2025 Sony Open in Hawaii Preview and Free Picks

This weekend, the second tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour season, the Sony Open, will take place at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event will run from January 9 to January 12.

The course is a par 70 and spans 7,044 yards. Lastyear’s champion was American Grayson Murray, who tragically passed away in May 2024 at the age of 30.

This tournament has a unique trend that has continued since 2015, where the title alternates between being won in regular play, over the standard 72 holes, and being selected in a playoff the following year. In 2024, the winner was decided via a playoff.

2025 Sony Open in Hawaii Betting Odds and Info

2025 Sony Open in Hawaii

We must begin by noting that some of the world’s best players, such as Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, Shane Lowry, and Ludvig Aberg, will be competing this week in the new Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) and will not participate in Hawaii. Additionally, Scottie Scheffler is still recovering from hand surgery, and several European players are focused on the start of the DP World Tour.

Considering this, if we must point to a clear favorite for the Sony Open, it has to be Hideki Matsuyama. The 32-year-old Japanese player is coming off a victory at The Sentry, held in Maui, Hawaii, the first tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour.

Matsuyama set a tournament record with 257 strokes, finishing at -35 and defeating American Collin Morikawa by three strokes. This marks his 11th title on the PGA Tour, adding to his wins last year at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and The Genesis Invitational. He previously claimed the Sony Open title in 2022, and his accolades also include the 2021 Masters’ Tournament.

Second on this list is Keegan Bradley. The American finished 15th at The Sentry and won the BMW Championship last year. Notably, in the 2024 edition of the Sony Open, he tied with Murray but lost in the playoff.

The 38-year-old Bradley has seven PGA Tour titles to his name, highlighted by a Major victory at the 2011 PGA Championship.

Lastly, but certainly not least, is Corey Conners. The Canadian golfer finished fifth at The Sentry and, despite not securing a title, had an impressive 2024 with six top-10 finishes in the latter half of the year. This includes a ninth-place finish at the Olympics, and he made the cut in all 25 tournaments he played.

The 33-year-old Conners closed the year with a fourth-place finish at the Grant Thornton Invitational in December 2024. He has two PGA Tour titles under his belt: the Valero Texas Open in 2019 and again in 2023.

2025 Sony Open in Hawaii Outside picks

South Korean Tom Kim will play his first tournament of the year, aiming to improve on how he finished in 2024. In his last two events, he secured second place: the Hero World Challenge and the Grant Thornton Invitational. In 2024, he also finished as runner-up at the Travelers Championship, losing the playoff to Scottie Scheffler, while achieving fourth place at the RBC Canadian Open and eighth at the Olympics. At just 22 years old, Kim already holds three PGA Tour titles: the 2022 Wyndham Championship and the Shriners Children’s Open in both 2022 and 2023.

Among the Europeans, Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre stands out. Last year, he claimed his first two PGA Tour titles: the RBC Canadian Open and the Genesis Scottish Open. The 28-year-old started his 2025 season with a 15th-place finish at The Sentry, carding -21. However, in last year’s Sony Open, he placed 52nd with a score of -7.

Also included on this list is Brian Harman. The American, another Major winner participating in this tournament, claimed the 2023 Open Championship. This marked his third career title, alongside the John Deere Classic (2014) and the Wells Fargo Championship (2017). Last year, Harman was the runner-up at THE PLAYERS Championship and achieved two additional top-10 finishes.

2025 Sony Open in Hawaii Podium Betting Picks

1. Hideki Matsuyama

2. Tom Kim

3. Keegan Bradley

Prize bag

This PGA Tour event features a total purse of $8.7 million. The champion will take home a prize of $1,566,000. Additionally, the winner will earn 500 FedEx Cup points.