The First Look: The Sony Open in Hawaii

The first full-field event of 2023 sees the best in the world tee it up in paradise for the Sony Open in Hawaii. The tournament is celebrating its 25th edition with Sony as the title sponsor.

Nineteen of the 39 golfers who played the Sentry Tournament of Champions will also make the island hop for the Sony Open.

FIELD NOTES: The field is headlined by Jordan Spieth, the No.14-ranked golfer in the world. This is Spieth’s first time playing the Sony since 2019… Spieth’s new BFF, Tom Kim (read more on their budding friendship here) is just behind him in the world rankings at No. 15 and will also be teeing it up… Six of the top eight golfers in the FedExCup standings (as of Jan. 7) are set to take on Waialae CC… Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama looks to become the first golfer to go back-to-back since Jimmy Walker (2014-15)… Keegan Bradley is the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup (as of Jan. 7) in the field. He is No. 2 after his win at the ZOZO Championship, his first triumph since 2018… Other notables including Presidents Cup participants Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Corey Conners, K.H. Lee and Christiaan Bezuidenhout… The top 10 finishers in The RSM Classic, the final full-field event of 2022, earned spots in the Sony, including former world No. 1 amateur Cole Hammer. His T5 at The RSM was his best TOUR finish and ended his first year as a pro on a high. He finished fifth in last year’s class of graduates in the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global. He does not have PGA TOUR status but will have conditional Korn Ferry Tour status this year… Sponsor exemptions include Blaze Akana (a sophomore at University of Hawaii at Manoa), Kohei Okada (who won the Japan Amateur Championship last year) and a pair of former world No. 1 amateurs from Japan: Taiga Semikawa and Keita Nakajima. Semikawa won back-to-back starts on the Japan Tour last year before turning pro. Nakajima, a former Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, was the world’s No.1-ranked amateur for a record 87 weeks. Nakajima finished T12 in last year’s ZOZO and was T5 halfway through last year’s Sony before finishing 41st… Kazuki Higa also is amongst the sponsor exemptions. He topped the Japan Golf Tour’s money list in 2022. Higa recently received a special invitation to the Masters along with reigning NCAA champ Gordon Sargent.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Waialae Country Club, par 70, 7,044 yards. Designed by Seth Raynor – and most recently renovated by Tom Doak – the Honolulu course is one of the TOUR’s longest-tenured host venues. The narrow layout boasts tree-lined fairways and 83 bunkers.

STORYLINES: Tom Hoge will make the trip from the Sentry Tournament of Champions to the Sony Open – but not without a unique stopover first. Hoge will head to Los Angeles to watch his alma mater, TCU, play in the College Football Playoff title game against Georgia… Hoge is one of 19 golfers to play both events on the Hawaii swing this season… Since the Sentry Tournament of Champions headed to Hawaii in 1999, 17 of the 24 Sony Open winners also played Kapalua the week prior… Two of the last three Sony Open tournaments (and four of the last seven) have gone into playoffs… Only six golfers have ever won both Hawaii TOUR events… Keep your eye on Taylor Montgomery this week to see if his hot fall effort continues as the calendar changes. Montgomery, a Korn Ferry Tour graduate from last season, made all seven cuts in the fall – with six top-20 finishes. He’s already 11th on the FedExCup standings.

72-HOLE RECORD: 253, Justin Thomas (2017)

18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Justin Thomas (Round 1, 2017)

LAST TIME: Hideki Matsuyama stormed back from a five-shot deficit with just nine holes to play and topped Russell Henley in a playoff after hitting, arguably, the best approach into a par-5 of the season. Matsuyama fired a 31 on the back nine Sunday to finish at 23 under for the week and launched a 3-wood from 276 yards to just 2 feet on the par-5 18th (the first playoff hole) and drained the eagle putt. Matsuyama shot sizzling 63s on both Saturday and Sunday at Waialae GC en route to winning for the eighth time on the PGA TOUR. With the triumph, his eight TOUR titles tied K.J. Choi for the most by an Asian-born player. Henley, meanwhile, seemed to be on cruise control for the win after a 6-under 29 on his front nine including birdies on Nos. 6-8 and an eagle on the par-5 9th. Henley couldn’t get anything going on the back nine, however, making eight pars and a bogey on the par-3 11th. He had a 10-foot birdie try on the 72nd hole for the win but couldn’t convert. Kevin Kisner and Seamus Power finished tied for third at 19 under, while Michael Thompson and Lucas Glover rounded out the top five. Henley, the 2013 Sony Open champ, bounced back to win later in the year in Mexico, his first triumph in five years.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

Television: Thursday-Friday, 7:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, TBD*

PGA TOUR Live:

PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+

• Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

Radio: Thursday-Friday, 5:00 – 10:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, TBD*. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

*Note: The weekend broadcast windows for TV and radio will be available on Jan. 9 based on NFL scheduling.