DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Sony Open in Hawaii Cash and GPP Strategy

SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

Purse: $9.1M  
Winner's Share: $1.638M  
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner  
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii  
Course: Waialae Country Club  
Yardage: 7,044  
Par: 70
2025 champion: Nick Taylor

Tournament Preview

Has any professional sports league undergone more upheaval than the PGA Tour the past few years?

First there was the advent of LIV Golf, then the formation of the Strategic Sports Group that has largely turned the non-profit Tour into a for-profit company. There have been big changes to the playoffs alongside a drastic cut in available PGA Tour cards. And finally, the position of Commissioner was eliminated in favor of a Chief Executive Officer.

So the answer to the question is a resounding no.

And now, perhaps even more seismic changes are impending, beginning this week with what could be the final Sony Open in Hawaii. A staple on Tour for six decades, the tournament -- along with its Hawaii Swing cousin, the Sentry -- could fall victim to a reimagined PGA Tour calendar as early as next season. With new CEO Brian Rolapp now fully entrenched and Commissioner Jay Monahan all but gone, there have been rumblings -- okay, a lot more than rumblings -- that the season will shrink drastically starting as early as 2027. It will happen; it's just a question of when.

So it is under that scenario that the 2026 season begins, albeit one week later than planned. The Sentry, the annual lid-lifter at Kapalua for more than a quarter-century, was canceled a few months back, after a severe drought rendered the course brown and unplayable. Or so the Tour thought. Because now, reports are that Kapalua once again is lush and thriving and playable, leading many to think the Tour pulled the plug too soon. (Unless that was the plan all along??)

Therefore, the 2026 season begins with the Sony Open in Hawaii. (By the way, that's the tournament's official name, with "in Hawaii," as they make sure to rub it in to all the snow-laden mainlanders. For more than six decades now, since the PGA Tour first arrived in Honolulu back in 1965, they have played the Sony at the same course, venerable Waialae. It is the fourth-longest association between tournament and course on the Tour, behind only Augusta National, Pebble Beach and Colonial. So to lose Waialae, the Seth Raynor design that opened all the way back in 1927, well, it would hit agonizingly hard for golf purists, not to mention local golf fans.

But with a condensed PGA Tour calendar looming, the elimination of the two Hawaii tournaments -- however beloved, however institutional to kick off the new year -- has been deemed a good place to start. Just being in Hawaii creates logistical and operational challenges, which is corporate-speak for "financial challenges," which is corporate-speak for "these tournaments cost us a hell of a lot of money."

Coincidentally, or not, this is the final year of Sony's title-sponsor agreement with the Tour. Sentry Insurance, however, is signed through 2035. So it's possible to see that signature event live on in the contiguous United States.

The cancellation of the Sentry has benefited the Sony, however unintended, at least in terms of the field. There are four players in the top-10 of the world rankings, nine of the top-25 and 20 of the top-50. No. 5 Russell Henley, No. 6 J.J. Spaun, No. 7 Robert MacIntyre and No. 8 Ben Griffin lead the way, rankings wise. But they are not the biggest names in the 120-man field. Those belong to Jordan Spieth (now all the way down to No. 77 in the OWGR), Collin Morikawa (No. 17), Keegan Bradley (No. 14) and 2022 Sony champion Hideki Matsuyama (No. 16), who didn't get the chance to defend his 2025 Sentry title.

We'll also get our first look at many of the 20 new Korn Ferry Tour grads, the new DP World Tour dual members and Q School grads.

But none of the players already mentioned will be the main focus, at least on Thursday and Friday. In a blast from the past, 63-year-old Vijay Singh, who after years on the Champions Tour, has chosen to use a PGA Tour career money exemption to play this season. He is still ranked eighth all-time in earnings. Remarkable.

Turning to Waialae, it is more predictive than anywhere else on Tour except Augusta National -- that according to the fine folks over at Data Golf.

As at Augusta, course experience is critical this week. Eighteen of the past 20 Sony champions had played Waialae multiple times before winning (including Nick Taylor, last year's champion, seen in the poster above). It's a track where shot-makers thrive, and course knowledge certainly helps in that regard. Matt Kuchar, who won in 2019 but is not in this year's field, has called Waialae "tricky." Drivers are often left in the bag, the better to negotiate short holes and many dog legs, and to keep the ball in the difficult-to-hit fairways.

Five of the par-4s are under 425 yards, including the 423-yard second, which is one of five holes on the course with water in play and traditionally one of the hardest holes on the track. The Bermudagrass greens are on the large side (averaging 7,100 square feet) and run about 11-12 on the Stimpmeter.

Many years, this tournament has been a big-time birdie-fest, though the past three years the winning scores were in the upper teens under par. It's a short course with only two par-5s, and you better score there if you want to contend. They are two of the easiest holes of the entire golf year. One of them, the ninth, is a mere 506 yards. The other is the 551-yard 18th. Last year, Taylor got half of his 16-under on those two holes alone, including a closing eagle on 18 on Sunday. He then birdied 18 twice in a playoff to defeat Nico Echavarria on the second extra hole. Two years ago, eventual winner Grayson Murray shot 9-under-par on those two holes alone.

As for the weather, duh, it's Hawaii! Actually, there will be some rain on Wednesday, but it should be mostly clear and dry for the four tournament days, with highs in the mid-70s. 

Key Stats to Winning at Waialae

The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.

• Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation  
• Par-5 Scoring 500-550 yards 
• Driving Accuracy  
• Strokes Gained: Putting  
• Birdie-or-Better Percentage/Birdie Average 

Past Champions

2025 - Nick Taylor
2024 - Grayson Murray
2023 - Si Woo Kim
2022 - Hideki Matsuyama
2021 - Kevin Na
2020 - Cameron Smith
2019 - Matt Kuchar
2018 - Patton Kizzire
2017 - Justin Thomas
2016 - Fabian Gomez

Champion's Profile

As you can see above, not exactly a Murderer's Row of long hitters have won here.

Taylor ranked only 46th in the field in driving distance. But he ranked fourth in both SG: Approach and greens in regulation, 17th in SG: Around-the-Green and a good-enough 23rd in SG: Putting. Runner-up Echavarria hit it a little farther than Taylor, but wasn't quite as accurate from the fairway. He made up for it by ranking fifth in SG: Around-the-Green and 14th in Putting. Spaun, who shared third place with Stephan Jaeger, led the field in both SG: Approach and GIR.

Two years ago, Murray combined decent length and decent accuracy to rank first in the field in SG: Off-the-Tee. That was critical, because his other strokes-gained numbers were marginal: 31st in Approach, 15th in Around-the-Green and 29th in Putting. Cumulatively, though, he ranked first in Tee-to-Green. Co-runners-up Byeong Hun An ranked third and Bradley seventh in T2G, and the next two guys on the leaderboard right behind them, Henley and Carl Yuan, also ranked in the top five. None of those guys ranked in the top-10 in SG: Putting, however.

GIR numbers have historically been very high on this short track, and golfers better be around the 75-percent mark to be in the mix. Taylor hit 61 of 74 for more than 82 percent. Spaun hit 85 percent.

As detailed earlier, par-5 scoring can go a long way in deciding the winner.

The over/under on the winning score at golfodds.com is 261.5, which is 18.5 under par.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

Russell Henley - $10,300 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +1100)
Henley is the top-ranked guy in the field at No. 5 in the OWGR and also top priced. But $10,300 is very low for a top guy, giving added flexibility for lineup construction if you turn to him. But that's not the only reason to consider Henley. He has excelled on this track, tying for 10th last year and fourth the year before, not to mention runner-up in 2022. He is among the most accurate golfers on Tour with both his driver and longer irons.

$9,000-$9,900

J.J. Spaun - $9,500 (+1800)  
We should've earned something about Spaun last year here, or even before. The journeyman finished the 2024 season with a flourish, indicating that 2025 could be different for him. Then he opened his season with a tie for third at Waialae -- after missing the cut in five of his first seven tries. You all know how the rest of the year went for the eventual U.S. Open champion, who has one of the most complete games on Tour. Perfect for Waialae.

Keegan Bradley - $9,300 (+2200)  
It has yet to be fully seen how the bitter sting of the Ryder Cup loss will affect Bradley on the course. Maybe not at all. We just don't know yet. But this track could be a good indicator. Bradley has shined at the Sony. In the past six editions, he tied for 12th twice, was co-runner-up two years ago and shared sixth last year. His approach play was definitely off last season, and it will need to be better this week. But if there's any place to make Bradley feel good, Waialae has to be toward the top of his list.

Harry Hall - $9,100 (+3500)
The Englishman had a quietly great 2025 season. Yes, great. He made it all the way to the TOUR Championship thanks to five top-10s and a whopping 15 top-25s. When you rank third on Tour in SG: Putting and 10th in SG: Around-the-Green, that goes a long way in offsetting some inaccuracies off the tee and from the fairway. Course knowledge has helped Hall here; in his third go-round last year, he tied for 10th.

Nick Taylor - $9,000 (+4000)  
We normally shy away from defending champions. Too many other responsibilities (interviews, meet-and-greets, etc.) to take away from the actual golf. But Taylor is a veteran who can handle it better than a youngster, plus he's been winning so much the past few years, he has the routine down pat. He shined at Waialae long before winning last year, tying for seventh the two previous years.

$8,000-$8,900

Corey Conners - $8,600 (+3000)  
Conners didn't win on Tour last year, but in some ways it was his best season. He not only made it to East Lake, he finished fourth in the playoff finale. The Canadian totaled three top-5s, seven top-10s and 12 top-25s, and vastly improved putting was the difference. Conner ranked 67th in SG: Putting, which, combined with elite aspects in the rest of his game, carried him to the season he had. That said, he was not great here the past two years, including missing the cut in 2025. But he has four top-12s at Waialae, including a tie for third in 2019.

Rico Hoey - $8,100 (+4500) 
If you take away putting, Hoey would be one of the top players on Tour. He's an absolute beast off the tee and in the fairway. Get this: He ranked third in SG: Off-the-Tee last season, eighth in Approach and second in Tee-to-Green. But -- and you knew there had to be a but -- he ranked a disastrous 180th in SG: Putting -- aka Dead Last. Still, Hoey managed to string together a dozen top-25s, half of which doubled as top-10s, including a runner-up at the Bank of Utah Classic. That was part of a five-tournament season-ending stretch of three top-10s and two top-25s.

$7,000-$7,900

Billy Horschel - $7,400 (+7000)  
Last season was a washout for now 39-year-old Horschel. He missed six months after hip surgery. But he returned in the fall to make the cut in Japan before an impressive T11 in Utah. We all know how much dawg Horschel has in him, and he surely worked diligently in the offseason to get his full game back. He's still ranked 53rd in the world after missing all that time. He tied for 18th here two years ago and for seventh back in 2021.

Emiliano Grillo - $7,400 (+7000)  
Grillo had a decent 2025 season. Not great by any means. But he did amass nine top-25s, and another one here would be a pretty good return for a golfer priced in the low $7,000s. He also had a pair of top-5s, including runner-up at the John Deere. Grillo is a short hitter, ranking only around 290 off the tee last year, and that hurts him many weeks. But not this one. He was ranked 13th on Tour in driving accuracy in 2025, plus top-50 in SG: Approach and top-40 in SG: Putting. Those are really good numbers. Grillo has had his struggles at Waialae, but he did tie for seventh two years ago.

$6,000-$6,900

Doug Ghim - $6,900 (+10000)  
Ghim is a guy somewhat like Hoey: If only he didn't have to putt. But he did mange seven top-25s last season. He ranked 13th in greens in regulation, 17th in SG: Approach and a very impressive 10th in SG: Tee-to-Green. But his putting, well, he ranked 177th. There are numerous guys like Ghim -- they can get to the weekend but not much more, and contending is rare. Maybe he's starting to get the hang of Waialae; after missing three cuts he made it last year.

Kensei Hirata - $6,400 (+50000)  
For all newcomers reading this article, we always provide one option at $6,500 or under. It doesn't necessarily mean he's a good play, just the best of the bottom. That said, Hirata may not be half bad this week. He is one of the 20 new Korn Ferry grads. The 25-year-old from Japan played only one PGA Tour event last season and it happened to be this one. And he happened to have tied for 21st. Last year on the KFT, Hirata had two-runners-up and two third-place finishes. He ranked fourth on the KFT in driving accuracy, which could be a big assist this week.

Think you've got your DraftKings plays picked out for the Sony Open? See how they look in RotoWire's PGA DFS Lineup Optimizer.