By Paul Myers
Although the Hero World Challenge doesn’t come along with any FedEx Cup points, it is still a major event on the golf calendar. It’s prominence is due in large part to its host – Tiger Woods – along with the impressive field that gathers each year. This past weekend, players gathered in the Bahamas to contest the event at the Albany Golf Club. Although the field only includes 18 players, those 18 are among the elite in the game. In the end, it was Bubba Watson who rose to the top of this limited field to claim the title in impressive fashion. His score of -25 was good enough for a three shot win over runner-up Patrick Reed.
Not a Shocker
Of course, seeing Bubba Watson win an event of this stature is not a big surprise. The two-time Masters Champion is among the very best players in the world, with a game that features a unique blend of power and creativity. While most long bombers on the PGA Tour struggle to create shots to deal with challenging situations, Watson is able to both hit powerful drives and carve masterful shapes to suit the needs of each hole. Following another successful campaign in 2015, Watson is certainly near the top of the list of players to watch when golf gets going in 2016.
Spieth Watch
It is still 2015, however, so no golf tournament recap would be complete without a mention of the number one player in the world, Jordan Spieth. The season that Spieth turned in during 2015 was one for the ages, and he finished it up with a solid 4th place finish in the Bahamas. Shooting -20 for four rounds is never anything to complain about, so Spieth is likely very pleased with the state of his game heading into the winter. Considering how much golf he has played over the last several months, no one would blame him for taking some well-deserved time away from the course.
Break Time
The completion of the Hero World Challenge means that many of the top players will head home for at least a few weeks to celebrate the holidays and rest up for the coming season. A small contingent of PGA Tour players will be present this week for the Franklin Templeton Shootout, but the rest will have to wait until the Tour visits the beautiful state of Hawaii in January to compete once again. Golf has one of the shortest off seasons of any professional sport, so the players certainly look forward to this time of year when they get a chance to see their loved ones and take a break from the grind of playing professional golf.