No Win for Justin Thomas — But A Great Time at Hero World Challenge
Justin Thomas may not have been declared the 2017 Hero World Challenge winner, but despite his challenges, he had a lot of fun competing in the world class golf tournament that took place this past week (December 30 – November 3) at Albany Resort in The Bahamas.
Justin Thomas, PGA Tour 2017 FEDEX Cup winner, was a major contender for the 3.5 million dollar purse of this year’s Hero World Challenge, which featured a field of 18 of the world’s top ranked golfers — the tournament’s strongest field to date. After finishing his last round with Tiger Woods, Thomas shared with the Tourism Today team, a few of the reasons why he had such a good time at the 2017 Hero World Challenge.
“It was a very fun, very relaxed vibe. Obviously, the weather has been great, the golf course was fun, you can make a lot of birdies which are fun for us golfers. Everyone is really nice, which is fun to be around as well,” Thomas said.
It was also Thomas’ first time playing with his childhood idol, Tiger Woods. Although he spent a week playing in The Bahamas, Thomas admitted he didn’t have a chance to do anything else other than play golf.
“I’ve done nothing, unfortunately, we don’t get a whole lot of time to do much else. We pretty much wake up, eat, play golf and go home,” he commented.
The Hero World Challenge is fast becoming a highlight of the international golf circuit. Hundreds of avid golf fans and journalists flew to The Bahamas to watch the highly anticipated golf tournament.
Bob Harig, a writer and TV Host with ESPN USA said while he’s been to Nassau three years straight, he’s not had a chance to properly enjoy it the way he should.
“I was driving out here with a colleague and we were both lamenting the fact that we’re here to work and not able to take advantage of the beach and the swimming and all the great things that are out there that you see driving.
It’s quite the lure and somewhat unfortunate that the days aren’t longer. It certainly looks like a great place to come without having to work while you’re here,” Harig remarked.
Frequent visitors, Mike and Donna Carmen from North Carolina said they attended Hero World Challenge last year and had so much fun they decided to come back. When asked what keeps bringing them back, Mike responded, “the Bahamian people”. In addition, Donna was fortunate enough to win $1200 at the slot machines at the casino at Baha Mar.
“The Bahamian people are so friendly, we’ve been to a lot of the islands in the Caribbean but we love it here,” Mike said.
“Also, the hospitality, the proximity, it’s a nice easy trip, the water is my thing, I think you guys have the best water, it’s beautiful,” noted Donna.
After finishing the Hero World Challenge in fourth place, golfer Tommy Fleetwood will get married today in front of a crowd of 30 family and guests at the exclusive resort at Albany.