Sony Open Picks, Predictions & Odds
By Michael Harrison in Golf
Published:
- The Sony Open in Hawaii tees off Thursday, January 15th to begin the 2026 PGA Tour season
- Russell Henley is the +1200 favorite over Ben Griffin to win outright
- See my 2026 Sony Open picks, best value bets, and the odds to win the tournament
The PGA Tour is back Thursday, with the annual tour stop at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the 2026 season tees off. Typically the season begins a week earlier at the Sentry in Kapalua, but this year’s event was cancelled due to ongoing drought conditions on Maui. The last six years at this championship have been extremely tight, with four playoff victories, and a pair of one-stroke wins.
This event is a shootout every year, and in four of the last six iterations, a non-American player has been crowned champion, with Canadian Nick Taylor claiming the title in dramatic fashion last year. Four of the top-ten golfers on the planet are competing, led by world #5 Russell Henley, who is the betting favorite.
Sony Open Odds 2026
I’m starting my card this week with Hideki Matsuyama, who tasted victory at this tournament in 2022, and has eleven PGA Tour titles to his credit. He started off with a bang last year, with a win in Hawaii (albeit at the Sentry, not the Sony Open), and ended with another W, at the Hero World Challenge.
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Last Five Sony Open Winners
Matsuyama hasn’t been worse than 30th in his last twelve times competing, with three straight top-7s to end 2025. The fact his odds aren’t shorter than +2000 is a surprise, with Russell Henley and Ben Griffin sporting a shorter price tag.
In the last 24 rounds at Waialae Country Club, Matsuyama ranks first in total strokes gained and approaching the green, so I’m incredibly bullish on him to get his twelfth PGA Tour victory.
Sony Open 2026 Picks & Value Bets
- Nico Echavarria +5000: It may be low hanging fruit but it’s really hard to not select Nico Echavarria, considering he was runner-up here in a playoff in 2025, plus was T-4th in his last start of 2025 at the RSM Classic, his third top-15 in the last four times teeing it up. The Colombian has a pair or wins to his credit (2023, 2024), and is sixth in total strokes gained and putting in the last twelve rounds at this track.
- Matt McCarty +6000: Matt McCarty won the 2024 Black Desert Championship for his first PGA Tour triumph, and he was really solid last year, banking nine top-20 results. He posted four worldwide top-15’s in his last five starts of 2025, including a T-3rd in Utah and T-8th in Australia, ranking seventh in strokes gained: putting and 15th in total strokes gained the last 24 rounds.
- Tony Finau +11000: 2025 definitely wasn’t the campaign Tony Finau would’ve wanted, with just five top-20’s, but I can’t shake him at this number. If he were in better form, the six-time tour winner would easily be a top-five choice to win the tournament. For that reason, he’s worth a flier at these long odds.
- Nick Dunlap +19000: Nick Dunlap was a player I was picking for the Fall Series events, and I’m sticking with it to start 2026. Last year was a huge letdown after he won as a 20-year old amateur in 2024, then posted another victory that season. However, he did finish the campaign with a T-8 at the World Wide Technology Championship. At these odds against a middling field, I’m taking the phenom with amazing boom or bust potential, and he’ll be interesting to monitor in the top 10/20 markets.
Sports & Entertainment Writer
Michael "Hound Dog" Harrison is well known in the sports industry as the resident statistician for the SC with Jay Onrait Show. He has worked at TSN for over 19 years, is the CEO of his "All Bets Par Off" weekly golf betting videos and his HDOG POD, along with several others.