First event of the year, let’s roll!
Read more: Sony Open in Hawaii ScoopSony Open in Hawaii
Waialae Country Club
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Waialae Country Club. |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,044. |
| Par: | 70 (35-35) |
| Greens: | TifEagle Bermuda; 7,100 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | 12 feet. |
| Rough: | Celebration Bermuda; three inches and growing. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 83/4/5. |
| Architect(s): | Seth Raynor (1927). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Nick Taylor (-16; 264). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. Only five multiple winners since 1965 (Last: Jimmy Walker). |
| Course Record (last): | 59; Justin Thomas (Round 1, 2017). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (last): | 253 (-27); Justin Thomas (2017). |
| Fact of the Week: | Waialae CC has been the only course to host this event. There was no event in 1970. |
| Fact of the Week II: | The last player to win on debut was Russell Henley in 2013. Experience matters, gang. |
Notes:
- Field of 120.
- The OWGR is represented by 20 of the top 50.
- Top 65 and ties will make the cut and play the weekend.
- $9.1 million – $1.638 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
Recent Winners
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (LIV) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| Puerto Rico Open | Karl Vilips (first time) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (career grand slam) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| Mrytle Beach One Flight | Ryan Fox |
| 106th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| The 50th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 124th United States Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| ISCO Championship | William Mouw (first time) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Barracuda Championship | Ryan Gerard (first time) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose |
| BMW Championship | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| The TOUR Championship | Tommy Fleetwood (first time) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Steven Fisk (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Michael Brennan (first time) |
| Baycurrent Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Ben Griffin (3) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Adam Schenk (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Sami Valimaki (first time) |
Recent Winners – Sony Open in Hawaii
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2025 | Nick Taylor (-16) | Defeated Nico Echavarria on the first playoff hole for his fifth win on TOUR. 54-hole leader J.J. Spaun finished one shot out of a playoff. |
| 2024 | Grayson Murray (-17) | Knocked out Byeong Hun An and Keegan Bradley with a 48-foot birdie on the first playoff hole. May he rest in peace. |
| 2023 | Si Woo Kim (-18) | Shot 64 on Sunday to make up a three-shot deficit and knock out 54-hole leader Hayden Buckley by a shot. |
| 2022 | Hideki Matsuyama (-23) | Won a playoff over 54-hole leader and 2013 winner Russell Henley. |
| 2021 | Kevin Na (-21) | Shot 61 in Round 3 and held on to beat Chris Kirk by one. |
| 2020 | Cameron Smith (-11) | Matched the second highest winning score since 2000. Rain and windy conditions all weekend. |
| 2019 | Matt Kuchar (-22) | Won comfortably by four over Andrew Putnam. |
| 2018 | Patton Kizzire (-17) | Needed a playoff to win in just his second visit. |
Angles
- Waialae Country Club stretches to just 7,044 yards, one of the shortest courses on TOUR, and plays to Par-70.
- Par-70 was established for the 1999 edition, the only tournament to produce a single-digit winning score (-9). The two highest winning scores since are 11-under in 2005 and 2020.
- Bermudagrass fairways, rough, and greens are in play again this week, just like The RSM Classic to end 2025.
- With greens averaging 7,100 square feet, the putting surfaces at Waialae are well-above average for the PGA TOUR.
- Experienced players flourished in this event from 1997 through 2019. All but three winners were under the age of 30. Over the last five years, four winners have been 30 or younger.
- The course record, 59, was set in 2017 by Justin Thomas (not entered), in Round 1. He would go on to win and smash the tournament scoring record by three shots as he posted 253 (-27).
- Five of the last six winners previously represented the International team in the Presidents Cup.
- Six of the last seven champions needed four prior starts before cracking the code.
- 10 of the last 11 winners have registered in the top 10 in Par-4 Scoring.
- Taylor is the only winner in 11 not to register in the top 20 in Proximity (25th). None were in the top 10 of Driving Accuracy.
- Four of the last five and six of the previous 10 events have required a playoff to determine a champion.
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
| Event | Selection | Earnings |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | ||
| The American Express | ||
| Farmers Insurance Open |
THIS WEEK – Sony Open in Hawaii
The Opening Drive in Hawaii takes the TOUR to a familiar stop. Waialae has hosted the event since 1965 and has not changed the par or yardage since 2007.
The first of 30-odd events in Spotter’s game, Sony gives us a chance to grind on our first at bat.
I will remind you that finishing on the podium in a signature event and/or major championship is about the same haul as winning a “normal” TOUR stop these days.
YOU WILL NOT win the war by winning the battle this week, but $1.6 million will not hurt the bottom line.
Saving guys for down the road also brings headaches into play. Injury, caddie firings, slumps, and babies being born are just some of the REAL-LIFE CHALLENGES we must navigate from January to August.
My approach is more art than science.
There’s an old saying that guys peak for six to eight weeks per year, usually around the big events for the biggest of players.
Remember, Scottie Scheffler won just about everything last year. Just make sure you pick him during one of the weeks when he does win! By all accounts, you should have a handful of chances not to screw it up!
MY CHOICE: Robert MacIntyre
The red-hot Scot racked up a win and a pair of top-10 results in the DP World Tour portion of the fall. A world star who finished second at the U.S. Open and the BMW Championship, I will ride him in a breezy, coastal set-up.
Horses for Courses
| All Time Money List | Top | Top | Notes |
| (cuts made/starts) | 10 | 25 | |
| Russell Henley (10/13) | 4 | 7 | Won on 2013 debut; T10, T4, T32, and 2nd last four years; T17 > 7x |
| Chris Kirk (10/15) | 5 | 6 | MC 2025; T18-3rd-T27-2nd before; 4 top 5 career |
| Nick Taylor (7/9) | 3 | 4 | Win-T7-T7-T11 last 4 years; 5 straight |
| Si Woo Kim (6/8) | 2 | 3 | 2023 winner; 4th on debut 2016; MC 2025 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (9/12) | 1 | 4 | 2022 winner; 9 consecutive cuts made; 5 of last 6 T30 or better |
| Webb Simpson (14/15) | 4 | 9 | T16 2025; T4 2021, T3 2020 recent bests |
| Keegan Bradley (9/13) | 2 | 5 | T6-T2 last 2; T12 or better 4 of last 6 |
| Nico Echavarria (3/3) | 1 | 2 | P2-T66-T12 Last 3 years |
| Gary Woodland (6/10) | 3 | 5 | T16 in 5 of 6 weekends |
| Brian Harman (12/14) | 1 | 6 | 6 straight; 11 of 12 |
| Corey Conners (6/7) | 1 | 4 | 4x T12 or better; T3 best |
| JJ Spaun (3/8) | 1 | 2 | T3, MC 2024, T12 2023 |
| Zac Blair (6/6) | 2 | 2 | NEVER missed in 6 tries |
| Keith Mitchell (6/8) | 1 | 4 | T30 or better in four of last 5. |
| Eric Cole (3/3) | 1 | 2 | 5th-T13-T61 |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
| Nick Taylor (-16) | Grayson Murray (-17) | Si Woo Kim (-18) |
| wins by Playoff (Echavaarria) | wins by 1 (Bradley, An) | wins by 1 (Buckley) |
| Par 70 – 7,044 yds | Par 70 – 7,044 yds | Par 70 – 7,044 yds |
| P2 Nico Echavarrria | P2 Ben An | 03 Chris Kirk -15 |
| T3 JJ Spaun -15 | P2 Keegan Bradley | T4 David Lipsky |
| 05 Eric Cole -14 | T4 Russell Henley -16 | T7 Maverick McNealy |
| T6 Adam Schenk -13 | 06 JT Poston -15 | T7 Nick Taylor |
| T6 Keegan Bradley | T7 Nick Taylor -14 | T12 Corey Conners -12 |
| T10 Russell Henley -12 | T7 Emiliano Grillo | T12 Nico Echavarria |
| T10 Nick Dunlap | T10 Harris English -13 | T12 Austin Eckroat |
| T10 Harry Hall | T10 Taylor Pendrith | T12 Ben Griffin |
| T10 Lee Hodges | T10 Andrew Putnam | T12 JJ Spaun |
Glass Houses 