It’s Better in The Bahamas for Hero World Challenge

After months of waiting, 14-time major champion, Tiger Woods, has returned to his own Hero World Challenge at Albany, Bahamas.

With 18 out of the top 32 players in the world teeing off November 27 to Dec. 3, at the Ernie Els designed championship Golf Course in the stunning luxury resort community of Albany, Rick Singer, CEO of the Tiger Woods Foundation said while Tiger is the main attraction, The Bahamas and Albany certainly stand out as well.

"Not enough can be said about Albany and The Bahamas and how attractive it is to our guests and our players. Players come here, they could play anywhere they want but they choose to come here because of the location and because of Tiger, too. I think it says a lot to people around the world that the best golfers in the world choose to come here, it's an amazing setting, just looking around and it's amazing to see how Albany is building up. It has really established itself as an international destination and I do think the tournament helps establish it and gets the news out just a little quicker. It's a great place for people to come, " Singer said.

Over 100 international media personnel are in town for the tournament and golf enthusiasts from all over the world have travelled to The Bahamas to watch the tournament. Singer said the ratings have also improved, from last year.

“Millions of people watch. When you take a look at last year’s tournament, Tiger played last year and he will be back playing this year. I think our ratings are up over 200 per cent from the previous year. We had higher ratings in virtually all the PGA tour events so it’s an attractive event, it’s shown around the world via PGA tour so we do reach millions of people and it’s an important event to them. When you look at the field, it’s not just Tiger who obviously draws a lot of people but it’s really a top-notch field,” he said.

With The Bahamas as their backdrop, the players certainly have lots to do the entire week,

"Every night, there's something to do, it's very tiring for the whole week but yes they're staying this year at Baha Mar. They're experiencing the water, they're out fishing, we have people doing everything The Bahamas has to offer, and they come to Albany to play some golf and watch some golf," Singer noted.

Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation said The Bahamas is happy to see Tiger back in The Bahamas.

“We are rooting for Tiger and we are happy to see him back in the game and glad we have the chance to see it happen here. Millions of his fans viewed the event this week on television or in The Bahamas and they were able to see the beautiful weather, water and the fantastic hospitality of the people of our country. This will undoubtedly bring more exposure to our islands while bringing more visitors to our islands,” D’Aguilar said.

The 3.5 million Hero World Challenge takes place at Albany, Bahamas for the third consecutive year. The tournament has grown into one of the most exclusive events in golf and its title sponsor is Hero Motocorp. Its founding sponsors are The Islands of The Bahamas, Yanmar and Citi Private Bank. Other major sponsors of the tournament include the following companies: 5 Oceans Partnership, Align 1 Solutions, APERIO, Avis Bahamas, Julius Bär, FIJI Water, Glinton Sweeting O’Brien, ISD Bahamas, Lennox Paton, RBC Capital Markets LLC, Rolex and Think Simple.

Behind the scene, philanthropy is a major focus of the Hero World Challenge, which provides support to the charitable initiatives of three entities: Tiger Woods Foundation, the Tavistock Foundation and the Albany Scholars Program.

Sunday’s champion will earn a winner’s prize of $1 million.