The first full PGA Tour event of 2016 takes place this week with the roadshow moving across the island of Hawaii for the Sony Open.
This tournament used to kick off the full Tour season but since the revamp of the wraparound season it is now just a normal tournament a quarter of the way into the campaign. Despite that it still continues to attract a decent level field.
After Jordan Spieth cruised to Hyundai Tournament of Champions victory last week to kick off 2016 where he left off in 2015 we have another man looking to repeat last year’s heroics here in the form of Jimmy Walker, the defending champion who is aiming to win the tournament for a third year in a row.
Waialae Country Club is once again the venue for the tournament this year. It remains a par 70 which at 7,044 yards isn’t overly long and that keeps everyone interested in this tournament particularly the shorter hitters who for once have a track in which they won’t be overwhelmed from the tee on.
Given the dominance he is currently showing it is good for us value hunters that Jordan Spieth isn’t in the field this week. As such Walker is the 14/1 favourite and it is 20/1 bar him which shows if you find the winner this week you’ll get suitably rewarded for doing so.
Walker is an obvious favourite and having backed him last week I’m not about to bag him or anything but apart from one round he didn’t really show up and a trend of his in recent times have been Sunday struggles so I’m not rushing to get involved at half the price this week.
Kevin Kisner is the 20/1 second favourite which is a little skinny given how he faded last week. Brandt Snedeker came strong last week and he’s a 25/1 shot with Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar the same price. Zach Johnson is a similar price and then it is 33/1 the field.
It is one of those at 33/1 that is my first bet this week albeit I’ll take the slightly smaller price to bag the extra place. That is the 2013 champion here Russell Henley. In fairness since Henley won here he’s done little on this course since but he has begun this season well which is encouraging.
He made the top 10 in Vegas and then went better than that in the RSM Classic in Georgia where he was in a share of sixth place. Henley sits in the top 30 in proximity to the hole this season which is perfect because we know he is one of the best putters around so that combination should see him go close here.
With good form going into the event and the tournament on a golf course he has already tamed coupled with the state his game is in right now I expect Henley to go very close once again.
I have to confess I’m not the biggest fan of Harris English but I can’t ignore the statistics and his record around here so he is my second pick this week.
English has been in the top 10 in each of the last three runnings of this tournament including a tie for third last year so he loves it around here. English is tied 12th for proximity to the hole on the PGA Tour this season and he leads the tour in strokes gained putting.
If he has that game with him this week then he will have all the tools needed in terms of his game to go very close and hopefully if he is in contention this is the week he sees it out to land the title.
Another man that I like who stats nicely this week is Daniel Berger. I’ve been a fan of his since he came on the PGA Tour and in my eyes he’s the next big thing to get his first victory. It could be this week too going on stats.
Berger sits in the top 20 on the proximity to the hole stat and is in the top 10 in strokes gained putting this season so the two together should make him a tough nut to crack. We’ve seen him in contention in both the Honda Classic and BMW Championship and he never shied away on either occasion so I’m happy to take him this week in the hope he’s right in the mix again.
I’ll fire a three figure long shot this week too in the form of David Hearn. The Canadian can be overwhelmed off the tee in some tournaments but this isn’t one of them so I’m expecting a decent show from him.
Hearn sits inside the top 10 in proximity to the hole so if the putter cooperates Hearn can replicate his top 10 finish in The RSM Classic and hopefully go a few places better.
Back R.Henley to win Sony Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Stan James (1/4 1-6)
Back H.English to win Sony Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Paddy Power (1/4 1-6)
Back D.Berger to win Sony Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Paddy Power (1/4 1-6)
Back D.Hearn to win Sony Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Stan James (1/4 1-6)
