If the Tournament of Champions is our benchmark, 2023 should be a thrilling year for golf. On the final morning, Collin Morikawa was set to defend a six-shot lead, but a stunning last round 63 from the favorite Jon Rahm snatched the win. Hoping to match that event for drama is the Sony Open 2023 which continues the new year’s schedule. We remain in Hawaii and, while some of the top golfers will skip this competition, we still have a strong field.
It has been a reasonable start for us too as Tom Kim converted on Sunday as one of our top five picks. Let us see if we can maintain that as we cross Hawaii to the Waialae Country Club with this Sony Open preview and betting predictions with picks, in attempt to profit from the American-friendly online bookmakers.
From starting as a promising outsider last week, that top five finish has helped Tom Kim become one of two joint favorites to win the 2023 Sony Open. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and that could be a significant stat this week.
Kim is available at best industry odds of 12/1 and he has shown all through the last 12 months that we shouldn’t be concerned whenever he’s making a debut in a specific event.
Also on offer at 12/1 is Sungjae Im, who finished in a tie for 15th on Sunday. This is his fifth visit to the Sony Open, but he does not have a great record beyond two top 25s in his first two starts.
Leading the chasing pack this week is Jordan Spieth at a top price of 16/1 with the sportsbooks. He was strongly fancied for the Tournament of Champions, but eventually returned a modest tie for 13th. This is Spieth’s first visit to the competition since missing the cut in 2019 and his best finish was a solo third in 2017.
Next up is our defending Sony Open champion. Hideki Matsuyama won in a playoff over Russell Henley last year and he starts in 2023 at a best of 18/1. The 2021 US Masters Champion hasn’t been in great form this season, but he can never be ruled out when the top players are missing.
Moving through, Brian Harman and Russell Henley are both listed at 22/1, followed by Tom Hoge, Corey Conners and Billy Horschel at 25/1. As we have seen, Henley was the narrow runner up to Hideki Matusyama in 2022, but he was already a Sony Open champion.
You have to go back to 2013 to find Henley’s previous win, but he clearly likes this tournament. Of the others, Tom Hoge comes into Thursday on the back of a tie for third last week, while Conners tied for third in the 2019 Sony Open.
Others to consider on the fringes of this section might include Keegan Bradley and Maverick McNealy at 35/1, followed by Adam Scott and Cameron Davis at 40/1. Bradley has three top 15s in this event and is knocking on the door of his first top 10 finish.
Of the outsiders, first up in this section is J.J. Spaun who is currently on offer at best odds of 45/1. Spaun does not have a good record here, but is in good touch after a tie for 5th at the Tournament of Champions.
Harris English, Si Woo Kim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Matt Kuchar are all further back at 50/1, while Gary Woodland, Mackenzie Hughes and J.T. Poston are next at 60/1. Of those names, Bezuidenhout could be the one to watch after recently recording a pair of top 5 finishes in South Africa.
Others to mention here include Webb Simpson at 80/1, Chris Kirk at 100/1, Aaron Rai at 100/1 and Ryan Palmer at 125/1.
Our Preview’s Sony Open 2023 Course & Betting Trends with Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
The Waialae Country Club in Honolulu is our setting for the 2023 Sony Open. The Kapalua Country Club gave us one of the longest courses on the circuit last week, but we now switch to one of the shortest.
It is a par 70 with around 7,044 yards in play and, while there is that difference in size, the threat at each course is similar. Windy conditions are generally the only challenge to low scoring. Rough and bunkers are minimal while Bermuda grass greens will run up to 12 on the Stimpmeter.
Accuracy and a hot streak with the putter will be required to get over the line. Putting hasn’t been Jordan Spieth’s best quality since 2017, but he’s a strong contender and should enjoy a slightly weaker field in comparison to last week.
Spieth for the win is the main tip. In a longer field, we have the return of the top 10 finish betting picks and there are four in place as we look for a profitable return from our PGA fortnight in Hawaii. So these are our Sony Open predictions for this preview:
- Jordan Spieth to win @ +1600 (16/1) with Bovada, BetOnline or EveryGame.
- Top 10 Finish Betting Picks (all odds with BetOnline who are best odds on all these selections): Spieth (+200), Billy Horschel (+275), Keegan Bradley (+375) and Cameron Davis (+400).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.