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 - $8.7M
The Preview
Leaping across Pacific 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, 2025'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 68 percent of approach shots are likely to come from 125-200 yards into these big bermuda greens, upon which putting contests can ensue. Strong forecasted winds throughout the weekend might make it difficult for the eventual champion to flirt with the 20-under-par mark, but the importance of holed putts and par breakers are still emphasized for fantasy scoring purposes.
Recent Champions
2024 - Grayson Murray
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
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
Hideki Matsuyama - $44
This Sony Open past champion (2022) is coming off another victory in Hawaii, having cruised to a dominant win at The Sentry where he beat the fourth-place finisher by 10 shots while recording no round worse than an eight-under 65 throughout his week at Kapalua. Matsuyama was firing on all cylinders with his approach play and putting, ranking second among The Sentry field in each of SG: APP, putts per GIR and feet of putts made. His elite around-the-green talent should be even more advantageous at a track like Waialae as well.
Russell Henley - $42
The name of Henley's game is a combination of driving accuracy, short-iron proximity and bermuda putting, otherwise known as a perfect translation for projected success at Waialae. So, it's no surprise that he's finished T4-T32-2-T11 here in his last four Sony Open outings. Henley's mediocre T30 effort at The Sentry last week is somewhat of a blessing in that it might deflate his ownership by a percentage point or two in large-field GPPs, but he's still going to be very chalky with overvalued options like Billy Horschel and Robert MacIntyre priced identically.
Corey Conners - $38
Conners opened the 2025 campaign with the best SG: Putting performance of his entire career, ultimately tying for fifth at Kapalua where he paced the field in both SG: Putting and feet of putts made on the way to 25 total birdies and two eagles. Although we know the putting metrics are unlikely to be sticky, Conners' approach play and accuracy off the tee are the main reasons we target him at Waialae, where he's placed T12 or better in four of six Sony Open appearances. He's right behind Matsuyama in outright odds to win this week, so a $38 Yahoo salary represents a solid discount compared to the rest of the betting and DFS market.
Glue Guys
Taylor Pendrith - $36
There are plenty of other venues that could better reward Pendrith's driving distance, but that didn't stop him from tying for 10th here last year when he gained 5.1 strokes putting, and the Canadian is playing well enough right now that he might be course-proof in the short term at just $36 against weaker competition. He's coming off a T13 at The Sentry where he racked up 24 birdies and two eagles while ranking seventh among the field in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Si Woo Kim - $32
Rebounding from an opening 76 at Kapalua, Kim played his final 54 holes in a collective 19-under-par at The Sentry, ultimately amassing 24 total par-breakers throughout the week. He's a horse-for-the-course type at Waialae with a fourth-place showing at the 2016 Sony Open preceding his win here in 2023, when he also led the field in SG: APP by a whole 1.1 strokes.
Ben Griffin - $31
Coming off an extremely busy 2024 season in which he paced the entire PGA Tour in both total birdies and eagles, Griffin makes his 2025 debut at Waialae Country Club where he placed T30-T12 in his first two Sony Open starts the past two years, notably gaining a combined 8.5 strokes putting across these eight rounds. Examining a larger sample, he's third in SG: Putting on bermuda greens over the past three years, and he's 11th in SG: APP over his last 50 rounds.
Bargain Bin
Luke Clanton - $29
The top-ranked amateur in the world has placed top-5 in two of his last three starts at the PGA Tour level, most recently tying for second at The RSM Classic where he led the field in SG: Off-the-Tee. He earns much more respect than a $29 salary on other DFS sites, and in the general betting market, so expect plenty of competing gamers to spot the discrepancy and consider Clanton here.
Harry Hall - $26
Easily interchangeable with any of the $30 options, this is a bit of a misprice on Hall as well. The Englishman ranked fifth among last week's Sentry field in SG: T2G on the way to 28 total par-breakers and a T8 finish, and he rattled off three consecutive top-15s from the Shriners Children's Open through the World Wide Technology Championship to close out his FedExCup Fall run. Hall made the cut in each of his first two attempts at the Sony, placing T42-T28 here the past two years.
Daniel Berger - $20
I'd expect an emerging Nico Echavarria to come in as the most popular minimum-salaried punt play, but Berger's admirable combination of recent form and course history makes him entirely clickable at just $20. Berger tied for runner-up honors in his final start of 2024 at The RSM Classic, where he ranked third among the field in SG: Off-the-Tee while also gaining 3.9 strokes with the flat stick. Additionally, Berger is a perfect 6-for-6 in career cuts made at the Sony Open in Hawaii, notably tying for seventh during his most recent Waialae appearance in 2021 when he excelled on the bermuda greens en route to 24 total birdies.
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