Hero World Challenge Preview, TV Times

A strong, select field has travelled to The Bahamas this week to contest the Hero World Challenge. Tournament host Tiger Woods plays, and Rickie Fowler defends.

Hero World Challenge Preview, TV Times

A field comprising 18 of the world’s best players will contest the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Resort in the Bahamas this week. Rickie Fowler is defending champion and Tiger Woods, once again, is tournament host.

There’s a tremendous line-up for this bonus event as the top players wind down for 2018. Tiger Woods hosts in an event that saw him make his long-awaited comeback last season.

Justin Rose will tee it up at the Albany Resort and he’ll be joined by three more European players – Jon Rahm, Henrik Stenson and Alex Noren.

First contested in 1999, the inaugural instalment of this event (then known as the Williams World Challenge) was won by Tom Lehman. Since then Tiger Woods has won the title five times with Davis Love III, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Vijay Singh, Graeme McDowell, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson and Hideki Matsuyama the other champions.

Last year, Rickie Fowler completed a superb final round of 61 to surge to the top of the board and take the win.

The Albany resort at New Providence in the Bahamas welcomes this event for a fourth time. The course there has been designed by Ernie Els and it delivers a desert feel with its windswept dunes. There are also many challenging, yet aesthetically appealing, water features to negotiate.

The weather looks fine on Thursday and Friday but winds could pick up on Saturday and blow in some rain for Sunday. Overall though, conditions should be pretty good and scoring low.

Venue: Albany, New Providence, Bahamas Date: Nov 29 – Dec 2 Course stats: par 72, 7,309 yards Purse: $3,500,000 Winner: $1,000,000 Defending champion: Rickie Fowler (-18)

How to watch the Hero World Challenge

TV Coverage: Thursday 29 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 6.30pm Friday 30 – Sky Sports Golf from 6.30pm Saturday 1 – Sky Sports Golf from 5.30pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 8.30pm Sunday 2 – Sky Sports Golf from 4pm

Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch the Hero World Challenge?

BUY NOW: Now TV Sky Sports Pass – £7.99 for a day, £12.99 for a week or £33.99 for a month

Players to watch:

Justin Rose – He may not have the best record at Albany but he’s playing some incredible golf right now – He was a winner in the recent Turkish Airlines Open.

Patrick Reed – He finished joint runner-up in DP World Tour Championship and has been a runner-up in this event at Albany.

Bryson DeChambeau – He might be playing the Hero World Challenge for the first time, but he has tremendous recent form behind him. He’s won four tournaments in the last six months.

Key hole: 18th. A typically challenging finishing hole, it’s 470 yards with a lake all down the left side. Anything hooking from the tee will end up wet, while a bail out right will likely find sand. The green is also well protected. This one demands two excellent and precise shots.