This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Sony Open in Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Waialae Country Club - Par 70 - 7,044 yards
Field - 144 entrants
Purse - $8.3M
The Preview
Hopping islands from Maui to Oahu for the second leg of the season-opening Hawaiian Swing, Honolulu's Waialae Country Club has remained the host of the Sony Open in Hawaii since the event's 1965 inception. Differing from a 59-man field at The Sentry last week, 2024's first full contingent of 144 entrants forces the inclusion of a 36-hole cut. Additionally, the style of play contrasts greatly from Kapalua's wide-open Plantation Course to Waialae's classical design.
Waialae's short par-70 layout features two easily reachable par-5s as well as four par-3s that all measure between 176-204 yards, leaving 12 par-4s, 10 of which play inside the typical 400-500 yard range. Unlike the spray-and-pray nature of Kapalua, driving accuracy is paramount this week as players often reach for their long irons off the tee in order to navigate narrow doglegs and avoid the 3.5-inch surrounding rough. Nearly 70 percent of approach shots are likely to come from 125-200 yards into these big bermuda greens, upon which putting contests can ensue. If coastal winds remain tame, the eventual victor should be able to flirt with the 20-under-par mark Sunday, further emphasizing the importance of holed putts and par breakers for fantasy scoring.
Recent Champions
2023 - Si Woo Kim
2022 - Hideki Matsuyama
2021 - Kevin Na
2020 - Cameron Smith
2019 - Matt Kuchar
2018 - Patton Kizzire
2017 - Justin Thomas
2016 - Fabian Gomez
2015 - Jimmy Walker
2014 - Jimmy Walker
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach and Proximity: 125-200 yards
Driving accuracy
SG: Putting (bermuda)
Birdie or Better Percentage
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Tyrrell Hatton - $43
A debutant at Waialae Country Club this week, Hatton is coming off a T14 effort at The Sentry where he fired a second-round 62 that included 10 birdies and an eagle while gaining 3.2 strokes with the putter. He ultimately finished the event ranked top-10 in both putts per GIR (1.63) and putts per round (28.25) on the way to 26 total par breakers. A macro breakdown of his past 50 rounds reveals the Englishman ranks second in P4: 450-500 Efficiency, fifth in SG: Putting and fifth in Birdies or Better Gained within this frame.
Ludvig Aberg - $40
Despite appearing alone atop the odds board at several shops, Aberg could come in underowned after a disappointing T47 in a chalky spot at the 2024 season opener last week. However, he rebounded from a third-round 77 in Maui by firing a 10-under 63 on Sunday, when the flat stick cooperated as he needed just 23 total putts en route to 10 birdies and eight pars. Aberg's lack of course history could turn people away as well here, but this is a bet on talent, and his positioning either below or next to names such as Keegan Bradley ($42), Lucas Glover ($40) and Kurt Kitayama ($40) represents a discount on Aberg ($40). Over his last 50 measured rounds, the 24-year-old Swede is second to none in SG: Off-the-Tee, P4: 450-500 Efficiency and Opportunities Gained.
Corey Conners - $38
At just $38, Conners will be locked into a ton of cash-game lineups at a venue that he's placed T12-11-T12-T3 in his last four visits. A brutal performance on the greens at Kapalua last week didn't prevent him from shooting three-under-par or better in each of his four rounds at The Sentry, where he ranked fourth among the field in SG: Approach and T6 in GIR percentage. Conners has never gained less than 1.3 strokes off the tee in five Sony Open appearances, and he's obviously one of the sharpest iron players in this field.
Glue Guys
Byeong Hun An - $35
A determined An rattled off four consecutive scores of 68 or better to post a solo-fourth in his return from suspension at The Sentry, gaining a collective 5.6 strokes on and around the greens of the Plantation Course in the process. He racked up 27 total birdies and a pair of eagles in Maui, and An now ranks top-3 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and P4: 400-450 Efficiency over his past 50 rounds. In his Sony Open debut last year, An paced the field in both driving distance and putting average on the way to a T12 finish.
Adam Svensson - $34
Svensson is a perfect 3-for-3 in cuts made at the Sony Open in Hawaii, most notably tying for seventh here in 2022 when he gained a combined 9.9 strokes with his irons and putter. He converted only six of 12 scrambling opportunities this past week at The Sentry, but Svensson ranked T7 among the field in driving accuracy and 16th in SG: Approach. Throughout his last 36 rounds, the Canadian sits seventh in Opportunities Gained and eighth in proximity from 125-150 yards.
Cam Davis - $28
Although he performed poorly at Kapalua last week, Davis is mispriced at just $28 for the Sony where he's made the cut in four straight seasons, highlighted by a T9 in 2020 when he gained eight strokes on the field from tee to green. The Aussie is top-4 in both P4: 400-450 and P4: 450-500 Efficiency over his last 50 rounds, and he figures to be a more popular selection than originally expected due to the deflated salary.
Bargain Bin
Ben Kohles - $26
The last time we saw Kohles in action, he tallied 21 birdies and an eagle to just four bogeys while gaining 4.4 strokes with his irons en route to a T5 at The RSM Classic, which marked his only PGA Tour start of the calendar year after tying for sixth at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in October. Kohles won twice on the KFT this past season, and he ultimately ranked second among his peers in GIR percentage, fourth in scrambling and eighth in driving accuracy. He tied for 27th at Waialae CC in 2022 when he gained 3.4 strokes putting.
Michael Kim - $26
Kim's rising social media popularity unlikely translates to inflated DFS ownership at this point, but he does rank second in P3: 175-200 Efficiency, third in overall proximity and fifth in Prox: 175-200 over his last 50 rounds. He closed out his 2023 campaign with results of T5-T18-T41-T23 from the Wyndham Championship through the World Wide Technology Championship, finishing the season seventh in putting from 20-25 feet and 16th in putting from 4-8 feet. Kim's track record at the Sony Open isn't all that attractive with four missed cuts across six outings, but he tied for 20th here in 2017.
Nick Hardy - $21
Hardy notched the lowest second-round score of the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii with a seven-under 63, and he finished the week with three total eagles while ranking third in driving distance and T19 in GIR percentage. He also tied for 14th here during his 2021 debut when he gained strokes across the board and averaged five birdies per round. Hardy most recently tied for 47th at The Sentry, but he hit 65 of 72 greens in regulation on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, good enough to rank second among the 59-man field.
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