Golf betting tips: Preview and tips for the 2023 Sony Open

The Sony Open is the first full-field event of the calendar year. The tournament is contested at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. The course has hosted the event since its modern-day inception as the Hawaiian Open in 1965. Sony took over as title sponsor in 1999.

An interesting fact to consider this week is that since the Tournament of Champions moved to Hawaii in 1999, 15 Sony Open winners have emerged victorious having played the Plantation Course in Kapalua the previous week.

That said, two of the last three winners (Kevin Na & Cameron Smith) didn’t tee it up in Kapalua prior to their Sony Open victories. Last year, Hideki Matsuyama finished T13 in the Sentry TOC before going on to win at Waialae Country Club.

Year	Sony Open Champion	Winning Score	Sentry TOC (week previous)
2022	Hideki Matsuyama	-23	T13
2021	Kevin Na	-21	DNS
2020	Cameron Smith	-11	DNS
2019	Matt Kuchar	-22	T19
2018	Patton Kizzire	-17	T15
2017	Justin Thomas	-27	1
2016	Fabian Gomez	-20	T6
2015	Jimmy Walker	-23	2
2014	Jimmy Walker	-17	T21
2013	Russell Henley	-24	DNS
2012	Johnson Wagner	-13	T9
2011	Mark Wilson	-16	DNS
2010	Ryan Palmer	-15	DNS
2009	Zach Johnson	-15	T6
2008	K.J. Choi	-14	T28

In 2017, Justin Thomas won both the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open. Ernie Els matched this feat in 2003.

Course Overview

Waialae Country Club was designed by Seth Raynor and opened for play in 1927. The 7,044 yard Par 70 is tight and features small Bermuda greens. Length off the tee takes second place to accuracy.

Scoring, as you would expect in Hawaii, is dependent on the strength of the wind. The average winning score since 2000 is just shy of -18 so a fast start is essential. You need to be playing from the short stuff in order to attack the small greens and set up scoring opportunities.

Waialae Country Club Scorecard

Hole #	Par	Yards	Hole #	Par	Yards
1	4	480	10	4	351
2	4	423	11	3	194
3	4	422	12	4	440
4	3	204	13	4	477
5	4	467	14	4	430
6	4	460	15	4	398
7	3	176	16	4	417
8	4	454	17	3	194
9	5	506	18	5	551
Out	35	3592	In	35	3452
			Total		7044

Par	#	Shortest	Longest	Average
3	4	176	204	192
4	12	351	480	435
5	2	506	551	529

2021 Sony Open | Kevin Na

Last year, Kevin Na carded a -5 (65) in his final round for total -21 (259) to win the 2021 Sony Open. His score was enough to edge out Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann, who tied for second one stroke back. It was the 37-year old’s 5^th victory on Tour and first since the 2019 Shriners Hospitals Open.

Tee-to-green is what laid the foundation for the California native’s victory and in particular on approach and around the green. Na finished 5^th in Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green and 2^nd in Strokes Gained Around-The-Green. Combined this yielded a gain of 8.361 strokes or nearly 70% of his overall strokes gained for the tournament. Other stats for the week include T75 for Driving Accuracy, 125^th for Driving Distance, T43 for GIR and 23^rd in Strokes Gained Putting.

2020 Sony Open | Cameron Smith

In 2020, Cameron Smith made an 8ft birdie putt on the final hole of the Sony Open for a final round -2(68) and force a playoff with Brendan Steele. The Australian went on to win the tournament with a par on the first extra hole.

Greenside is where the magic happened for the Aussie, finishing the week 9^th in Strokes Gained Around-The-Green (2.374 strokes) and 1^st in Strokes Gained Putting (8.232 strokes). Combined these contributed over 90% of his overall strokes gained for the week. Other stats include T41 for Driving Accuracy, T5 for Driving Distance, T20 for GIR and 2^nd for Putts per GIR.

2019 Sony Open | Matt Kuchar

In 2019, Matt Kuchar emerged victorious in the Sony Open winning by 4 strokes from Andrew Putnam on a score of -22 (258). It was his second win of the season having won the Mayakoba Golf Classic a few months previous.

Kooch made only one bogey through 54 holes shooting rounds of 63-63-66-66 on his way to victory.

Kuchar finished the week 3rd in both the key categories of SG:Tee-To-Green and SG:Putting. In particular, his approach play was dialled-in and was backed up with a solid display with the flat-stick. Other stats for the week include 14th for Driving Distance, T4 for Driving Accuracy, 1st for GIR and 5th for Putts per GIR.

2018 Sony Open | Patton Kizzire

In 2018, Patton Kizzire pipped James Hahn in a six hole playoff to capture the Sony Open title. He closed with a final round -2 (68) to finish on a score of -17 (263) and force the playoff.

His approach play and putting were key to capturing his second PGA Tour title having won the Mayakoba Golf Classic just a couple of months previous. He finished 3rd in both the Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green and Strokes Gained Putting. Kizzire ranked 54th for Driving Distance, T56 for Driving Accuracy, T23 for GIR and 2nd for Putts per GIR.

2017 Sony Open | Justin Thomas

In 2017, Justin Thomas finished on a score of -27 (253) to complete the ‘Hawaiian-double‘. He finished an impressive seven shots clear of his nearest rival Justin Rose. His ball-striking master-class included a first round 59.

Thomas finished the week first in both Strokes Gained Off-The-Tee and Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green. He backed up his superb ball-striking with his putting, finishing the week 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting. Thomas ranked 9th for Driving Distance, T66 for Driving Accuracy and 12th in GIR.

2016 Sony Open | Fabian Gomez

The 2016 winner, Fabian Gomez, finished the week T7 for GIR hitting the greens 77.78% of the time. He was also 5th in Strokes Gained Putting, T60 in Driving Accuracy and T27 in Driving Distance.

Sony Open Tips & Predictions

Corey Conners 22/1 (E/W) – a regular to Waialae Country Club, his last three results there read T3-T12-11. Has 3 x Top 25’s from 4 starts this season including a T18 in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. The Canadian squared only three bogeys and one double around the Plantation Course at Kapalua. The ball-striking-machine places inside the Top 30 in this week’s Stats Analysis. Fits the archetype for success this week on a course that should suit his eye perfectly. Good value at top end of market.

Tom Hoge 22/1 (E/W) – a regular at the Sony Open, his standout result in the recent past is a solo 3^rd in 2018. His T3 finish in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions puts him firmly in this week’s crosshairs. Prior to the Christmas break he had a run of 4 x Top 13 finishes from 6 starts. His excellent form is reflected in his stats, placing top of the pile in this week’s Stats Analysis. He is also 10^th on Tour for GIR and 15^th for Birdie Average. Ticks a lot of boxes and some to make it win No. 2 on Tour this week. Hard to ignore based on game and form. Good each way value.