The Five: Most intriguing names at Hero World Challenge

A year ago today, Viktor Hovland walked off the 18th green at Albany Golf Course exasperated. He made his way up the steps toward the scoring tent with his shoulders shrugged and a gaze that never left the ground. He was hoping for a three-peat at the Hero World Challenge but would be leaving with too many questions and not enough answers after a middling 72 holes in the Bahamas.

“I didn’t play very good this week,” he told PGATOUR.COM moments later. “I missed it on the wrong side a lot and putted awful."

At the time, it seemed like a blip – a momentary stumble that was bound to be overcome. As it turns out, it was a precursor to what 2024 had in store for the Norweigan. Two hours later, Scheffler bounded triumphantly up those same steps with newfound confidence in his putter and a three-shot victory. Another forerunner of what was to come.

So while the tournament will award no FedExCup points, and the start of the new season is still a month away, the Hero World Challenge has proven a useful prelude. What storylines will emerge this year? Here’s a look at the five most intriguing names at the Hero World Challenge.

1. Justin Thomas

The Hero is Thomas’ first tournament since becoming a dad a few weeks ago, but that’s not why he makes the list. It’s for the potential gains he made this offseason.

Last month, the 15-time TOUR winner teased pretty remarkable ball speed stats in an Instagram post. The photo showed Thomas hit 185mph ball speed and 124mph club head speed with a carry distance of 327 yards (and a total distance of 343 yards). How does that compare to his 2024 TOUR averages? Thomas’s average ball speed was 178mph (42nd on TOUR). His average club head speed was 117mph (and his average drive traveled 309 yards.)

If he averaged the numbers from his Instagram post, he would’ve ranked third on TOUR in ball speed and fifth in club head speed. Of course, let’s throw in all the proper caveats. This was just one Instagram post, likely of one of Thomas’ top drives. There’s a massive difference between hitting those numbers once and sustaining them, but it indicates Thomas has added some distance to his game.

How much? The Hero gives us our first look.

It’s notable for many reasons and you don’t need to look far to see the potential impacts. Last offseason Xander Schauffele chased incremental distance gains, hoping it would put him over the top. It did. Schauffele won two majors in a breakthrough season. Could Thomas follow a similar blueprint? That’s more than enough to have me tracking Thomas this week.

2. Scottie Scheffler

The start of Scheffler’s putting turnaround started here. It was at the Hero World Challenge a year ago that Scheffler left the first breadcrumbs that a historic 2024 season was coming. He ran away with the victory thanks in large part to his putting and new working relationship with Phil Kenyon.

“I don’t see (the putting) being a problem going forward,” Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott told PGATOUR.COM after the win.

Aside from a few rocky weeks to start the season, Scott’s proclamation came true. Scheffler won eight times, including the Olympics, and transformed into the unopposed No. 1 player in the world.

So, as he returns to the Bahamas to defend his title, can Scheffler foreshadow another dominant year ahead? Anytime he’s in the field, he’s among the most intriguing players involved. It’s the first time we’ve seen him in a stroke-play setting since his win at the TOUR Championship. Any worry that Scheffler’s play may fizzle should be subsided after this three-year run, but then again, you just never know.

3. Tiger Woods

OK, so he’s not playing this week, but we didn’t technically say the exercise was restricted to those teeing it up for 72 holes. This is a list of the most intriguing names at the Hero World Challenge and Woods, who hosts the tournament, is certainly one of them.

The Hero World Challenge has become Woods’ de facto State of the Union, a yearly stop for the 82-time TOUR winner to talk about his game, his health and the future of the PGA TOUR. Some years he plays the tournament, and some years he doesn’t, but either way it generates interest and headlines as the first time the golf world has heard from him in months.

That will again be the case this week.

Woods underwent his sixth back surgery in September, aimed at alleviating back spasms and pain he experienced throughout the 2024 season.

Woods last played in The Open Championship in July and left Royal Troon hoping he would play in his traditional December exhibitions, the Hero World Challenge and the parent-child PNC Championship that he plays alongside son Charlie. They have not committed yet to the PNC.

Woods has played infrequently since he sustained significant injuries in a 2021 single-car accident. He’s made 10 official starts since and completed four rounds twice. He made the cut at this year’s Masters but shot 82-77 on the weekend to finish last. He missed the cut at the next three major championships.

So, where is he in his recovery, and when will we see him next? Expect those answers this week.

4. Matthieu Pavon

The Frenchman put together a sterling rookie campaign, winning the Farmers Insurance Open, contending at the U.S. Open and qualifying for the TOUR Championship. It was his best year as a pro. Yet the Rookie of the Year finalist has decided to make a change.

Pavon announced Sunday on social media that he is now working with Mark Blackburn, ending a six-year stint with Jamie Gough.

“After six years of collaboration with (Jamie Gough), I have decided to take a new direction in my career,” Pavon wrote on X. “I sincerely want to thank Jamie for everything we achieved together. His support and guidance have helped shape me into the player and person I am today.”

Judgement day on that decision will come months, maybe years, down the line. But it adds an intriguing wrinkle as Pavon, ranked No. 29 in the world, tees it up for the first time since the swap.

There was a clear motive for the move. Pavon managed just one top-30 worldwide since July, and that was at the 30-man TOUR Championship. Will this change spark immediate improvement?

5. Keegan Bradley

Bradley’s Ryder Cup captaincy begins in earnest this week, as it's the first time he and many of his possible players return to competitive golf since the Presidents Cup.

Bradley has maintained that he wants to play in the Ryder Cup next September, not content with just captaining the U.S. Team, but he’s also said he wouldn’t use a captain’s pick on himself. That means he will need to earn it on points, and he has a long way to climb.

Currently 26th in the U.S. Ryder Cup Team standings, Bradley will need to author another strong 2025 campaign. No points will be awarded for this week’s Hero World Challenge, but it’s Bradley’s opening opportunity to maintain the form he finished the FedExCup Playoffs with. Bradley won the BMW Championship last August, which was enough for Presidents Cup U.S. Team Captain Jim Furyk to select Bradley.

“I made a promise to myself that I'm not going to worry about this until the time comes if I do. It's really difficult to make the (U.S. Team) every year; you have to go out and really perform,” Bradley said in October. “Like I said, right now, my focus is on being a captain but I'm still a full-time player. I'm still playing in all the majors and all the big events next year. So I have a real shot at doing this. For now, I'm focusing on my guys and getting them ready to go.”

He will get a good look at the work nearly a dozen Americans have put in this offseason. Twelve of the 20 participants at the Hero World Challenge are Americans (including Bradley), many of whom are on the shortlist of possible picks.