Golf: Best Picks for Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club

The PGA Tour continues this week with the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii.

The first full-field PGA Tour event of 2023 will consist of 144 players and they’ll all be competing for a share of the $7,900,000 prize purse with the winner collecting the Sony Open in Hawaii title and a winners cheque for $1,422,000 along with 500 FedEx points.

Last Week's Tourney

Last week’s first PGA tournament in 2023 also in Hawaii proved to be a dramatic affair in the end with Collin Morikawa throwing away as much as a 7-shot lead on Sunday's final round. Jon Rahm who was as much as 400/1 in play capitalised on Morikawa’s weakness to claim the Sentry Tournament of Champions title but where now for Morikawa who has blown two big tournament leads and hasn’t won an event since bagging The Open Championship way back in the summer of 2021.

Course and Weather

Waialae Country Club will be playing 7,044 yards long this week, it’s a par 70 tree-lined layout with huge Bermuda greens and narrow fairways. The key attribute this week in Honolulu will be accuracy and precision along with a hot putter on these slick dance floors. The weather is forecast to be hot and sunny throughout with the odd threat of showers. Breezes will peak at around 14mph

TV Coverage

This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf & Sky Sports Main Event with live coverage starting at 5 pm on Thursday evening.

Sony Open Betting Tips

So let’s move on with our best betting tips for the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Russell Henley 25/1 EW Ladbrokes

For my first and main selection in Honolulu, I’m going to point you all in the direction of Russell Henley 25/1 EW Ladbrokes.

The 33-year-old from Macon, Georgia finished runner-up at this event last year when beaten in a playoff by Hideki Matsuyama so he definitely knows his way around here. He also won this event in 2013 and it could be more of the same for Henley this time around.

I tipped Russell Henley just a few months back to win the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and despite not having a W on the PGA Tour for over five years, he duly obliged at 50/1 to the delight of us all here at MFT. Looking back to 2022, it wasn’t that bad a year for Henley who had seven Top 20 finishes with four of those inside the Top 10.

This year could get even better for Henley and it could all start this weekend with another victory in Honolulu when he is crowned the Sony Open in Hawaii Champ once again.

Tom Hoge 25/1 EW Betfred

For my next best selection I’m going to single out Tom Hoge 25/1 EW Betfred.

The 33-year-old from South Carolina scooped the AT&T Pebble Beach in 2022 and can back that up with a runners-up spot at The American Express.

Both these events were at the start of the year so it’s clear to see that Hoge comes out of the traps firing on all cylinders. This can be backed up by his 3rd place finish last week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and he could be the one they all have to beat at the Waialae Country Club this weekend.

Hoge had eleven Top 20 finishes last year with seven of those being inside the Top 10.

Other notable performances from 2022 include;

• T4th at the Shriners Children’s Open,
• T4th 3M Open
• 5th at the Tour Championship.

On the stats front Hoge arrives in Hawaii with a bag of tricks, on the PGA Tour he ranks 9th Longest Drive,8th SG Total, 1st Proximity to Hole and finally, 1st SG Approach the Green. If Tom Hoge produces these figures around here then he could well be on his way to doubling up with his second PGA Tour victory this Sunday evening in Hawaii.

Brian Harman 22/1 EW SkyBet

For my final outright pick, I’m going to include Brian Harman 22/1 EW SkyBet.

The 35-year-old from Georgia can make it a hattrick of PGA victories this weekend having already bagged the John Deere Classic and the Wells Fargo Championship.

However, my only concern is that Harman hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2017 but that never stopped us when picking Henley at 50/1 just a few months back. There are definitely signs of improvement in Harman's game for all to see if looking.

At the last two events in 2022, he finished runner-up in both of them. T2nd at the RSM Classic and runner-up at the Worldwide Techno Championship at Mayakoba. He was also T3rd at the FedEx St Jude Classic, T5th at the Valspar Championship and put in an amazing effort up at St Andrew's when finishing 6th at the 150th Open Championship.

All in all, Harman had eight Top 10 finishes last year which is as consistent as it gets in this field.

Most of his good work is done on and around the golf course and with these tricky large Bermuda greens to negotiate, I’d say Harman is a safe option to trust in this department. All this fine recent form could well add up to produce a winning formula as Brian Harman rolls back the years with a well-deserved overdue victory in Hawaii on Sunday evening.

It was a perfect start to 2023 with out Super Banker NAP landing last week with Tony Finau beating Viktor Hovland. For this week's match bet Nap, I’m going to single out Jordan Spieth to beat the defending champion Hideki Matsuyama over 72holes 10/11 Nap Bet365.

Golf Betting Tips

• Russell Henley 25/1 EW Ladbrokes
• Tom Hoge 25/1 EW Betfred
• Brian Harman 22/1 EW SkyBet
• Jordan Spieth to beat Hideki Matsuyama over 72holes 10/11 Nap Bet365

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