Expert Picks: Sony Open in Hawaii

With a new season comes a new evolution for Expert Picks. Below are picks and analysis for both betting and fantasy, as fans have a new version of the PGA TOUR Fantasy Game presented by PGA TOUR Superstore for 2025. Each week our panel of experts will offer picks and analysis for the fantasy game, including insight on who will captain their roster for extra points. Users can submit their rosters via PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, with the current segment running through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Our Golfbet experts will also share betting picks, both for the outright winner of the tournament and which prop markets have caught their eye.

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore. Each lineup consists of four starters, including a captain, and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four segments.

Aside from the expert insight below, Golfbet's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field in this week's edition of the Power Rankings and offers Fantasy-specific advice in Fantasy Insider.

Betting picks

WILL GRAY (Lead, Fantasy & Betting)

Winners

• Russell Henley (+2000): A former winner here who has two top-five finishes in the last three years. The guy just gets Waialae, and he’s overdue for a return to the winner’s circle.
• Maverick McNealy (+2800): A newly-minted winner on TOUR, he showed no signs of rust during his T8 finish at Kapalua. He’s never missed a cut here, highlighted by a T7 finish in 2023, and 11 of his 12 rounds at Waialae have been in the 60s.

Props

• Luke Clanton (a) Top-5 Finish (+600): Clanton was one of the biggest storylines of the latter half of 2024, and the amateur nearly captured The RSM Classic in November. The top-five market will be a big incentive for him this week, as the three points he would receive in PGA TOUR University Accelerated would net him an immediate TOUR card.
• Emiliano Grillo Top South American (+190): Grillo has made six of eight cuts here, including last year’s T7 result that featured rounds of 63-66 over the weekend. His strengths are on Approach and Putting, which should play well at Waialae.

BEN EVERILL (Senior writer, Fantasy & Betting)

Winners

• Byeong Hun An (+2800): He’s coming off a playoff loss last year and a T12 the year prior, gaining +2.298 strokes on the field per round in those eight rounds. His putting around Waialae has been great and he won in Korea last October. He’s ready to win.
• Chris Kirk (+5500): With a runner-up in 2021 and a third in 2023 at the Sony Open, plus a reasonable T18 backing up his Maui win last year, Kirk at +5500 is a long shot worth firing on. He was also second at Waialae back in 2014.

Props

• Chris Kirk Top-10 Finish (+400): Back to the Kirk well for all the reasons stated above. Getting good value for a near miss if he doesn’t get over the line.
• Maverick McNealy Group B (+320): McNealy was on my shortlist to win the tournament, but FanDuel has given me an out by placing him in a group bet. He has to best Keegan Bradley, Robert MacIntyre, Sahith Theegala and Si Woo Kim. I’m leaning on his putter to do just that.

CHRIS BREECE (Senior Content Manager, Golfbet)

Winners

• Maverick McNealy (+2800): The monkey is off his back. He has proven he can win. If he can dial in the irons, he will be near the top this week. Even without last week’s T8 finish, McNealy feels like a good fit.
• Keith Mitchell (+9000): I’m old enough to remember Mitchell being a betting favorite just four months ago. One day the putter will stay hot. He also has recent finishes of T7 and T14 here. At this price, why not sprinkle something on him.

Props

• Nick Taylor Top-20 Finish (+300): I won’t argue that Taylor is at the top of his game. I will tell you he had a good weekend at Kapalua (66-69) and clearly likes playing at Waialae, with his last three finishes being T7, T7 and T11.
• Winner to birdie the 72nd hole: Yes (-140): I know, it’s minus money. However, the last time the winner did NOT birdie the 72nd hole was Patton Kizzire in 2018. The par 5 18th plays 551 yards and is a birdie haven. Have fun with this bet that will only take about 15 minutes to complete.

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