A stellar 20-player field descends upon Albany Golf Course in New Providence, Bahamas for this week's Hero Wold Challenge, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler the one they will be trying to catch.
It has been a remarkable year for the world number one, whose Masters victory in April is one of seven titles he has won in 2024, but this will be the first time he has teed it up since September's Presidents Cup.
Sweden's Ludvig Aberg is one of eight players making their Hero World Challenge debut, along with Aaron Rai, Akshay Bhatia, Robert McIntyre, Matthieu Pavon, Nick Dunlap, Russell Henley and Sahith Theegala.
Tournament host Tiger Woods will not be competing as he continues to recover from back surgery in September.
- JUSTIN THOMAS TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
- AARON RAI TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
- SEPP STRAKA TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Thomas To End Trophy Drought
It has been over two years since Thomas last tasted success, at the 2022 PGA Championship, but he has been getting back to his best this year and it may not be long before he wins again.
The 31-year-old American was seventh at the Tour Championship when not including starting strokes before then finishing tied-second on his last start at the ZOZO Championship.
Thomas has a fantastic record at Albany Golf Course, with his results reading 11-12-5-5-5-3, and he looks capable of going all the way this year in his first start since becoming a dad.
JUSTIN THOMAS TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Accurate Rai Can Contend
Aaron Rai has taken his game to another level this year and he made his PGA Tour breakthrough at the Wyndham Championship in August, that success coming after near misses at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic.
The Englishman is the most accurate driver on tour and also ranked ninth in greens in regulation, evidence of how strong a player he is from tee-to-green.
A weak putter was the 29-year-old's downfall, but he has made drastic improvement with the flat stick since the middle part of the year and he looks comfortable on the greens.
With the attention expected to be on the likes of Scheffler and Aberg, Rai is going into this event slightly under the radar and he could win big here.
AARON RAI TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Straka To Go One Better In The Bahamas
Sepp Straka has struggled for form over the past couple of months, with his last top-five finish coming at the Memorial in May, but he often shows up for the big events and he has previous at this course.
The 31-year-old was tied-10th on debut in 2022, before grabbing second place last year, finishing three shots behind Scheffler.
Straka has recorded four top-10s in 2024, three of which have come in the Signature Events, and given there is a links-style feel to this course, it bodes well that the Austrian was T2 at the Open Championship in 2023.
SEPP STRAKA TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
