Aaron Rai reflects on watching his idol Tiger Woods play at the Riviera in 2023

Aaron Rai this week shared how watching his idol Tiger Woods compete at the 2023 Genesis Invitational was "an absolute privilege" for him. Rai is gearing up to compete at the 2024 Hero World Challenge, a tournament hosted by Woods.

In the pre-tournament press conference, Rai reflected on his experience at the 2023 Genesis Invitational, held at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. He said (via TGRLiveEvents),

"Like a lot of golfers of this generation, I would have grown up idolizing him. Being able to watch him play nine holes was amazing. Even a couple of years ago, Riviera, to meet him, to watch him up close and personal, to see how he prepares certain shots that he plays, was an absolute privilege for me."

The English golfer had a great 2024 season, registering his maiden PGA Tour victory. This month, he will be making his first appearance at the Hero World Challenge. Talking about the event, he said,

"When I got the invite to play this week, I think I was on a high for the next few days that followed it. When I found out about the Hero Challenge, I was incredibly nervous yesterday teeing it up. I think, actually, I was in the same position there. But yeah, just an amazing experience to be here playing his event and to be around him. It's a true privilege."

Ahead of the main tournament, Aaron Rai won the 2024 Hero Shot defeating Jason Day, Akshay Bhatia, and others. He's among the first group that will tee off at the tournament. That group tees off at 10:46 am ET and is paired with Matthieu Pavon.

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Aaron Rai's odds of winning the 2024 Hero World Challenge

On his debut at the 2024 Hero World Challenge, Aaron Rai has odds of +2500, as per BetMGM Sportsbook. He's not among the top 10 favorites but will look to defy the odds. The tournament is being held at Albany Golf Course in Nassau, Bahamas from Thursday, December 5, to Sunday, December 8.

In the last four starts on the PGA Tour, he has one win and three top-25 finishes. In the last two starts on the DP World Tour, he has had one top-5 finish at the BMW PGA Championship and a missed cut at the Open de Espana.

Let's take a look at Aaron Rai's 2024 performances on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• Sony Open in Hawaii: T57
• The American Express: Missed Cut
• Farmers Insurance Open: T33
• WM Phoenix Open: Missed Cut
• Mexico Open at Vidanta: T19
• Puerto Rico Open: T23
• THE PLAYERS Championship: T35
• Valspar Championship: Missed Cut
• Texas Children's Houston Open: T7
• Valero Texas Open: T58
• Corales Puntacana Championship: Missed Cut
• THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: T4
• PGA Championship: T39
• Charles Schwab Challenge: T32
• RBC Canadian Open: T14
• U.S. Open: T19
• Rocket Mortgage Classic: T2
• John Deere Classic: T7
• Genesis Scottish Open: T4
• The Open: T75
• Wyndham Championship: 1
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: T16
• BMW Championship: T43
• TOUR Championship: T23

2023-24 DP World Tournaments

• Amgen Irish Open: T42
• BMW PGA Championship: T4
• acciona Open de España presented by Madrid: Missed Cut