The limited-field, star-studded event returns to Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
Collin Morikawa is having quite the week. Not only did he and long-time girlfriend Katherine get engaged on Tuesday, but the Open champion also holds the 54-hole lead in Albany. His third-round 64 has him five shots clear of Brooks Koepka at the Hero World Challenge.
This will be the sixth time the tournament, hosted by Woods, is being held in the Bahamas. The Hero World Challenge benefits the TGR Foundation, Tavistock Foundation, and Bahamas Youth Foundation.
All times listed are ET.
10:25 a.m.
Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth
10:36 a.m.
Abraham Ancer, Rory McIlroy
10:47 a.m.
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose
10:58 a.m.
Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson
11:09 a.m.
Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick
11:20 a.m.
Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton
11:31 a.m.
Tony Finau, Scottie Scheffler
11:42 a.m.
Daniel Berger, Sam Burns
11:53 a.m.
Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland
12:04 a.m.
Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
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TV information
Saturday, Dec. 4
TV
Golf Channel: 12:30-2:30 p.m. ET NBC: 2:30-5 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec.5
TV
Golf Channel: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET NBC: 1-4 p.m. ET
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
“I couldn’t let down the people that were around me, the people that truly believed in me.”
“There was a point in time, I’m not kidding, where I just felt like I wanted to leave the game,” Bryson DeChambeau told The New York Post during his pro-am round Wednesday before this week’s Hero World Challenge. “I just felt like, ‘I don’t need any of this. Why? Why put myself through all this torture?’ ”
It’s no secret DeChambeau is different than most. He’s built his game around science, has built his swing based on a one-plane, robotic-like motion. Which, to this point, has worked perfectly fine for him. Since putting on significant weight in an effort to add distance, DeChambeau has won the U.S. Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and represented the United States at the Ryder Cup.
After testing positive for COVID-19, DeChambeau was forced to withdraw from the Olympics.
In August, he was asked about not getting vaccinated. “I’m young enough, I’d rather give it [the vaccine] to people who need it,” he said. “I don’t need it. I’m a healthy, young individual that will continue to work on my health.”
“No vaccine shortages have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the New York Times reported that about one million doses have gone to waste since the United States began offering it in December.” – New York Post
And after the St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau stopped talking to the media altogether. And props to him, this decision was more than likely the only way to get his foot out of his mouth.
“I got hit pretty hard,” he said. “That’s why I kind of walked away, because people were damaging [my] character. It was all the stuff that was going on in social media,” he told the Post. “I was like, ‘I really don’t need this. I can walk away and be totally fine the rest of my life, be happy and go and hit the long ball and call it a day.’ ”
It’s tough to feel bad DeChambeau. Again, much of this criticism and “damaging of character” were provoked.
But, he decided to put all that behind him.
“I couldn’t let down the people that were around me, the people that truly believed in me,” he said. “So, I said, ‘No Bryson, you can do this for a long time.’ I had great people around me, and things changed for me. I got back to a place where I felt like I could continue.”
Chris Pratt, the Marvel movie star, was one of those people in DeChambeau’s corner.
Chris Pratt hits a ball at the driving range prior to the start of the Celebrity Cup on February 10, 2020 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)
“Chris Pratt told me, ‘Look, when I’m doing a movie and people are saying the movie’s terrible and I’m not a good actor, that doesn’t define me,’ ” DeChambeau said.
“I respect him, respect his opinion. He’s got a lot of great life advice from things he’s been through — some troubling times.
“He told me when I’m out on the golf course, people are going to define you and relate you to the golf. What really defines you is the person you are outside the game of golf. You’ve got to look at it as an opportunity to show people who you truly are.”
It’ll be interesting to see if DeChambeau is able to fix his relationship with the media, and maybe more importantly, the fans.
It should be noted: He refused to talk with print media on Friday at the Hero World Challenge as the 36-hole leader. Off to a good start.
As the last groups teed off on Saturday, the biggest name in golf headed to the range.
NASSAU, Bahamas – Another sign of progress.
As the last groups teed off in Saturday’s third round of the Hero World Challenge, the biggest name in golf headed to the range.
Tiger Woods, recovering from a horrific single-car rollover accident last February, hit balls on the back of the practice ground at Albany Golf Club for the third time this week.
Woods, wearing a protective sleeve on his damaged right leg, took his time between swings. His swings were smooth and there were no signs of pain after every one of his swings.
The tournament host is expected to announce next week whether he will play in the PNC Championship alongside his son, Charlie, who stole the show last year. Woods would be allowed to use a cart.
Bryson DeChambeau said it would be “sweet” to be paired with Brooks Koepka.
NASSAU, Bahamas – Ready for a sequel?
A rematch between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is in play through 36 holes of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club. Last week, in Las Vegas, Koepka spanked DeChambeau, 5 and 3, in a 12-hole bout in the Match V.
The two set up a potential final-round pairing with stellar rounds on another pleasant day in the Bahamas, with DeChambeau making 10 birdies and shooting 8-under-par 64 in Friday’s second round to grab a one-shot lead at 11 under. Koepka made six birdies en route to shooting a 67 to move to 10 under, where he shares second place with Collin Morikawa (66) and Tony Finau (66).
Unlike last week ahead of the mano-a-mano between Koepka and DeChambeau, however, there aren’t many words of hype. In fact, there were no words from DeChambeau, who refused to talk with the print media following his round. While talking with Jimmy Roberts on Golf Channel, he did say it would be “sweet” if he were paired with Koepka. In a later interview with Golf Channel, he said he’s very happy with his driver.
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As for a pairing with Koepka, DeChambeau, an 8-time PGA Tour winner who is 0-for-8 when holding at least a share of the 36-hole lead, will have to wait. In the third round, he’ll be alongside Morikawa while Koepka will be out with Finau.
As for Koepka’s take on a possible Match V, Part II, he isn’t thinking about it.
“I don’t give any thought to it because there should be no Part 2,” he said. “I mean, I won the online battle, he can’t trash talk, and I’ve won the golf.
“So 2‑0, it’s tough to come back from.”
Koepka is far more concerned – and happy – about his improving ways. His last top 10 came in July in the British Open and he missed his last two cuts before heading to Las Vegas to defeat DeChambeau. But he’s worked his tail off for the past month to get used to his new equipment – he’s now playing Cleveland/Srixon irons and wedges and the Srixon ball – and get his swing back in order as he deals with various injuries, most notably to his right knee that sent him into minor changes that damaged his form.
“It’s one thing to try (the new equipment) out in like a 12‑hole exhibition, but when you come out here under the gun and really try to shape shots and a little more serious, seeing the ball react the way I want it to, seeing the wedges, the driver, I’ve been so pleased with it and very happy,” he said. “I told some of the guys, it was just all me, I was swinging it poorly, so it’s tough to blame it on anything else. But now that I’ve got my swing under somewhat control – it’s not 100 percent but it’s really, really close – we’re figuring it out and I’m just happy with everything right now.
“Day by day it’s always getting a little bit better where it feels kind of back to, I wouldn’t say normal yet, but it’s getting there. A lot of it was just the little idiosyncrasies that your body just makes up for. I was never trying to stay off my right leg, but it just kind of naturally happens. I notice it even when I’m standing certain ways, I kind of stand on my left leg a little bit more. So things like that.
“My stance was the big thing, it got so wide.”
Brooks Koepka watches his third shot during the second round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club, in New Providence, Bahamas, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Koepka will return to play after this week in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, but he won’t stop working.
“As frustrated as I’ve been over the last two years with where my game’s at, like I said yesterday, there’s four or five top 20s outside of majors and WGCs, so that’s not good enough, not good enough for me,” he said. “We’re going to chill next week, go on a little family vacation, but after that, pick the clubs up and just keep grinding away.”
As for the Hero, Koepka and DeChambeau aren’t stealing the show and many others in the loaded field of 20 players have chances to win, including Morikawa, who would become No. 1 in the world with a victory.
But he’s not mentally or physically drained and has plenty left in the tank.
“When it comes to the golf course and it comes to us winning, there’s a lot of energy, for sure,” he said. “The putting feels good, which is great. I’ve just got to keep that up and just hit some good shots and get it in the fairways a little more often for these last two days.”
And there are plenty of others in the waiting, among those within four shots of the lead being Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Sam Burns, and Daniel Berger.
The last two days promise to be quite a show, even if DeChambeau and Koepka don’t make it a two-man show.
Smith, 43, founded the cloud computing company Qualtrics, which was several years later acquired by SAP for $8 billion. In October of 2020, Smith led a group that bought a majority stake in the NBA’s Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion.
Smith started playing golf as a kid growing up in Utah and worked at a course when he was 14. He has been friends with Finau for years and the two have paired up in the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and the Dunhill Pro-Am in Scotland.
Smith owns a house on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links and reportedly finalized the sale of his company to SAP in that house.
“Pebble Beach is like our home away from home and it’s been a huge, crazy part of our lives,” he once told the Deseret News.
This week, he’s helping Finau climb the leaderboard in the Bahamas. Finau opened with a 68 and followed that with a 66 to get within a shot of second-round leader Bryson DeChambeau, who leads at 11 under.
“The game’s feeling a lot better and it’s just another chance to get into contention.”
NASSAU, Bahamas – Rory McIlroy didn’t take long to get over his final-round downfall two weeks ago in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he led by one shot with four holes to play but fell into a tie for sixth.
And he wasted no time getting over a disastrous double-bogey seven on the par-5 ninth in Thursday’s first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club, when he found water with his second shot and hit a poor fourth.
But McIlroy came home with a 5-under-par 31, the highlight being a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 14th, to sign for a 6-under 66. That gave him a share of the lead in the star-studded 20-man field, joined at the top by Daniel Berger and Abraham Ancer. A shot back were Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Webb Simpson.
“It was nice to play the back nine the way I did and put myself back in the tournament,” McIlroy said.
Since the Ryder Cup in September, where Europe was routed by the U.S. and McIlroy was 1-3-0, he has said he’s turned the corner, taken more ownership of his swing and become a force in the game once again.
In his first start after leaving the Ryder Cup behind at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, McIlroy won the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, his second victory in 2021 and the 20th PGA Tour title in his career. Then he tied for sixth in Dubai and now sits atop the leaderboard through 18 holes in the Bahamas.
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“I feel like I found something those few weeks between the Ryder Cup and CJ. CJ was a bonus, like that sort of came out of nowhere and gave me some confidence,” McIlroy said. “I had the lead going into the last day in Dubai, had the lead with four holes to go and got off to another good start here. The three starts since the Ryder Cup have been really good, I’ve shot some good scores, low scores.
“The game’s feeling a lot better and it’s just another chance to get into contention and feel that, you know, whatever it is you feel on Sunday when you’re trying to win a golf tournament. The more I can just get into that position and sort of have those experiences, the more comfortable I’m going to be going forward.”
Despite his recent stellar run of golf, there is one unfortunate issue: timing.
“It sucks,” McIlroy said. “I wish it was like the end of March.”
You see, after this week, McIlroy won’t play again until the third week of January, when he starts his 2022 campaign in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. But McIlroy is far from devastated, especially as he looks forward to spending Christmas with his family, including daughter, Poppy, who will be enjoying her second Christmas.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland warms up during the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course on December 02, 2021, in Nassau. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
“It’s been a long year and I’ve always enjoyed the holidays and I’ve enjoyed Christmastime, and especially this will be Poppy’s second Christmas and at least she’s at an age now where she sort of understands and that will be fun,” McIlroy said. “I want to be totally engaged in that and be present for that.
“Yeah, look, again, I wish it was a different time of the year the way I’m playing, but there’s no reason why I can’t pick up again in January and keep playing the way I’m playing. I’m still going to keep myself ticking over these next few weeks, I’m not going to completely shut the clubs away for a few weeks.
“Maybe two or three times a week I’ll get out there and play and practice, just maybe not take a complete break like I’ve done before because my game’s in good shape and I want to keep it there.”
The limited-field, star-studded event returns to Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
The long Thanksgiving weekend is over, everyone has returned to work and live tournament golf is back on TV as the limited-field, star-studded Hero World Challenge tees off Thursday in the Bahamas.
The field was permanently expanded to 20 players this year, up from 18. Also new in 2021: the winner of the Players Championship earns a spot in the Hero field, bringing Justin Thomas into the fold. Collin Morikawa is making his Hero debut. Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele is in the event and he’s paired in the first round with the 2016 gold medal winner, Justin Rose.
Hosted by Tiger Woods, the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID pandemic. Henrik Stenson won the event in 2019. Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas is the venue once again.
After a first-round 66, Rory McIlroy is among the co-leaders heading into Friday.
This will be the sixth time the tournament is held in the Bahamas. The Hero World Challenge benefits the TGR Foundation, Tavistock Foundation, and Bahamas Youth Foundation. All times listed are ET.
10:55 a.m.
Henrik Stenson, Harris English
11:06 a.m.
Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth
11:17 a.m.
Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns
11:28 a.m.
Xander Schauffle, Matt Fitzpatrick
11:39 a.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
11:50 a.m.
Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa
12:01 p.m.
Tony Finau, Patrick Reed
12:12 p.m.
Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
12:23 p.m.
Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson
12:34 p.m.
Daniel Berger, Abraham Ancer
TV information
Friday, Dec. 3
TV
Golf Channel: 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 4
TV
Golf Channel: 12:30-2:30 p.m. ET NBC: 2:30-5 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec.5
TV
Golf Channel: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET NBC: 1-4 p.m. ET
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
“Mentally and physically I needed the break. I just wasn’t ready to play.”
NASSAU, Bahamas – Daniel Berger didn’t need to knock any rust off his clubs.
Instead, he knocked par upside its head.
Playing for the first time since the Ryder Cup in September, the world No. 17 and winner of four PGA Tour titles birdied the first four holes and put his signature to a 6-under-par 66 in Thursday’s first round of the Hero World Challenge at sun-splashed Albany Golf Club.
Earlier in the week, Berger said he started his long break by spending two weeks on his couch, then two weeks in the pool, and then two weeks on his boat before he picked up a golf club again.
“It was a little scary taking over a month off (without touching a club) because I haven’t done that in a while, wondering if you’re going to come back and still have it,” said Berger, who made six birdies and an eagle. “But mentally and physically I needed the break. I just wasn’t ready to play.”
He sure was ready in the Hero, happy with almost everything he did in the first round. His most difficult task, it seemed, was getting around the golf course.
“In the pro‑am, I hadn’t walked in like over a month and a half and that was the hardest part today, was just putting one foot in front of the other and getting to the shot,” he said.
In a field where 17 of the 20 players are ranked in the top 25 in the world, Berger positioned himself on the first page of the leaderboard with Abraham Ancer (66) as the clubhouse leaders. Despite the layoff, Berger wasn’t surprised with his play.
“The last 10 days I played every day and I’ve been playing really nicely,” he said. “I hit the ball really bad for the first two weeks and slowly started to get back into it. Saw my coach, he flew down and things started to ramp up pretty quickly and I kind of dialed it in from there.
“It’s just tough when you haven’t played competitively to kind of get back in the rhythm of things, but I got off to a good start and that made it easier. I was a little nervous on the first tee, which was surprising since this is my 150th start on Tour. But obviously, four birdies in the first four holes helps with the confidence.”
Berger, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year, will enter 2022 without a FedEx Cup point. But he has no regrets not playing any tournaments in the fall.
Daniel Berger poses with the winner’s trophy after the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)
“I think you have to listen to your body, and you have to listen to how you feel mentally,” said Berger, who was 2-1-0 in the Ryder Cup the last time he played competitively. “The Ryder Cup was grueling, and it took so much out of me physically and emotionally that I just didn’t feel I could go to a golf tournament to prepare the way I wanted to, to the best of my ability.
The new video certainly spikes speculation that the former world No. 1 could play.
NASSAU, Bahamas — More progress.
Eleven days after Tiger Woods posted a three-second video of himself hitting a smooth wedge — accompanied by the words Making Progress — the PGA Tour posted a 23-second spot of the 15-time major champion hitting a metal wood numerous times Wednesday on the range of Albany Golf Club, home to this week’s Hero World Challenge, the tournament Woods hosts.
The initial video was the first swing anyone had seen Woods make since last year’s PNC Championship, where his son, Charlie, stole the show playing alongside his pop. It fueled hope that Woods would be able to return to play golf again following his horrific one-car, rollover accident last February that nearly cost him his right leg, let alone his life.
On Tuesday at Albany, in his first press conference in more than a year, Woods was asked if he had a target tournament he was eyeing to hopefully return, such as the PNC Championship in two weeks.
“I’ll put it to you this way: as far as playing at the Tour level, I don’t know when that’s going to happen,” he said. “Now, I’ll play a round here or there, a little hit and giggle, I can do something like that. The USGA suggested Play It Forward. I really like that idea now.
“To see some of my shots fall out of the sky a lot shorter than they used to is a little eye‑opening, but at least I’m able to do it again. That’s something that for a while there it didn’t look like I was going to. Now I’m able to participate in the sport of golf. Now to what level, I do not know that.”
Ernie Els designed the course at Albany, which opened in 2010
Albany in New Providence, the Bahamas – site of this week’s Hero World Challenge – was designed by Ernie Els and opened in 2010. It is part of a 600-acre luxury resort community owned by a Tavistock group that includes Els, Tiger Woods, and Justin Timberlake.
Albany ties for No. 20 on the 2021 list of Golfweek’s Best Courses in Mexico, the Caribbean, the Atlantic islands, and Central America. It will play at 7,302 yards with a par of 72 for the Hero World Challenge.
Thanks to yardage books provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.
