Albany Golf Course and host Tiger Woods will welcome 20 of the top PGA Tour players to the highly anticipated Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas this week.
While World No. 1 and back-to-back champion Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite in the Hero World Challenge odds ahead of Round 1, I’m looking further down the board with Cameron Young headlining my top golf picks for the Hero World Challenge.
Golf picks for the Hero World Challenge 2025
- Young to win outright (+1200 at Fanatics)
- Rai to win outright (+1800 at Fanatics)
- Conners Top 10 (+100 at Fanatics)
- Noren Top 10 (+100 at Fanatics)
- Harmen over English Round 1 (-115 at Fanatics)
Hero World Challenge outright picks
Outright pick: Cameron Young
+1200 at Fanatics
This will be the fourth trip to Albany GC for Cameron Young, and his best finish was a solo third in his debut. The American enters this edition in scorching form, dating back to his win at the Wyndham Championship in August.
Young has followed it up with four more Top 15s, including a pair of Top 5s, while ranking third in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green and second in putting during the stretch.
Outright pick: Aaron Rai
+1800 at Fanatics
Englishman Aaron Rai played solid golf this fall on the DP World Tour with a win in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and a T3 in the BMW PGA Championship. He gained true strokes putting in both events, which reinforces that he’s a threat to win whenever the putter heats up.
The elite ball striker ranks third in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green, second on approach, and first in driving accuracy across his past 50 rounds, too.
Hero World Challenge prop picks
Finishing position pick: Corey Conners Top 10
+100 at Fanatics
The Canadian didn’t play well during a two-event stretch on the DP World Tour in September, but I think his missed cut in the BMW PGA Championship and T70 in the FedEx Open de France are too baked into this price.
Corey Conners was working his way back from a wrist injury, and he’s now had the time to hit the reset button and look ahead to the upcoming season.
There's no denying his ball-striking wizardry, either. Conners is third in this field in both true strokes gained tee-to-green and on approach over the past two years, and his putting improved significantly during the 2025 season, too.
Finishing position pick: Alex Noren Top 10
+100 at Fanatics
There isn’t a player in the field who’s played as much recently as Alex Noren, and he won twice on the DP World Tour late in the season before turning in a T17 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and T16 in the DP World Tour Championship to conclude the season.
Noren has also gained true strokes on approach in seven consecutive events, and this will be his third trip to the Bahamas to play this event.
Hero World Challenge first-round pick
Round 1 pick: Brian Harmon over Harris English
-115 at Fanatics
Harris English has lost true strokes on approach in consecutive events, and he finished a ho-hum T14 in his lone trip to Albany GC in 2022. Brian Harmon will be hitting the track for the third consecutive season and has posted T8 and solo 12th results the past two years.
Harman also ranks seventh in this field in both true strokes gained tee-to-green and on approach across his past six events, so I like him to edge out English, who respectively ranks 19th and 20th in the opening round.
Hero World Challenge odds
- Scottie Scheffler (+140)
- Cameron Young (+1200)
- Robert Macintyre (+1200)
- J.J. Spaun (+1400)
- Keegan Bradley (+1600)
- Sam Burns (+1600)
- Aaron Rai (+1800)
Odds courtesy of Fanatics.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
