Golf best bets: Outright picks for the Hero World Challenge
The best and brightest stars on the PGA Tour finally return this week for the invite-only Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas. Among them will be Eldrick "Tiger" Woods.
That's right, Tiger Woods is back for the first time since he underwent ankle surgery in April, and we can't wait to watch the big cat tee it up again in a competitive setting. We won't be betting on him, though. Here are the two players we are targeting with outright bets for the Hero World Challenge.
Tony Finau (+2200 FanDuel)
This tournament is all about finding the slim value available. There are only 20 players in the Hero World Challenge field, and 11 of them are ranked inside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking. As a result, there aren't many juicy prices on the odds board this week.
One higher price that does stand out is Tony Finau's. In four starts at Albany Golf Course, Finau has finished solo second, T10, T7, and solo seventh. He also gained more than 2.02 true strokes on the field in each of his last two trips here. Finau's putter was ice cold when we last saw him competing on the PGA Tour, but he closed the season on a ball-striking tear. If the putter shows up this week, Finau's +2200 price is going to age quite well by Sunday afternoon.
Will Zalatoris (+4000 DraftKings)
Tiger isn't the only big-name golfer returning to the PGA Tour this week. Will Zalatoris will be making his first PGA Tour start since March. The talented youngster underwent back surgery in April and missed the rest of the season, but he's finally healthy enough to return to competition.
Zalatoris is priced so high in this field because he hasn't played on the PGA Tour in seven months, and we have no idea how his swing feels coming off a back procedure. But if Willy Z was fully healthy, he would be closer to 10/1 than 40/1 due to his ball-striking prowess. This is worth a shot in such a small field.
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