The 2017 calendar year kicked off with Justin Thomas celebrating a big win at the SBS Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii last week. Now the PGA Tour will make the short trip to Honolulu and the Waialae Country Club for the Sony Open this week. The Sony Open, which dates back to the 1920’s and has been a regular on the PGA Tour since 1965, is the first full field event of 2017. 23 players featured in last week’s SBS Tournament of Champions will participate in this week’s event while the majority of entries will tee off for the first time since the RSM Classic back in November. Let’s take a closer look at what to expect from the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Event
Event Details: Sony Open
Category: PGA
Date: January 12-15, 2017
Location: Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
This year’s tournament will feature an absolutely stacked field with Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Jimmy Walker set to headline the event. Unlike last week’s SBS Tournament of Champions there will be the 36-hole cut we see at the majority of PGA events as well.
Past Five Winners
2016: Fabian Gomez -20 (Playoff)
2015: Jimmy Walker -23
2014: Jimmy Walker -17
2013: Russell Henley -24
2012: Johnson Wagner -13
What To Know About The Course
For the most part, the work that you do off the tee seems largely irrelevant at this tournament where only two players in the top-12 ranked inside the top-10 in Driving Distance last year. In fact, the first three home a year ago each ranked outside the top-20 in Driving Distance. Driving Accuracy hasn’t been a key stat at the WCC either with last year’s winner Fabian Gomez ranking 60th in that category. The most important element will be finding the greens as each of the last 15 winners have all ranked inside the top-12 for Greens In Regulation.
The Field
Despite his success here a year ago, Gomez is available at anywhere from +8000 to +10000 odds depending on the sportsbook. Spieth will be the sports betting favorite to win outright for the second week in a row at +600 odds followed by Matsuyama at +800 and Thomas at +1400. Meanwhile, after winning here in 2013 and 2014, Walker is listed at +2200 odds to win outright. The field is absolutely stacked at the top and it will be interesting to see if one of the favorites can live up to their potential and figure out how to get the win.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Scott Piercy over Russell Knox
This isn’t an indictment against Knox so much as it is an opportunity to capitalize on the value of Piercy being somewhat underrated heading in to this tournament. The veteran golfer finished last year on a high note with three top-10 finishes in his final five starts and he has played at a high level in this tournament with three top-15 results in his last four trips here. Piercy’s long layoff contributed towards him being available at a decent price this week and we think he will edge out Knox on the leaderboard as a strong value pick.
Top-Five Pick: Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has been absolutely on fire dating back to the fall with four wins and two runner-up finishes over his last six starts. Eventually he is going to finish lower than second at an event but there is a good chance he will contend for the win again this week. Matsuyama has all of the tools to challenge for another victory at Waialae so it makes sense to lock him in as a top-five pick for this week’s Sony Open.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Sony Open
Jordan Speith +650
Hideki Matsuyama +750
Justin Thomas +1250
Jimmy Walker +2050
Brandt Snedeker +2250
Paul Casey +2550
Justin Rose +2550
Gary Woodland +3050
Bill Haas +3550
Pat Perez +3550
Upcoming PGA Schedule
Jan 19 – Jan 22: CareerBuilder Challenge
Jan 26 – Jan 29: Farmers Insurance Open
Feb 2 – Feb 5: Waste Management Phoenix Open
Feb 9 – Feb 12: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Feb 16 – Feb 19: Genesis Open
Feb 23 – Feb 26: The Honda Classic
Mar 9 – Mar 12: Valspar Championship
Mar 16 – Mar 19: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Mar 22 – Mar 26: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play
Mar 23 – Mar 26: Puerto Rico Open
Mar 30 – Apr 2: Shell Houston Open
Click here to get all of the latest golf betting lines at BetDSI including head-to-head matchups, props and odds to win each tournament!
