Focused Rickie Fowler looks ready to retain World Challenge title

Starts 4.10pm Thursday
Live on Sky Sports from 6.30pm Thursday

Tiger Woods, fresh from being humbled by Phil Mickelson at the 22nd hole of The Match last Friday, returns to action as host for the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club.

The standard of play at Shadow Creek in the $9m clash between Woods and Mickelson was poor and the Hero's headline act will know he has to up his game considerably if he is to overcome a small but strong field in The Bahamas.

Woods is a general 9-1 – and a top-price 10-1 with Betfair – for a first triumph at Albany. He was 15th of 18 there in 2016 and ninth last year, but both spins came after long injury layoffs.

Palmer's top tip
Rickie Fowler 17-2

It is easy to pick holes in most of the World Challenge runners – many are making their debut in the tournament, others have lots of rust in their system, a few have significant form concerns, some are carrying injury niggles, and the motivation of a couple is questionable.

There are eight debutants in the field of 18 – Keegan Bradley, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Gary Woodland – and Albany has been used for the last three years. The other ten runners have an immediate edge.

Day is probably full of rust – his third child was born earlier this month and this devoted family man is unlikely to have spent much time on the practice ground – while 2015 Albany champion Bubba Watson may also be short of an early gallop having not competed since the Ryder Cup. Watson was abysmal in the Tour Championship and poor in the Ryder Cup, so the left-hander brings form concerns to The Bahamas too.

Henrik Stenson had elbow surgery last month and is easing his way back to full fitness, while 2016 Albany victor Hideki Matsuyama was a late withdrawal from the CIMB Classic with an unspecified injury last month and has been in dismal form in three outings since. Rahm suffered a wrist problem during round two of the DP World Tour Championship last time out, while Patrick Reed was hampered by a painful rib during round two of the Hong Kong Open last week, making the 20-hour journey home on Monday after sharing 45th place.

That is 12 players with significant negatives next to their names, while Alexander Noren has never won on the US Tour and was 12th of 18 on his Albany debut last year. Woods has off-course distractions this week and was unimpressive at Shadow Creek last week, leaving only four names on the Hero shortlist, one of whom is by far the most appealing.

The Hero is an important tournament for defending champion Rickie Fowler, who has not tasted victory since he won by four shots last year. Fowler will be desperate to avoid a 2018 blank by getting a W on the board at Albany and confidence will be high after he signed off from the course 12 months ago with a spellbinding final-round 61.
Fowler has the perfect set of skills for this open, desert links, and his form figures at Albany are 3-3-1, a 52-under-par combined total and a scoring average of 67.66.

Marry impeccable course credentials with a level of motivation which many others lack, then add a couple of tidy November warm-up events into the mix, and you have winning ingredients. Fowler spent a week working with his coach Butch Harmon at the Shriners Open in Las Vegas and by Sunday they appeared to have cracked the code, a final-round 63 hauling Fowler up to fourth place.

The following week, Fowler carded four rounds in the 60s to finish 16th in the Mayakoba Classic, the world number nine finding a groove before taking a fortnight off to freshen up nicely for The Bahamas. He turns 30 next month and can squeeze one more victory out of his 20s before lighting up the birthday cake.

Others to note
Justin Thomas
The world number four finished 11th on his Albany debut last year and should improve on that effort, but he has taken more than a month off since 36th spot in the CJ Cup and may be lacking some early sparkle.

Dustin Johnson
The world number three was third in the Hero at Albany in 2016 and has the game to destroy the course. Punters should not read too much into his 15th-place finish in 2015, as he sliced the heel of his right foot in a swimming accident before that event, so was playing through the pain barrier. A lacklustre 14th place last year is of more concern, as is his Ryder Cup debacle, a poor effort in the HSBC, a month of rust, and potentially ongoing relationship problems. His caddie, brother Austin, got married at the weekend, so Dustin will almost certainly need a stand-in bagman this week.

Justin Rose
The Englishman lives in the Bahamas and Albany is his practice base. His comfort there showed in a course-record final-round 62 in the 2015 Hero, but 13-WD-5 are humdrum Albany results. Ultra-consistent recent form makes Rose arguably the biggest danger to Fowler, but rumours are rife that he is switching clubs from TaylorMade to Honma at the start of the year, so he is probably going through an unsettling club testing process. He has been with TaylorMade since 1998, so it is a massive leap of faith for Rose, and driving-range assignments working on new tools is probably the main reason he skipped the DP World Tour Championship.

Staking plan
R Fowler
5pts each-way 17-2 Sky Bet

The lowdown

Course Albany, New Providence, The Bahamas

Prize money $3.5m ($1m to the winner)

Length 7,302 yards

Par 72

Field 18

Course records – 72 holes 263 Bubba Watson (2015) 18 holes 61 Rickie Fowler (2017)

Course winners taking part Bubba Watson, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler

When to bet By 4.10pm Thursday

Where to watch Live on Sky Sports from 6.30pm Thursday

Time difference The Bahamas is five hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week – World Cup 1 Belgium (12-1), T2 Australia (9-2), Mexico (33-1), T4 Denmark (14-1), Canada (40-1)

Course overview The World Challenge's traditional home was Sherwood Country Club, California, where it was staged from 2000 to 2013, but it moved to Isleworth Country Club, Florida, in 2014, then to Albany in 2015. Albany is a luxury resort on the island of New Providence, which opened in December, 2010. Ernie Els designed the course and is a member there, along with Tiger Woods and Justin Rose. The straightforward and open desert links-style track has five par-fives, five par-threes and eight par-fours, encouraging aggressive golf

Story of last year Rickie Fowler conjured an incredible final-round 61 to carve his way through the field, outscoring overnight leader Charley Hoffman by 11 shots on the Sunday, winning the tournament by four

Weather forecast Clear and calm for the first two days, sunny and breezy over the weekend

Type of player suited to challenge Bubba Watson overpowered Albany in 2015, going 13 under par for the five par-fives and 12 under par for the rest of the course. Big-hitters carrying hot putters can destroy this track

Key attribute Power

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