Sony Open in Hawaii Betting Preview
Golf is officially back in action!
The 2026 PGA Tour season begins a week later than usual after drought conditions at Kapalua canceled The Sentry, so we will commence with the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club. Despite this being a non-Signature Event, the 120-player field is strong, with seven of the top 20 players in the OWGR making the trip to Honolulu, a group highlighted by world No. 5 Russell Henley, the tournament favorite at 11-1 odds.
Last year, Nick Taylor eagled the 72nd hole and knocked out Nico Echavarria with a birdie on the second playoff hole to pick up his fifth PGA Tour victory.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 1:00 PM ET Wednesday
Course Overview
Par 70, 7,044 yards
These are the average rankings of Sony Open champions over the last five years:
- SG: Off-the-Tee: 22.0
- SG: Approach: 12.8
- SG: Around-the-Green: 15.2
- SG: Putting: 23.0
- SG: Tee-to-Green: 2.0
- Driving Distance: 38.2
- Driving Accuracy: 23.0
Waialae has the feel of an old school golf course as it measures short at just over 7,000 yards and combines it with some of the largest greens on Tour. Off the tee, players are faced with a precision test with several dogleg holes and tree-lined fairways that will punish you for being off-line, in addition to a couple early water holes and tricky 3.5-inch rough. Only four holes played under par last year, most notably the two par-5s which are both relatively short at 506 and 551 yards, respectively. The winning score has been between 16-to-23 under the last five years as windy conditions can vary the scoring a bit. The metrics above outline that accuracy is at more of a premium than distance, and tee to green play also stands out, with the winner leading the field in the category in each of the last three years. We'll also look for golfers that hit their irons well from 125-175 yards as a lot of approach shots will come in that range.
Waialae Warriors
The following golfers have the lowest scoring average at Waialae Country Club since 2021:
- Russell Henley: 66.2
- Nick Taylor: 66.3
- Hideki Matsuyama: 66.8
- Chris Kirk: 66.8
- Keith Mitchell: 67.2
Waialae has been like a second home to Henley, who won in his debut back in 2013 and more recently has three top-10s across the last four years including a playoff loss to Matsuyama in 2022. We haven't seen Henley tee-it-up since the Ryder Cup, but he finished last year with eight consecutive top-20 finishes and is clearly the man to beat entering the tournament. Another player that's had success here, albeit a bit farther down the leaderboard at 40-1, is the veteran Kirk. Although he's never won the event, he's been in contention several times with five top-5s since 2013. Kirk led the field in SG: Approach here two years ago and his strengths of finding fairways and quality iron play make him a viable betting candidate.
Tee-to-Green Form
These five golfers, on a per-round basis, have gained the most strokes from tee to green across their last 20 rounds:
- Kurt Kitayama: 1.73
- J.J. Spaun: 1.68
- Si Woo Kim: 1.58
- Russell Henley: 1.52
- Mac Meissner: 1.27
Recent form has to be taken with a grain of salt considering nobody has played an official event in close to two months, but the list is a reminder of how well Kitayama was playing towards the end of last season. He enters this year in a different position being locked into all the signature events, but he'll still make the trip to Hawaii, where he's had mixed results and a best finish of T24 across four trips. One surprising name on the list is a long shot in Meissner at 65-1 odds, and the third-year Tour pro is looking to carry his late season momentum into a potential breakthrough campaign in 2026. His highlight was a runner-up finish at the Wyndham Championship, and he followed it up by making the cut in all five fall events including two top-20s.
Sony Open in Hawaii Bets: Outright Picks
J.J. Spaun (18-1)
Last year's event brings up some bad memories as I had a 100-1 Spaun ticket only to watch him miss out on a playoff after being up one with two holes to play. His odds are much shorter this time around after going from outside the top-100 in the OWGR to sixth currently. Spaun led the field in SG: Approach here last year, and I expect him to be a factor once again.
Corey Conners (25-1)
Conners has a strong track record at Waialae with four top-15s across seven appearances, highlighted by a T3 in 2019. He fits the course well as one of the most accurate drivers and precise iron players in the field.
Nico Echavarria (45-1)
Echavarria is trending in a positive direction following a strong fall in which he posted two top-10s across his last four starts including a T4 at the season ending RSM Classic. As noted, he was runner-up at the event last year and also had a T12 in 2023.
Sony Open in Hawaii Bets: Top-10 Wagers
Pierceson Coody (11-2)
Coody played a mixed schedule last year with 15 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and 17 on the PGA Tour, posting seven top-10s at the lower level and a pair of top-5s at the upper level. He gained 0.79 shots off the tee per round last year, showing that he has a high ceiling.
Jacob Bridgeman (15-2)
Generous odds here for a player that qualified for the Tour Championship in large part due to four top-5 finishes including one in a signature event. The third year Tour pro excels with his short game, where he ranked 30th in scrambling and 21st in SG: Putting last year.
Kota Kaneko (13-1)
A bit of a long shot here, but I'll take my chances on the 23-year-old who won twice on the Japan Tour last year. Kaneko also finished T33 against a solid PGA Tour field at the Baycurrent Classic before finishing T13 in the final stage of Q-School. He's an up-and-coming player to keep an eye on.
Sony Open in Hawaii Bets: Head-to-Head Matchups
Maverick McNealy (+100) over Keegan Bradley
McNealy has evolved into a complete player with no weaknesses in his game, and he's made the cut in all four of his trips to Waialae with a best result of T7. While Bradley's track record here is solid, I have questions about his form. After winning the Travelers in June, his only top-25s in six starts thereafter came in 30 and 50-player fields, and he lost strokes from tee to green at the Hero last month. I'll gladly take the even money side here.
Jake Knapp (-105) over Ryan Gerard
Knapp gives you plenty of reasons to think he'll continue to take a step forward in his third year on Tour. His combination of distance (16th in 2025) and putting (14th) helped lead to a pair of top-5s over the summer. Meanwhile, Gerard went through a stretch in the second-half of last year in which he only had one top-25 across 12 events. I prefer fading that inconsistency in matchups.
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