The PGA Tour travels from Maui to Honolulu for the 59th edition of the Sony Open, the second stop in Hawaii and what’s being marketed as the Opening Drive.
Contested at Waialae Country Club, the tournament will feature the 2024 season’s first full field, including defending champ Si Woo Kim and reigning British Open winner Brian Harman.
As we do each week, here’s a round-up of information and data points to prep you for the week on the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Skinny
Tournament: Sony Open
Dates: Jan. 11-14, 2024
PGA Tour Debut: 1965
PGA TOUR Week: 2nd (of 34)
TV Network: NBC, GOLF Channel
Course: Waialae Country Club
Where: Honolulu, Hawaii
Distance: 7044 yards, Par 70
Architect: Seth Raynor
Field 140 players
Format: 72-hole stroke; 36-hole cut
Purse: $8,300,000
Win Share: $1,494,000
2023 Champion: Si Woo Kim
How to Follow the Sony Open
TELEVISION: Thu-Sat: 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET (GOLF); Sun: 4-6 p.m. (NBC); 6-8 p.m. ET (GOLF)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 12-10:30 p.m.; Sat: 3:30-10:30 p.m. (ESPN+); Sun: 1-8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Subscribe to ESPN+
RADIO: Thu-Fri: 5-10:30 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 3-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM)
PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio
LINKS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X
History
Like its sister tournament of the Aloha Swing Opening Drive (Sentry Tournament of Champions), the Sony Open has been a part of the PGA Tour for over half a century.
Beginning in 1965, then simply called the Hawaiian Open, the first tournament winner was American Gay Brewer.
In the 57 editions that have followed, big-name winners include Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama.
Pavin, Wadkins, Els, Hubert Green, and Jimmy Walker are the only golfers with multiple wins at the Sony – each with two titles. Interestingly, all but Wadkins won their two titles in back-to-back years.
In 2017, Thomas shot a 59 en route to a tournament record 27-under 253.
The Sony Open drew media attention in the 2000 decade for giving sponsor exemptions to the LPGA’s Michelle Wie, from 2004-2007. Wie missed the cut in each edition, but in her defense, all four of her appearances occurred under the age of 18.
History: Recent Winners
2023: Si Woo Kim*
2022: Hideki Matsuyama*
2021: Kevin Na
2020: Cameron Smith
2019: Matt Kuchar*
2018: Patton Kizzire*
2017: Justin Thomas
* In the field
History: Records
18-hole score: 59, Justin Thomas (2017)
72-hole score: 253, Justin Thomas (2017)
Wins: (2) Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins, Ernie Els, Hubert Green, Jimmy Walker
The Course: Wailalae CC
Established in 1927, Waialae Country Club is a private golf club in Honolulu, Hawaii. The course’s initial design was by Seth Raynor with changes made by Desmond Muirhead in 1992.
Now a mature, lushly landscaped, and player-friendly championship course, Waialae features wide forgiving fairways lined with stands of coconut, monkey pod and kiawe trees and 83 strategically placed bunkers that can be in play for any golfer.
The course plays to a par 70 for the Sony Open and measures 7,044 yards from the Championship tees. It is cooled by gentle trade winds and features well-tended and manicured Bermuda grass fairways and greens.
The course is nestled in the quiet neighborhood of Waialae-Kahala and its signature hole, the par-3 8th, is bordered along its full 186 yards by the Pacific Ocean. The hole was patterned after the famous Redan hole on the North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland.
The Course Skinny
Name: Waialae Country Club
Locale: East Honolulu, Hawaii
Established: 1927
Type: Private
Stats: 18/72/7125 yards
Greens: Tifdwarf Bermuda
Avg Green Size: 7,100 sf
Fairways: Winter Ryegrass
Sand Bunkers: 83
Superintendent: Dave Nakama (21st year)
Designer: Seth Raynor
Renovations: Robert Trent Jones, Desmond Muirhead, Ric Smith, Tom Doak
Website: WaialaeCC.com
Field Overview
The field in Honolulu this week features six players ranked in the OWGR/PGA Tour’s top 25: Matt Fitzpatrick (8), Brian Harman (9), Tyrrell Hatton (14), Keegan Bradley (16), Sahith Theegala (20), and Chris Kirk (25).
Other top-40 ranked players include Russell Henley (27), Ludvig Aberg (30), Lucas Glover (31), Kurt Kitayama (33), Denny McCarthy (36), Harris English (37), Corey Conners (38), Eric Cole (39) and Justin Rose (40).
In addition to defending champ Si Woo Kim, the Sony field also features several former winners, including Hideki Matsuyama (2022), Matt Kuchar (2019), Patton Kizzire (2018), Henley (2013), Ryan Palmer (2010) and Zach Johnson (2009).
Some of the other familiar names teeing it up this week will be Will Zalatoris, Billy Horschel and Gary Woodland.
Jeff Smith’s Power Rankings
Book Rank-Player (World Rank)
1. Sahith Theegala (20)
2. Hideki Matsuyama (50)
3. Russell Henley (27)
4. Matt Fitzpatrick (8)
5. Brian Harman (9)
Full Field & Odds
Waialae CC | Honolulu, Hawaii | Jan 11-14, 2024
Up Next On Tour
The PGA Tour heads to Palm Springs for The American Express, the first of the five-stop West Coast Swing.
Jan. 18-21 – The American Express (La Quinta, CA)
Jan. 24-27 – Farmers Insurance Open (La Jolla, CA)
Feb. 01-04 – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Pebble Beach, CA)
Feb. 08-11 – WM Phoenix Open (Scottsdale, AZ)
Feb. 15-18 – The Genesis Invitational (Pacific Palisades, CA)
Joel Cook contributed to this report.
Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images, ASAP Sports, Bovada, Wikipedia
