The PGA Tour stays in Hawaii this week for the eagerly anticipated 53rd edition of the Sony Open. 2017 FedExCup winner Justin Thomas returns to the tournament as the defending champion following his stunning record-smashing triumph last year, and he’ll be joined at the Waialae Country Club by 143 other players, including the likes of Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman and Kevin Kisner.
Snippets Of Information
When? 11th-14th January
Where? Waialae Country Club, Hawaii (7,044 yards, par 70)
How can I watch? Sky Sports Golf from 12am
Justin Thomas Defends Title
It will shock absolutely no one that Justin Thomas is among the favourites for glory (8/1), as the American bids to become the sixth player to bag back-to-back wins at the Sony Open. Last time around Thomas stamped his name in the record books after registering a new course record of 253, smashing a first round score of 59 in the process.
Back In October Thomas won The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, while he’s since finished 11th at the Hero World Challenge, and then T22 at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, which he won last year. Thomas revealed that his caddie this week will be Jim 'Bones' Mackay, formerly caddie to Phil Mickelson, with whom he helped win a whopping 42 Tour wins and five majors.
Jordan Spieth The Favourite
You can expect a tonne of birdies at the Waialae Country Club which was ranked as the easiest course on Tour last year. Birdie king Jordan Spieth, on the back of a top-10 finish last week, will expect to be in contention come Sunday as he hunts down his first tournament win since The Open back in July. The American finished 3rd in last year’s Sony Open and heads into this year’s event as the 5/1 favourite in the betting.
Two Time Champ Jimmy Walker Returns
You don’t have to look far back to see who the last man to win consecutive Sony Opens was...step forward Jimmy Walker. The American won the tournament in 2014 and 2015 and can now be found at 100/1 to become the first player to succeed three times at the Waialae Country Club.
Walker, who back in August revealed that he was battling lyme disease, hasn’t played competitively since November. But this is a player who makes a welcome return to action and he clearly thrives in the Hawaii tournament, and in his first start of the year he’ll definitely be on to keep an eye on this week.
One To Watch: Brian Harman
Mr Consistent Brian Harman has enjoyed a cracking season to date, carding five straight top-10 finishes, four of which have been in the top-5, with his last two appearances in the top-3. A third PGA Tour win, and second since May is surely around the corner, and why not this week at Honolulu? The 30-year-old, who celebrates his birthday next week, is definitely worth checking out at 20/1 for the win and an early present, while he can be backed at 4/1 to finish in the top-5.
