Sony Open in Hawaii Free Picks, Predictions and DFS Lineup Jan 11-14

Sony Open in Hawaii Betting Preview

WagerTalk golf handicapper Andy Lang offers his thoughts on the Sony Open in Hawaii teeing off from Plantation Course Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. Andy discusses his DraftKings Darlings, golfers to who can trip you up and the course and more surrounding the Sony Open in Hawaii starting January 11th!

$15 FREE for PREMIUM GOLF PICKS – CLAIM BELOW

Stay on top of the latest Golf updates direct from Las Vegas!

WagerTalk also offers Free NFL Picks all year long!

Sony Open in Hawaii	Sony Open in Hawaii Betting Notes
When:	January 11-14
Where:	Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii
Defending Champ:	Si Woo Kim
Current Favorite:	Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600 at DraftKings)
TV:	Golf Channel

Sony Open in Hawaii Course: The Playing Field

The field isn’t nearly as strong this week as the purse is much smaller and Ludvig Aberg is the betting favorite followed by Tyrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Will Zalatoris makes his 2024 debut after missing last year with back surgery, but the big story for me is just how after the top few guys it’s a lot of guys who are all kinda the same.

Course history is pretty important here, but there’s only one player here who has finished top 10 the last two years here, and that’s Matt Kuchar. The top 3 betting favorites have never played here so this could be a wild week.

Sony Open in Hawaii Course: Waialae Country Club

The course is fairly short as it’s only a Par 70, and the rough used to be long here so driving accuracy was important, but the rough is shorter now so guys can bomb it off the tee with little penalty for wayward drives.

The wind is what affects this tournament the most, and the winds look to be really calm for this time of year, so I would expect the winning score to be in the -19 and -22 range.

There are two par 5’s, both should be reachable or very close to reachable so, like last week, whoever gets hot with the putter should fly to the top of the leaderboard.

I know that’s an obvious statement, but it really is true this week as most guys will be fine tee to green as the wind is minimal and the course layout isn’t difficult.

Sony Open in Hawaii: Total Strokes Gained Last 6 Months

Brian Harman +1.94
JT Poston +1.79
Ludvig Aberg +1.61
Matt Fitzpatrick +1.57
Byeong Hun An +1.52
Tyrell Hatton +1.52
Russell Henley +1.47
Eric Cole +1.44
Lucas Glover +1.37
Sahith Theegala +1.21

Sony Open in Hawaii: Players That Can Trip You Up

Ludvig Aberg – Obviously, the sky is the limit for Aberg’s career, but I’m not ready to put him as the betting favorite.

I wondered last week how he would perform on a course that comes down to putting, and he was really bad coming in a -0.65 strokes gained putting which put him in 47th place in a short field.

On this short Par 70 course with no win, his driving distance isn’t going to give him a huge advantage, and this tournament will come down to putting. He’s inconsistent on the greens, I will not be betting on Aberg this week.

Will Zalatoris – Zalatoris missed most of the 2023 season with serious back surgery, and he came back at the Hero World Challenge where he finished in last place, but he had glimpses of great play as he had rounds of 68 and 71 mixed in with rounds of 81 and 79.

I’m surprised he’s priced this high at 35-1, and 10th highest in DFS lineups. I’m interested in fading him this week, not betting on him.

His putting has always been a struggle at these easy courses as he thrives at the tough courses with his incredible ball striking. I think this week is a “knock off the rust” week for him, there’s no chance I bet on him this week.

Si Woo Kim – He will probably be a popular pick this week because he won last year, but he had finished 55th, 25th, MC, and 58th the 4 previous years.

His putting has been awful the last 6 months as he’s -0.55 strokes gained, and his approach is about even which won’t work this week.

In order for him to repeat his great performance last year, he’ll have to putt way better than usual, and last week he wasn’t very good leading to a 25th place finish in a short field. I don’t think he’s going to repeat as winner.

Sony Open in Hawaii: DraftKings Darlings

Maverick McNealy $6800

McNealy hasn’t been in good form, but I can’t ignore how much he likes playing here. He’s finished 27th and 7th the last two years, and at this price I just need him to make the cut and get us weekend points. His putting has been terrible, and so has his driving, but his approaches haven’t been that bad, and there appears to be something about this course that he likes. He finished 2023 with some lousy finishes, but this time last year he had 8 finishes of 31st or better.

Patton Kizire $6800

Kizzire has made the cut in 5 straight tournaments, and he’s made the cut in 5 out of 6 years here so I’ll roll with him this week. This is the player I’m most concerned about in this lineup, but it allows me to put some big names in my lineup with potential to win so
I’m depending on his familiarity and success on this course to get him through the cut this week.

Taylor Montgomery $7100

Montgomery can be hot and cold with the putter, and over the last 6 months he’s been hot as he’s +0.71 strokes gained putting. His driving and approach numbers aren’t great, but he finished 12th last year at this tourney, and he has 4 straight finishes of 35th or better. Putting can mask a lot of shortcomings on this course, if he putts great, he’ll make the cut and get us weekend points.

Final Lineup: Maverick NcNealy $6800, Patton Kizzire $6800, Taylor Montgomery $7100, JT Poston $9100, Brian Harman $9900, Tyrell Hatton $10300

Sony Open in Hawaii: Additional Betting Notes

-Chris Kirk, winner last week, has two top 3 finishes here in the last 3 years. -We mentioned fading Matsuyama last week, and he was awful finishing 2nd to last and -2.17 strokes gained putting
-Corey Conners has finished top 12 in 4 straight tournaments here
-JT Poston and Brian Harman are the top 2 PGA Tour guys in this field in strokes gained putting this week

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.