day and been the right side of the scoreboard and been up. Unbelievable really that four matches go down the last. Just shows how close the teams are in terms of levels.

“I think in the end, to get out of that session 3-2, we’ll definitely go back to our team rooms feeling the better, and the guys, I just said to the guys, that’s why those guys are at the back, trust them to get something out of it at the last and be very tough coming down that last hole.”

Francesco Molinari added “I’m really happy and proud of how we started today. I think obviously a lot of tight matches which is good for Luke [Donald] and his Ryder Cup vice captains to see. My guys did amazing. Obviously it’s a nice start, long way to go but it’s always nice winning a day, winning a session.”

To see all the scores and a live leaderboard from the Hero Cup, click here.

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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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Last year, at the beginning of December as the world wondered when Tiger Woods would officially return to golf, 20 of the best golfers in the world gathered in the Bahamas for the Hero World Challenge. Jordan Spieth finished last of the 20, in part because of a penalty he very much could have avoided.

Spieth and playing partner Henrik Stenson teed off from an incorrect tee box on one of the holes at Albany golf course during the tournament, and were penalized for doing so. Shortly after his round, Spieth explained what had happened and was caught referencing the Hero as, essentially, a hit and giggle. Here’s what he said about the 20-player, no-cut tournament.

“I actually didn’t think we were going to get penalized because it’s a charity event, but then I realized there’s world ranking involved and all that,” said Spieth. I think the frustrating part for us now is that every other group’s going to be — they’re making sure to tell them, but for us they didn’t. It obviously didn’t matter for us, which is fortunate, I think, for those guys.”

Spieth received 2.4 Official World Golf Ranking points for finishing five shots out of 19th place (coincidentally, occupied by Stenson).

But is the Hero, despite its OWGR points available, really just a charity event at the end of a long year like Spieth alluded to, or can it tell us more about the players who play well at the end of a calendar year before rolling into the next? In other words, is this 20-player field simply a weigh station for OWGR points before the best in the world put the clubs away for Christmas, or is it a harbinger for what’s to come over the next 12 months?

There are a number of different ways to break this down, but the simplest is to look at what the top three and bottom three on the final leaderboards of the Hero did in the years directly following their performances. I went back to the 2016 Hero World Challenge and pulled the top three and bottom three in every year, except for 2020 because the tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 outbreak (in case of ties for third or 18th, I averaged players’ numbers together).

The data here is interesting, and seemingly more representative of the field makeup than anything else. There doesn’t seem to be a massive differentiation in the following year’s performance for those who finished in the top three at the Hero World Challenge compared to those who finished in the bottom three.

For example, Viktor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Patrick Reed formed the top three last year, and that group went on to win six times in 2022 (with four of those coming from Scheffler). However, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth finished in the bottom three, and they combined to win five times in 2022 (with McIlroy contributing three of those victories). The takeaway is unsurprising: All 20 players at the Hero World Challenge are really good.

If you start to look at each and every year, one theme does begin to emerge. While there’s no guarantee that the top three at the Hero will have a better following year than the bottom three, it is clear that the top three almost always have tremendous following years while the bottom three don’t always follow suit.

A good example of this came at the 2016 Hero World Challenge where Hideki Matsuyama won, Henrik Stenson finished second and Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar tied for third. Even when averageing the following years for those in third, that group won five times and gained 5.36 (!) total strokes per round in 2017. The bottom three of Tiger Woods, Russell Knox and Emiliano Grillo? Not so much.

The lesson here appears to be that the Hero almost always has a great field full of players up and down the leaderboard who are going to have a ton of success the following year. However, if you do happen to finish in the top three, you’re almost certainly — and this should not be a surprise given the time of year and the caliber of player involved — going to be part of a group that has an incredible following year. That’s something to keep in mind when this leaderboard shakes out in the Bahamas this weekend

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Tiger Woods was supposed to be the headliner, and he’ll still be on site, but players like Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler will be the focus at the 2022 Hero World Challenge. Woods was expected to return to the course for the first time since The Open in June, but a flare-up of plantar fasciitis forced him to pull out Monday. His event at Albany Golf Club in The Bahamas benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, and six of the world’s top 10 golfers will compete starting Thursday. Rahm and Scheffler will be joined by fellow major champions like Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa. Viktor Hovland also will be in the Hero World Challenge 2022 field to defend his title. He shot 6-under 66 in the final round last year at Albany to edge Scheffler by one stroke. Morikawa went into Sunday with a six-stroke lead but ended up in a tie for fifth. Woods still expects to compete in two exhibitions next month – The Match on Dec. 10 and the PNC Championship alongside son Charlie from Dec. 17-18.     

Rahm, who won this tournament in his debut in 2018 and was the 2019 runner-up, is the 5-1 favorite in the latest 2022 Hero World Challenge odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Scheffler (8-1), Finau (9-1) and Xander Schauffele (10-1) also are expected to be top contenders in the Hero World Challenge 2022 field. Hovland (12-1), Thomas (12-1) and Fitzpatrick (14-1) are among more than a dozen golfers priced shorter than 20-1. Before locking in any 2022 Hero World Challenge picks or golf bets, you need to see the PGA Tour predictions, best bets and sleeper picks from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.

After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour. 

He takes a measured approach to his outright selections and finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on those plays, having hit Cameron Smith (22-1) at the Tournament of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship.

McDonald is having a profitable 2022-23 season in every category, and he nailed this month’s Houston Open, backing Finau at 25-1. The expert has been on the money on his matchup plays and cashed in huge on Brendan Steele (80-1) as the first-round leader at the Zozo Championship. Anyone who followed McDonald’s advice has cashed in huge.

Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 Hero World Challenge field and is locking in his best bets, best value and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.  

Top 2022 Hero World Challenge expert picks

In one shocking pick, McDonald is fading Sam Burns (16-1) despite the 26-year-old’s performance in his debut and throughout last season. Burns won three tournaments in 2021-22, and he tied for third in his first appearance at Albany last year. But the last we saw him was at the Houston Open, where he withdrew after a first-round 77. He hit four of 13 fairways and six of 18 greens there, and his ball-striking has been off for a while now. “Burns hasn’t been the same since the summer,” McDonald says, and he has finished in the top-10 just once since June.   

On the flip side, this is a ball-striker’s course, and there are plenty of great ones in the field, but Rahm is probably the best. He won the DP World Tour Championship two weeks ago, his second European victory since the 2021-22 PGA Tour season ended. He has finished in the top in two other tournaments since then, and the world’s fifth-ranked golfers seems primed to make a run at a return to No. 1. The Spaniard led the tour in strokes gained off the tee last season and was third in greens in regulation. He hasn’t played at Albany since he was the runner-up in 2019. See who else to pick at the Hero World Challenge here.      

How to make 2022 Hero World Challenge golf picks

Before this week’s PGA Tour event at Albany, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 Hero World Challenge. He is targeting an overlooked star to win who brings excellent value given his course history. The expert says this golfer is the best in the field in terms of strokes gained and should continue to excel on this seaside course. You can only find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald’s picks and PGA Tour analysis, at SportsLine.

So which 2022 Hero World Challenge picks should you target? Which golfer brings excellent value in this stacked Hero World Challenge 2022 field? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top picks for Hero World Challenge 2022, all from the expert who nailed this month’s Houston Open, and find out.

Hero World Challenge odds, field, top contenders

See full Hero World Challenge picks, predictions, best bets here
Jon Rahm 5-1
Scottie Scheffler 8-1
Tony Finau 9-1
Xander Schauffele 11-1
Justin Thomas 11-1
Viktor Hovland 12-1
Matt Fitzpatrick 12-1
Tommy Fleetwood 16-1
Sungjae Im 16-1
Cameron Young 18-1
Jordan Spieth 18-1
Tom Kim 18-1
Collin Morikawa 18-1
Sam Burns 18-1
Shane Lowry 20-1
Max Homa 25-1
Billy Horschel 30-1
Corey Conners 35-1
Tiger Woods 40-1 (withdrew due to plantar fasciitis)
Kevin Kisner 60-1

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