(Photo credit score: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Sentry (Hideki Matsuyama)
THIS WEEK: Sony Open, Honolulu, Jan. 9-12
Course: Waialae Country Club (Par 70, 7,044 Yards)
Purse: $8.7M (Winner: $1.566M)
Defending Champion: Grayson Murray
FedEx Cup chief: Matsuyama
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 7-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 4-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock), 6-8 p.m. (GC)
Streaming (ESPN): Thursday-Friday: 12-10:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 1-8 p.m.
X: @SonyOpenHawaii
NOTES: This is the primary full-field occasion of the 2025 season, with 35 gamers within the 144-player area having competed in The Sentry final week. … Murray died final May by suicide following a prolonged battle with psychological well being and dependancy. His mother and father this week introduced the formation of the Grayson Murray basis. Murray beat Keegan Bradley and Ben An in a playoff final 12 months for his second profession PGA Tour victory, following his maiden title on the 2017 Barbasol Championship. … Ricky Castillo is one in every of 25 new PGA Tour members within the area. The former University of Florida star is of Filipino first rate, and his grandparents immigrated to Hawaii. Other tour rookies embrace three Japanese gamers: Rikuya Hoshino, Kaito Onishi and Takumi Kanaya. … Nick Dunlap, who in 2024 grew to become the primary participant in tour historical past to win as an newbie and knowledgeable in the identical season, will make his occasion debut. … Justin Thomas shot a course-record 59 within the first spherical in 2017 en path to profitable the occasion with a 72-hole document rating of 253.
BEST BETS: Matsuyama (900 at DraftKings) completed T30 and T48 the previous two years right here, however the 2022 Sony Open winner is coming off a record-setting victory at Kapalua following a T2 in Japan to shut out 2024. He’s additionally the top-ranked participant within the area at No. 5. … Corey Conners (1400) additionally began the 12 months sturdy with a T5 on Maui for his third consecutive end or T7 or higher worldwide. … Tom Kim (2000) has a pair of runner-ups in his previous three begins, together with on the Hero World Challenge in his most up-to-date occasion. … Russell Henley (2000) has a wonderful observe document at Waialae that features a win in 2013, a runner-up in 2022 and a T4 final years. … An (2800) completed T2 final 12 months whereas carding 4 rounds of 68 or higher. … Luke Clanton (3000) is not simply the world’s top-ranked newbie, he is ranked 87th on this planet total. He has a pair of top-5 in his previous three PGA Tour begins. … Austin Eckroat (3500) is already a two-time winner on tour and coming off a strong T15 at Kapalua.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The American Express, La Quinta, Calif., Jan. 16-19
–Field Level Media