Power rankings: Jon Rahm tops list at 20-man Hero World Challenge
The PGA Tour may officially be on hiatus until the new year, but 20 of the world’s best are still gathering this week in the Bahamas for Tiger Woods’ annual Hero World Challenge.
Woods won’t be teeing it up, as he withdrew on Monday, but six of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking remain in the field, including No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and No. 5 Jon Rahm.
There aren’t many options this week given the field size, but here are the 10 best players to target:
1. Jon Rahm: Two wins and nothing worse than T-4 in his four most recent worldwide starts, so he’s clearly on his game. Now, he heads to a place where he’s won and finished second in two trips. He’s a no-brainer at No. 1.
2. Scottie Scheffler: Figured things out as the fall wore on, notching top-10s in Mexico and Houston, which bodes well as he looks to build off last year’s runner-up in his Hero debut.
3. Tony Finau: The floodgates are starting to open as far as Finau getting into winner’s circles. He was second in his Hero debut in 2018 and has since notched a pair of top-10s. This course is surprisingly like Detroit Golf Club per datagolf.com, so unsurprisingly Finau, a winner there earlier this year, has a good record at Albany.
4. Tom Kim: We haven’t heard from him in a while as he opted to head back overseas and play the Dunlop Phoenix (T-4) after tying for 11th at the CJ Cup. But just use this as a chance to buy low in a limited but loaded field.
5. Tommy Fleetwood: Tied for third here at Albany way back in 2017, and that marked his first and only Hero start until this year. Three top-5s, including a win, in three straight worldwide starts. Tommy is back!
6. Collin Morikawa: His T-15 at Mayakoba in his most recent start showed me a lot; he’s definitely turning a corner. He typically improves the second time around a course, so bettering his T-5 from last year’s Hero is definitely possible. Top 10 should be close to a guarantee.
7. Max Homa: It’s his debut in Tiger Woods’ event, and though Woods is no longer competing, Homa is going to want to play well. This is his first tournament since becoming a dad, too, so he’s got that #perspective.
8. Billy Horschel: This is a good dart throw. Love Horschel’s tee-to-green game at Albany and he can hold his own in these limited-field events (T-7 at CJ Cup this fall). Hero debut, but with eight first-timers and six more who have just one start under their belts, that hardly makes a difference.
9. Justin Thomas: Has been hit or miss at Albany, but he’s hit in each of the past two years with a pair of T-5 showings. He’s played just once this fall and it wasn’t a great week (T-40 at CJ Cup), so there are some red flags. Still, he should manage a top-10.
10. Viktor Hovland: Has been good but not great recently, so don’t overvalue Hovland here despite him being the defending champion.