Sony Open in Hawaii - preview

Sony Open in Hawaii

Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii

Thursday Jan 14th - Sunday Jan 17th, 2016

by Michael Barwise

Waialae Country Club in Hawaii
Photo: www.priceless.com

The second event of this year's PGA Tour takes place at the famous Waialae Country Club in Hawaii. Nestled between the majestic Koolau mountain range and the Pacific Ocean, the golf course is layered with beautiful palm trees, and sandy white bunkers galore. It's not an easy course to play on by any means, but birdies are there for the taking. Someone who knows this only too well is Jimmy Walker. The American has won the competition for the past two years and after playing well at the Tournament of Champions last week, is looking to make it an unprecedented three wins in three years at the Sony Open. 

Can Jimmy Walker win the tournament for a third time running?
Photo: www.digestgolf.com

But to do that, he'll have to see off the other 143 golfers that make up the rest of the field. These include 7 other previous winners at Waialae - Russell Henley, Johnson Wagner, Mark Wilson, Ryan Palmer, Zach Johnson, K.J. Choi and Vijay Singh. The "Big Fijian" heads a trio of over 50s playing in the tournament - US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III and former winner of the Players Championship Fred Funk are the others.

But what of the newcomers? Emiliano Grillo, winner of the Frys.Com Open, will make his first start at the Sony Open this weekend. As will Smylie Kaufman, who currently sits fifth in the FedExCup rankings. Both will be feeling confident after excellent performances in last week's Tour of Champions in Kapalua.

Rookie Smylie Kaufman at last week's Tournament of Champions
Photo: progolfnow.com

As for the runners and riders, Zach Johnson is one of the bookies' favourites. The current Open champion is in decent form at the moment and knows what it takes to win at Waialae, having claimed the title back in 2009. Brandt Snedeker is another one to look out for, having finished T3 last weekend, could it be his turn to be in the winner's circle come Sunday night? There's also Kevin Kisner, whose strong start to the season, sees him at the top of the FedExCup rankings. It'll also be worth keeping an eye on how Adam Scott does this week. The former Masters winner is having to get used to not being able to use his anchored putter, after new rules which banned them from the sport kicked in at the start of the year. 

How will Adam Scott cope this week without his belly putter?
Photo: www.bloomberg.com

There's no doubt that the absence of Jordan Spieth means that this tournament won't be getting the same exposure that the Tour of Champions did last week. In fact none of the top ten golfers in the world rankings will be on show at Waialae. But with the field as big and as varied as it is, there's no doubt it will be a very competitive event and the eventual champion will be a difficult one to predict.

Another exciting weekend of golf in Hawaii awaits...