The PGA Tour is so back!
Ok, well, technically it was so back last week, when the 2025 season officially kicked off with a stacked field at The Sentry in Maui. But the Hawaii swing continues on Thursday with a smaller field at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu (thanks in part to the TGL).
Considering most one-and-done leagues start with the Sony, we’re going to start our weekly picks off here as well.
The reigning Sony champion is Grayson Murray and the top-ranked golfer in this field is current OWGR No. 5 Hideki Matsuyama, fresh off his victory at The Sentry.Come along for the ride and tail (or fade) responsibly.
All odds via BetMGM
Corey Conners (+1600) 0.5 Units
Conners has the second-best odds on the board, so there’s not much to really overthink here. The Canadien finished T5 last week at The Sentry and has four Top-25 finishes at the Sony Open since 2019, including a two T12s and a T3.
Sahith Theegala (+3300) 0.5 Units
A slow start at The Sentry aside, Theegala had a rather decent weekend in Maui. After shooting a 76 on Thursday, he rallied back with a 68, 67 and 66 over the final three rounds to finish T36. His only real struggles came on the opening nine, when he shot four over par thanks to two bogeys and a triple bogey. This is a bet on his momentum carrying over to the Sony ahead of a breakout season for the 27-year-old.
Thomas Detry (+6000) 0.5 Units
Detry is making his first career start at the Sony Open. He just finished T5 at The Sentry, where he was a birdie machine. We’re taking a small chance on an unknown here and that’s fine for this time of year.
Hideki Matsuyama (+110) 2 Units
We’re simply not going to fade a guy who just dominated The Sentry with three rounds of 65 and 62 on Saturday. Matsuyama won this event in 2022 and finished Top-25 the two years before then.
Byeong Hun An (+240) 1 Unit
The Benny An Hive is growing stronger every day. After finishing runner-up at the Sony last year in a three-way playoff against Grayson Murray and Keegan Bradley, we’ll take our chances on another strong outing. More on An later.
Stephan Jaeger (+8000) 0.25 Units
It’s early in the year. It’s a field without a ton of star power. It’s Hawaii. Let’s take some swings here. Jaeger’s first-round score has improved almost every year at the Sony since 2018. He’s gone from shooting an opening 69 to 66 to 67 to 65 last year. This is a bet on the trend continuing.
Taylor Montgomery (+17500) 0.2 Units
Ok, yeah, now we’re really throwing darts. Each of the last two years saw Montgomery shoot a first round 64 before falling behind the rest of the weekend. Let’s see if he makes it three in a row.
Brian Harman (+160) 1 Unit
Harman finished 58th last week without a sub-70 round. He’s also struggled here multiple times in his career with two missed cuts in 13 events and only five Top-25 finishes.
Russell Henley (+260) 0.5 Units
Picking a former tournament champion to miss the cut feels wild, but Henley has missed the weekend three times since capturing the 2013 Sony Open. He stumbled a bit here in 2022 with a 32nd place finish, then rebounded to finish fourth last year. Let’s see how he does after a T30 last week.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
2025 Sony Open Purse: $8,700,000
Benny An will likely be a popular pick this week after his P2 finish last year at the Sony Open and 12th in 2023. That doesn’t mean he’s the wrong pick. An is ranked No. 25 by the OWGR. There are only seven players ranked ahead of him in the field (including Bradley, Horschel, Kim, Theegala and MacIntyre) and most should be saved for bigger tournaments and signature events.
So, coming off his best season money-wise of his 12-year career, Benny An is the pick.
Mackenzie Hughes (-110) over Brian Harman, 1 Unit
Si Woo Kim (-120) over J.T. Poston, 1 Unit
Chris Kirk (-110) over Harry Hall, 1 Unit
