Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2022 Hero World Challenge

2022 Hero World Challenge Fantasy Sleeper Report

One of the most remarkable years in recent memory for world golf comes to its competitive conclusion at the Hero World Challenge this week.

You’ll get to see Tiger Woods tee it up alongside son Charlie in the PNC Championship – and the big cat team with Rory McIlroy in The Match against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth – in the next few weeks, but from a true betting perspective the Hero World Challenge caps off 2022.

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It’s a year in which golf has faced civil war, and we’ll learn more about that in 2023 when the legal case pitting the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf against one another comes to a conclusion.

For now, let’s just say that the sport may never be the same again….

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Tiger is back in town with clubs in hand, and he acts as host at the Albany course on New Providence Island, Bahamas, as well as competitor – his first start since the British Open.

He’ll be joined by a classy field that includes Jon Rahm, fresh from winning the DP World Tour Championship, Scottie Scheffler and the rampant Tony Finau, who seeks his fourth title of a stellar year.

Viktor Hovland returns to defend the title he won in sublime fashion 12 months ago. The Norwegian became the third consecutive European winner of this event with a Sunday showing that included back-to-back eagles, and those – coupled with five other birdies – were enough to sweep Hovland one shot clear of Scheffler.

It could have been different for Collin Morikawa, who shot a Sunday 76, but it once again franked the notion that to win in the Bahamas, you need to be a classy Links player that can handle high winds.

The early forecast suggests there will be plenty of those on New Providence Island this week. An eye-watering 22mph has been mooted in some forecasts, and that could turn this test into a real war of attrition. The Albany course is not short of distance at 7,414 yards, and while plenty of that yardage is eaten up by five Par 5s, there’s five Par 3s too – four of them in and around 200 yards.

The winning score is almost always -18 here – it has been in four of the last five years at least, which suggests that this is an easy resort-style assignment. And it is, usually, with only a few hazards to be wary of off the tee and some sizable bunkers protecting the greens.

But it’s the wind that could be the key factor this week, and any player you bet on has to be comfortable in such conditions.

Normally, we’d reveal our sleeper picks for the week’s tournament, but with only 20 players in the field – and the majority of them at odds of 25/1 or shorter – there’s little in the way of outsider value.

But even so, here’s a couple of players that have caught the eye at the longer prices….

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Jordan Spieth – 20/1 – A Jordan Spieth firing on all cylinders would love the test at Albany.

He just hasn’t been busy, and has only played once since the TOUR Championship anywhere.

And so it’s ground zero for Spieth, although the record of British Open champions in the Bahamas is such that he has to be respected even without that competitive action under his belt.

Since the RBC Heritage, which Spieth won in April, he’s gained strokes on the field in 12 of his 15 starts, so his long-range form is excellent. And as far as the conditions at Albany go, they get no better for a high wind specialist. 

Billy Horschel – 33/1 – Given that he’s ranked 17 in the world, 33/1 feels more than good value on Billy Horschel.

He was in outstanding form at the CJ Cup, and banked a pair of top-10s on the DP World Tour in September and October.

A proven performer in the wind, Horschel is another who feeds off the challenge of taking on the best in the world – he’s one to watch this week in the Bahamas.

Kevin Kisner – 70/1 – He’s the rank outsider in the field, but there’s a case to be made for Kevin Kisner this week.

He’s a proven wind player that has won the RSM Classic, finished runner-up in the British Open and a host of other relevant events like the RBC Heritage.

Kisner is another that hasn’t been busy lately, but a T29 at the RSM Classic dusts off the cobwebs for a player with four PGA TOUR titles to his name.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Hero World Challenge here.

Sleeper Report Predictions Last Season (2021-2022)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “6.70%” bar_text=”3 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”20.00%” bar_text=”9 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 9 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0.00%” bar_text=”0 out of 9 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”40.00%” bar_text=”18 out of 45 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram