The PGA season opens in beautiful Hawaii on Thursday morning, and while not every big name in the sport is teeing it up, we’ve got plenty of star power on property along with some nice sleeper options who fit this course like a glove.
Let’s take a look at the specifics around this event.
Weather at Waialae Country Club
We are talking about hitting a tiny ball a long way, so while no one is expecting you to become fluent in reading weather systems or projecting the path of a storm, at least being aware of what is most likely to stare these players in the face is the responsible way to approach playing fantasy golf in any capacity.
Temperatures are expected to hover around 70 degrees for the majority of this event across all four days, excellent playing conditions that will evaporate should this Hawaii swing vanish in the coming years.
SG: Windy (rounds played in 18+ mph) over the last five years for the Sony Open field.
https://t.co/Agi5ZG5HHl https://t.co/0Vg5kw8KIq pic.twitter.com/6BqzmgvEw3
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) January 13, 2026
There is no precipitation expected, and while that could change with a sprinkle here or there, I’m not adjusting anything handicapping-wise based on it.
The wind is going to pick up a bit, but it’s expected to be consistent for the most part, and that’s a valuable note. All four days are looking at 15-23 mph steady winds, and while that would greatly impact how you or I hit the ball, these pros can navigate that as long as the “consistent” portion of the forecast holds.
Sony Open Tee Times: Round 1
All listed times are EST. Local time is five hours behind this, so don’t be too alarmed by the later tee times: unless unforeseen weather swoops in, there is no reason to think that anything will result in a schedule change.
Golf Channel will have coverage every day from 7-10 p.m. EST as the rounds conclude. If you want some coverage earlier, PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will have featured coverage from noon-10 p.m. EST for all four days.
Hole #1
- 12:10: Brice Garnett, Michael Kim, Jacob Bridgeman
- 12:21: Erik van Rooyen, Gary Woodland, Alex Smalley
- 12:32: Tom Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Denny McCarthy
- 12:43: Kurt Kitayama, Cam Davis, Taylor Pendrith
- 12:54: Brian Campbell, Harry Hall, Corey Conners
- 1:05: Adam Schenk, Steven Fisk, William Mouw
- 1:16: Patton Kizzire, Nick Dunlap, Rico Hoey
- 1:27: Pierceson Coody, Kevin Roy, Haotong Li
- 1:38: Ricky Castillo, Kensei Hirata, Corey Kozuma
- 1:49: John VanDerLaan, Gordon Sargent, Yuta Sugiura
- 4:40: Lee Hodges, Tom Hoge, Hank Lebioda
- 4:51: Patrick Rodgers, Bud Cauley, Mark Hubbard
- 5:02: Daniel Berger, Webb Simpson, Doug Ghim
- 5:13: Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth
- 5:24: Michael Brennan, Tony Finau, Johnny Keefer
- 5:35: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Si Woo Kim
- 5:46: S.H. Kim, Mac Meissner, Luke Clanton
- 5:57: Max McGreevy, Jordan Smith, A.J. Ewart
- 6:08: Neal Shipley, Jeffery Kang, Taisei Nagasaki
- 6:19: Zach Bauchou, Marcelo Rozo, Kazuki Higa
Hole #10
- 12:10: Austin Eckroat, Peter Malnati, Keith Mitchell
- 12:21: Matthieu Pavon, Sam Stevens, Matti Schmid
- 12:32: Sahith Theegala, Seamus Power, Kristoffer Reitan
- 12:43: J.J. Spaun, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott
- 12:54: Ben Griffin, Chris Gotterup, Russell Henley
- 1:05: Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai, Robert MacIntyre
- 1:16: Ryo Hisatsune, Danny Walker, David Ford
- 1:27: Chandler Phillips, John Parry, S.T. Lee
- 1:38: Alejandro Tosti, Takumi Kanaya, Kota Kaneko
- 1:49: Dou Zecheng , Pontus Nyholm, Anson Cabello
- 4:40: Adam Svensson, Chad Ramey, Vince Whaley
- 4:51: Eric Cole, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu
- 5:02: Rafael Campos, Zach Johnson, Beau Hossler
- 5:13: Joe Highsmith, Nico Echavarria, Davis Riley
- 5:24: Ryan Gerard, Chris Kirk, Vijay Singh
- 5:35: Matt McCarty, Billy Horschel, Jake Knapp
- 5:46: Austin Smotherman, Adrien Saddier, Chandler Blanchet
- 5:57: Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Davis Chatfield, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
- 6:08: Isaiah Salinda, Dan Brown, Keita Nakajima
- 6:19: Christo Lamprecht, Emilio Gonzalez, Ren Yonezawa
Sony Open DFS Stats and Predictions
Golf is very much a thinking man’s game, both to play and analyze. There’s a number out there to support any angle you want to take, so picking a lane and sticking to it is often the play.
- For those playing DFS Showdown, playing this course in order (starting at Hole #1, not Hole #10) gives you a statistically significantly better shot at a birdie streak (Holes 1-2 are among the four toughest traditionally, while Holes 8-11 can all be had).
- In 2025, Russell Henley led this field in strokes gained on short courses.
- In 2025, Max McGreevy ranked fourth in this field in strokes gained on short courses.
- He ranked 48th on all other courses.
- Looking for Rankings? We have them here — Sony Open Rankings
- In 2025, Kurt Kitayama led this field in strokes gained tee-to-green on easy courses.
- In 2025, Chris Gotterup ranked second in this field in strokes gained on easy courses.
- How about some DFS strategy? Click here — Sony Open DFS Strategy
- In 2025, Keith Mitchell was the third-best player in this field in Round 1 strokes gained.
- In 2025, Matti Schmid was the fifth-best putter in this field on Bermuda greens.
- He ranked 77th on all other surfaces.
