Golf Tips: Sony Open Preview & Predictions

The PGA Tour stays on the sunshine island of Hawaii this week for the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club, Honolulu.

The field has a more familiar look to it this week with 144 competitors, all competing for a share of the $7.5m prize purse with the winner collecting the title and $1.18m.

Over half the field from last week's Tournament of Champions have made the short journey to Honolulu including winner Cameron Smith.

Bryson De Chambeau withdrew from playing this event on Monday so only four of the world's Top 20 will be in attendance.

We should see yet another birdie-fest in Hawaii this weekend with the Pacific Ocean winds remaining calm again.

Last weekend three players broke the course record at Kapalua’s Plantation Course. Ernie Els' -31 score from 2003 was first of all bettered by Matt Jones who finished on -32. Next up, less than five minutes later was Jon Rahm who took over from Matt Jones on -33, then he was stripped only seconds later with Cameron Smith's -34 winning scorecard.

I did say in last week's preview that Ernie Els -31 record could easily be in jeopardy especially with the perfect conditions and prices were available.

Kevin Na returns to defend his title around this stunning par 70, parkland course with narrow fairways and small greens so the key attribute is accuracy.

The weather is forecast to be sunny and warm with temperatures in the mid 20s. Breezes will be calm throughout and will peak at around 12mph.

This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf with live coverage starting at 5pm GMT on Thursday.

So let’s move in with this weeks selections.

Talor Gooch

For my first and main pick this week I’m liking the look of Talor Gooch 35/1 EW Bet365.

The 30 year old from Oklahoma won his maiden PGA Tour title at the tail end of last year when winning the RSM Classic with an impressive -22 scorecard. He’s now as high as 32 in the wolrld rankings and I’d expect that figure to drop even more this year.

Gooch now has six Top 20 finishes in his last seven attempts with three of them in the Top 5 including a victory.

He was 15th first time out this year at last week's Sentry Tournament of Champions so that will have sharpened up the tools and I’m in the thinking that the 35/1 currently on offer could be good value.

Other notable finishes recently include 5th at The CJ Cup and 4th at the Fortinet Championship.

Gooch is ranked on the PGA stats 8th, SG Tee to Green, 9th SG Approach to Green and 12th SG Total. Those are impressive stats and if Gooch comes to Honolulu producing these figures then he’ll be one to look out for and my number one contender to bag his second PGA Tour title.

Billy Horschel

For my next selection I’m going to advise an outsider. Last year we landed some huge prices including Stewart Cink 150/1 and Joachim Hansen 40/1 so I’m advising Billy Horschel 50/1 EW Bet365 to try continue that trend.

The 35 year old West Ham fan from Florida had a successful 2021 bagging two titles. He won the European Tour flagship event at Wentworth with a dazzling display at the BMW PGA Championship. He also won the WGC Dell Technology match play and finished runner up at the WGC Workday Championship at The Concession.

It’s better form than most can boast in this field and Horschel could be a likely winner at an attractive price.

He’s now 23rd in the world rankings, again a figure not many in this field can boast with only a few of the Top 20 playing in Hawaii this week.

I'm always keeping an eye on my radar for players popping up and also for value or for when the firms miss a trick or overprice a player. I think this could be a prime example of just that this week, it’s kind of like backing the price more than the player and sometimes it works out perfectly and it could work out perfect for Billy Horschel this weekend in Hawaii.

Cameron Smith

For my next suggestion I’m going to single out last week’s impressive Tournament of Champions winner, Cameron Smith 10/1 EW Ladbrokes.

The 28 year old mullet from Down Under is an absolute treat to watch at times. The talented Aussie won this event in 2020 so knows what it takes to win around these tighter fairways and smaller greens.

I just think that coming here with the form and confidence from his victory under similar conditions to those this week, then that alone gives the mullet a considerable advantage straight away.

As previously mentioned with Bryson De Chambeau’s withdrawl from the tournament, this now makes Smith the highest ranked golfer in the field and could open the door even more. Smith is ranked inside the world's Top 10 and could put on another show, just as he did last week.

He is hitting the ball far and straight and can back that up with his sublime pin accurate iron shots.

Smith has six Top 10 finishes in his last nine attempts with four of those Top 5 finishes including a victory and also a has runners-up medal. He was so unlucky at The Northern Trust when beaten in a play-off by Tony Finau.

I can only see Cameron Smith showing his class once again, challenging on the back nine at Sunday's final round on his way to make it two wins in one week winning the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Cameron Smith v Hideki Matsuyama

For my final selection it’s the customary match bet and this week I’m liking the look of Cameron Smith 8/11 Nap Betfair to get the better of Hideki Matsuyama over the 72 holes.

Sony Open Tips

• Talor Gooch 35/1 EW Bet365
• Billy Horschel 50/1 EW Bet365
• Cameron Smith 10/1 EW Ladbrokes
• Cameron Smith to beat Hideki Matsuyama 8/11 Nap Betfair, 72 hole matchbet

🔗 Share on Social Media