Sony Open in Hawaii
Waialae Country Club
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Welcome to 2025!
For those of you who are just arriving for the first time, here’s what’s going on:
This column is me. My thoughts, my humor, my fun, my opinions.
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Chalk
My thoughts on the top players for betting purposes:
Hideki Matsuyama (+900): Record-setting 35-under-par winner last week at Kapalua plus a previous champion here makes for an easy consensus favorite. Coming off 33 birdies and two eagles against just two bogeys should scare the others. Amazingly, he owns just one top-10 result at Waiale from 12 tries.
Corey Conners (+1400): Guess who finished T5 and led the field in SG: Putting last week? Yes, SG: PUTTING!
Tom Kim (+2000): Ran second in Korea to Ben An and then went to The Bahamas and ran second to Scheffler at the Hero World Challenge. Did not qualify for The Sentry last week.
Russell Henley (+2000): The 2013 winner on debut in his first event with a TOUR card was also beaten in a playoff in 2022 by Matsuyama and missed a playoff last year by a shot. I’d say he’s comfortable at Waialae! Posted 17-under last week for T30.
Maverick McNealy (+2500): Plenty, including me, will point out that the Seaside Course on Sea Island, host of the RSM Classic, is a course comp this week. McNealy won for the first time on TOUR to wrap up the FedExCup Fall in November on that track. Four rounds in the 60s and only four bogeys at Kapalua (T8) suggests he’s not satisfied.
Keegan Bradley (+2800): Imagine posting 21-under (T15) last week and not hitting the top 10! The Ryder Cup captain is streaking wildly at Waialae during the previous five years: T12-MC-T12-MC-P2. The playoff loss last year was his best result from 14 visits.
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: | 11 feet. |
| Rough: | Celebration Bermuda at almost three inches inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 83/4/5. |
| Architect(s): | Seth Raynor (1927). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Grayson Murray (-17). RIP. |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| 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 hosted every event since 1965 except for 1970 (no event). |
| Fact of the Week II: | Hideki Matsuyama (2022) was the last of nine consecutive winners who played the previous week at Kapalua. |
Notes:
- Field of 144.
- The OWGR is represented by 10 of the top 30.
- Top 65 and ties will make the cut and play the weekend.
- $8.7 million – $1.566 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
Recent Winners
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Children’s Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | |
| The American Express | |
| Farmers Insurance Open |
Recent Winners – Sony Open in Hawaii
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 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) | Matched the second-highest winning score since 2000. Rain and windy conditions all weekend. |
| 2021 | Kevin Na (-21) | Shot 61 in Round 3 and 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.
Hideki Matsuyama was the last of nine consecutive winners to play the week before at Kapalua. The last two champions did not.
Bermudagrass fairways, rough, and greens are in play again this week.
With greens averaging 7,100 square feet, Waialae has some of the largest putting surfaces on 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, only one champion has been older than 30. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
The course record, 59, was set in 2017 by Justin Thomas (not entered), in Round 1. Going on to victory, he smashed the tournament scoring record by three shots (253; 27-under).
Four of the last five winners previously represented the International team in the Presidents Cup.
Murray (second attempt) ended a run of champions who needed four or more previous tries before winning.
Si Woo Kim is the only winner in the last 10 to NOT register in the top 6 in Par-4 scoring.
The last 10 winners finished in the top 18 in Proximity. None were in the top 10 of Driving Accuracy.
There has been a playoff every other year since 2016. This year suggests NO PLAYOFF!
Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:
Robert MacIntyre (+3000): Making his second start, few in the field handle stiff breezes better than the Scotsman. A two-time winner on TOUR last year, he can play free as a bird in 2025.
Byeong Hun An (+3000): After defeating Tom Kim in a playoff in Korea last fall, the winner on the European Tour, KFT, and Challenge Tour has not won on the PGA TOUR. Falling in a playoff last year after cashing T12 in 2023, he quickly picked up what it takes to contend at Waialae.
Luke Clanton (+3000): I’ve forgotten what class he is in at Florida State, but I remember his sponsor’s exemptions. The young man usually takes advantage of the privilege and the latest evidence was cashing a share of second place at the RSM Classic last fall. Oh, and he’s ranked 87th in the OWGR!
Austin Eckroat (+3500): The winner in Mexico, his second victory of 2024, also cashed T17 at the RSM and T15 last week. Smash it, find it, and smash it again!
JT Poston (+4000): I loved him last week, but a first-round fizzle (74) knocked him out of contention. Last year, he closed with 61 to secure solo sixth, his best at Waialae.
Ben Griffin (+5000): Nobody posted more rounds in the 60s on TOUR last season.
Chris Kirk (+5500): Matt Kuchar and Russell Henley are the only players in the field who have won more cash here. Do not forget Kirk has never won the event but has hit the podium twice in his last four.
Cam Davis (+6000): Playing for the seventh consecutive season, the Aussie has cashed T32 or better in five straight.
Harry Hall (+5000), Thomas Detry (+5000), and Tom Hoge (+7000) all painted the top 10 at The Sentry last week. Detry is the only non-winner in that trio.
Course Horses Andrew Putnam (+9000), Nick Taylor (+11000), and Matt Kuchar deserve a look.
I love a nibble on Bud Cauley and Vince Whaley at +20000.
Good luck!
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
With EIGHT Signature Events spread throughout the season, player management becomes a major issue. These events do NOT include the four majors or THE PLAYERS Championship. These events do NOT include the FedExCup Playoffs. This game ends with the BMW Championship.
LAST WEEK – THE SENTRY
MY CHOICE: Sungjae Im – 3rd
Just Missed: Sahith Theegala, Justin Thomas, Akshay Bhatia, Jason Day
I was more surprised at the lack of results from the gang in “Just Missed” than I was riding the safe play of the Korean. Nothing like a podium finish to kick off the new campaign!
| Event | Selection | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | ||
| The American Express | ||
| Farmers Insurance Open |
THIS WEEK – Sony Open in Hawaii
The second stop on The Opening Drive in Hawaii takes the TOUR to a familiar stop. Waialae has followed Kapalua in every edition since 1999.
Two major differences this week:
- No Cut
- Field of 144 players
This is not the time to fall in love, but if you had a big week last week (Matsuyama, Morikawa, or Im) you can gamble this time.
Winning $1.566 million this week is great, but that’s almost third place for a major, FedExCup Playoff event, THE PLAYERS or seven more Signature Events.
If you’re one of those folks planning out all your plays before the season, fantastic but form, function, and injury also factor over the long haul.
Also, if you are saving your best guys for last, they all must hit perfectly. Remember Keegan Bradley at the BMW Championship last year? Was anyone saving him for that event??
Right.
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 so don’t fret if you weren’t on Matsuyama last week. Hell, he might win again at TPC Scottsdale next month or successfully defend at Riviera if it doesn’t burn down. Be safe Los Angeles and Godspeed to our firefighters.
MY CHOICE: Muscle Russell Henley
Others to consider/fade
Hideki Matsuyama, Corey Conners, Byeong Hun An, Cam Davis,
Glass Houses 