Odds Outlook: European Ryder Cup stars headline betting favorites at Sony Open in Hawaii

The "Opening Drive" continues with the first Full-Field Event of the 2024 season at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

The PGA TOUR welcomes plenty of new faces to Honolulu. Competing this week are five of the 10 players who ended 2023 in the top 10 of the DP World Tour rankings and several new graduates from last year’s Korn Ferry Tour points list.

Making the quick flight from Maui, 38 of the 59 players fresh off the first Signature Event of 2024 will complete the Hawaii double duty this week, including champion Chris Kirk and runner-up Sahith Theegala.

Si Woo Kim posted 18-under to win the 2023 edition and returns alongside six other former champions (listed below).

The top 13 players at BetMGM Sportsbook all teed it up last week at Kapalua for The Sentry, including tournament favorite Ludvig Åberg (+1400). The Swedish talent struggled up and down the mountain, as most first-timers will, for three rounds at Kapalua. Annually, the challenge of adjusted yardage, uneven stances and unpredictable ocean breezes stifles the least experienced on the Plantation Course. Cracking the code with 63 (-10) on Sunday suggests he finally knocked off the holiday rust and figured it out. His impressive run of top-15 paydays worldwide ended at nine straight. The last time he played a flat, coastal track with big Bermudagrass greens, he closed 61-61 for his first PGA TOUR victory at The RSM Classic to wrap up the 2023 season in only his 14th start as a professional.

The English duo of Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600) and Tyrrell Hatton (+1600) continue the European Ryder Cup theme at the top of the board. Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, flashed his acumen on coastal links courses last year, as he picked off the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town last spring and picked up the Alfred Dunhill Links title in early October. After cashing T4 at the Hero World Challenge, he began 2024 T14 last week in Maui. Hatton matched with T14 in Maui and will also debut at Waialae. Posting the lowest round of the week with 62 (-11) in the second round at Kapalua, he will be looking for his first worldwide victory since January 2021 (Abu Dhabi). Finishing outside the top 20 is the exception, not the rule. An annual stop on the PGA TOUR since 1965, no Englishman has ever won this event.

Reigning Open champion Brian Harman (+2200) closed 2023 by finishing T8 at the Hero and made almost 400 feet of putts last week to cash T5 at The Sentry. Making his 13th start at Waialae Country Club, the left-hander currently ranks No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking. His golf on Oahu has produced 10 weekends from 12 starts, but his only top-10 payday was T4 in 2018. Sitting top 30 in Strokes Gained: Putting from 2023, he’ll enjoy another week of familiar Bermudagrass greens. Winning for the first time since 2017 (a major championship nonetheless), he’s already added three top-10 paydays in his six subsequent starts.

The second of two University of Georgia Bulldogs in the top five, Russell Henley (+2500) made the biggest splash here on debut in 2013. Playing in his first event with a PGA TOUR card, the rookie ran wild at Waialae and shredded the par-70 layout. Breaking the tournament scoring record by four shots, he posted 24-under-par 256 to become the first player in his 20s to win the event since 1997. Going close in 2022, he led by two after 54 holes before finishing second, his second top-10 from 11 tries. Ranking in the top 16 in SG: Approach the last three seasons, he will have plenty of chances to convert more birdies in his twelfth start at Waialae.

There’s no room for the winner or runner-up from last week, yet 2023 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Eric Cole (+3000) has bullied his way into the top six choices. As previously noted in this column, the Floridian is a notorious putter, especially on Bermudagrass. Combined with his penchant for gaining strokes on approach, it’s easy to see why he acclimated so quickly to life on TOUR. Finishing T35 or better in his last nine events, his streak of three consecutive podium paydays, including T3 at The RSM Classic, ended with T14 at Kapalua last week.

Here's a look at other notable odds for the 144-man field (via BetMGM) as many PGA TOUR regulars get their 2024 season started in the Hawaiian sunshine:

• +3300: Chris Kirk, Sahith Theegala, Corey Conners
• +3500: J.T. Poston
• +4000: Byeong Hun An, Denny McCarthy, Si Woo Kim, Will Zalatoris
• +4500: Brendon Todd, Cam Davis, Harris English, Keegan Bradley
• +5000: Adam Hadwin, Adam Svensson, Hideki Matsuyama (2022 winner), J.J. Spaun, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar (2019 winner)
• +5500: Alex Noren
• +6600: Aaron Rai, Akshay Bhatia, Andrew Putnam, Ben Griffin, Justin Suh, Keith Mitchell, Lucas Glover, Luke List, Stephan Jaeger, Taylor Pendrith
• +8000: Austin Eckroat, Billy Horschel, Kurt Kitayama, Patrick Rodgers, Tom Hoge
• +9000: Ben Kohles, Davis Thompson, Emiliano Grillo, Nick Taylor, Ryo Hisatsune, Vince Whaley
• +10000: Alex Smalley, Erik van Rooyen, Gary Woodland, Greyson Sigg, K.H. Lee, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace, Seamus Power, Vincent Norrman

Past champions (not mentioned above)

• +12500: 2018 winner Patton Kizzire
• +12500: 2010 winner Ryan Palmer
• +25000: 2009 winner Zach Johnson

How it works:

• Field of 144 players.
• Top 65 and ties after 36 holes play the weekend.
• Purse of $8.3 million, with the winner taking home $1.494 million, plus 500 FedExCup points.

Circle back tomorrow when I post more details in Horses for Courses.

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