Hero World Challenge 2014: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule and Prize Money
The 2014 Hero World Challenge is hosted by Tiger Woods and is a benefit for the Tiger Woods Foundation featuring 18 of the world's best golfers at Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere, Florida.
Woods will be making his return to competitive golf at an old home course of his, so his odds to claim victory become even shorter, factoring in the small, albeit elite, field.
Here are some pre-tournament thoughts from Woods:
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The 14-time major champion last appeared in action at the PGA Championship in August, where a bad back hindered his game and caused him to ultimately miss the cut.
Toward the end of December, Woods will turn 39. It's worth monitoring how his back and overall physical health hold up this week—not to mention how mentally sharp he is in his first test between the ropes in months.
Seventeen other players will be vying for the top prize, too, so let's check out the basic tournament information and take a closer look at some of them.
Note: Statistics and information courtesy of PGATour.com.
| 11:25 a.m. | Zach Johnson | Hunter Mahan |
| 11:35 a.m. | Graeme McDowell | Matt Kuchar |
| 11:45 a.m. | Steve Stricker | Keegan Bradley |
| 11:55 a.m. | Billy Horschel | Chris Kirk |
| 12:05 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama | Jimmy Walker |
| 12:15 p.m. | Tiger Woods | Jason Day |
| 12:25 p.m. | Bubba Watson | Rickie Fowler |
| 12:35 p.m. | Jordan Spieth | Patrick Reed |
| 12:45 p.m. | Henrik Stenson | Justin Rose |
When: Thursday, December 4, to Sunday, December 7
Where: Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere, Florida
Purse: $3,500,000
Winner's Share: $1,000,000
| Thursday, December 4 | 2-5 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Friday, December 5 | 2-5 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Saturday, December 6 | 12-2:30 p.m.; 2:30-5 p.m. | Golf Channel; NBC |
| Sunday, December 7 | 12-1:30 p.m.; 1:30-5 p.m. | Golf Channel; NBC |
2014 Hero World Challenge Preview
The obvious storyline and rightful focus will be on Woods, as is the case when Rory McIlroy isn't busy making headlines as golf's new top-ranked player.
Jason Day played alongside Woods the last time the latter made a return to competition following a back-imposed hiatus at the Quicken Loans National.
It seems only a matter of time before Day breaks into the winner's circle with more regularity, and getting it done at Isleworth could springboard Day into the new season. The Aussie is one of the most talented younger players and tends to show up when the stakes are highest.
However, injuries plagued Day following his landmark win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, as The Associated Press' Doug Ferguson hinted at in his analysis:
Playing with Woods will command a lot of attention right out of the gate. Day ought to be ready for it in light of his six top-four finishes in his last 13 major starts.
Speaking of younger guns, Rickie Fowler finished in the top five of all four majors this last year. However, like Day, he hasn't won as often as expected. That should change soon enough, and playing alongside long-hitting good friend and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson should see both Fowler and Watson thrive.
Ron Sirak of Golf Digest alluded to the most recent development that should have golf fans excited for 2015 and beyond:
Jordan Spieth won the Australian Open this last week in a field that featured defending champion McIlroy, native favorite Adam Scott and a host of other quality stars. Spieth closed with a 63, which McIlroy applauded him for:
A fiery fellow American in Patrick Reed will play with Spieth. The duo comprised a rather successful USA Ryder Cup pair—one of the lone bright spots for the U.S. at Gleneagles.
Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson won the U.S. Open and FedEx Cup, respectively, in 2013. Instead of serving up letdown years, both played well. It took Stenson a little longer to come around, yet he was undeniably consistent once he did, per the European Tour:
Stenson is fresh off a victory at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, so he should be a factor this weekend.
That's especially true if Stenson's ball-striking brilliance carries over, which Golf Channel's Justin Ray made note of.
The strapping Swede is another great player not to have won a major—a label Rose shed at Merion little more than a year ago.
Speaking of finishing with a flourish, Thursday's pairing of Billy Horschel and Chris Kirk exploded onto the scene and mounted a late Ryder Cup campaign in the most recent FedEx Cup playoffs. Neither were chosen for Team USA, but Horschel emerged with the PGA Tour's postseason crown, while Kirk showed he is on the rise.
The first three pairs out in Round 1 encompass competitive grit for the most part. Hunter Mahan and Keegan Bradley are the long hitters among the six.
Graeme McDowell is the only other multiple winner of this event other than Woods. It's also reasonable to expect veterans like Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker to be fully prepared.
Reigning Memorial Tournament champion Hideki Matsuyama is yet another prodigy gaining notice. If he can improve his putting, there's no telling what type of ceiling the Japanese phenom has. He'll be teamed with a late bloomer in Jimmy Walker to begin the Hero World Challenge.
So as can be discerned from the breakdown above, there are so many rich subplots to check in on before the intensity of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season really picks up.
Despite no weekend cut and an absence of FedEx Cup points on the line, any golf with Woods is must-see TV. There just happen to be other developments in the game of golf worth appreciating in addition to the revolutionary legend's anticipated return.
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