The focus of the week might have been the return of Tiger Woods, but Rickie Fowler stole the show on Sunday! Starting the final round seven shots back, Rickie birdied his first seven holes enroute to a final round 11-under-par 61, ultimately setting a new course record and winning the 2017 Hero World Challenge by four strokes over overnight leader Charley Hoffman.
The Hero World Challenge has been a springboard of sorts over the past couple of years for players to start an incredible year. In 2014, Jordan Spieth won and went on to have a ridiculous 2015, winning two Major Championships and the FedEx Cup. Last Year, Hideki Matsuyama won the tournament which was one of his four wins in six starts before adding a WGC title later in the year. Could it be Rickie’s turn to have a career year and finally win a Major Championship? Make sure to check out the extended highlights of his unbelievable round below.
The star of the week was definitely Tiger Woods – whenever he is in the field of a tournament, it definitely draws viewers. It was his first tournament since undergoing a fourth back surgery in April. He shot rounds of 69-68-75-68 to finish the tournament T9 at 8-under-par. With this finish, Woods moved up 531 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings – he is now ranked #668 after entering the week at #1,199. If he keeps playing the way he did throughout this week though, you can expect him to rise in the rankings quickly. It was refreshing to finally see Tiger hitting the shots we’re use to him hitting and to do it pain free was fantastic. He definitely has a bit of rust, but just watching him hit shots at full speed and without falling to the ground in pain definitely keeps our expectations for his year high. Hopefully we’ll see a a few wins or even a Major by Tiger in 2018! What are your expectations?
Source: Hero World Challenge
