The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits Waialae Country Club for the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii. Originally designed in 1927 by acclaimed designer Seth Raynor, Waialae Country Club is one of the longest running stops on the PGA Tour schedule, hosting the Sony Open in Hawaii each and every year since it became a tour event in 1965.
Playing as a Par 70, 7,044 yard layout this week, ball striking is going to be placed on a pedestal, as narrow, tree-lined fairways and nearly 100 bunkers are waiting for those who mis-hit it even in the slightest. I’ve always been a believer in past success at a certain event outweighs recent success overall and thus event is one that fits that mold greatly, with 16 of the last 17 winners of the Sony Open in Hawaii having played in this event at least one time previously prior to winning. Putting is always at a premium each and every week on tour, but navigating tricky, Bermudagrass greens will give players a little more than they bargained for, especially if the winds pick up as the week goes on.
This year’s edition of the Sony Open in Hawaiì may be the strongest in the history of the tournament, with 20 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking teeing it up this week, as well as 38 players who played in The Sentry last week. Some of these elite players include Brian Harman, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrell Hatton, Sahith Theegala, Matt Kuchar, and Chris Kirk, who won last week at Kapalua and is a perennial contender here at Waialae Country Club.
Last year’s edition was won by Si Woo Kim, who shot a pair of 64’s on the weekend to win by one stroke over Hayden Buckley. Chris Kirk finished in 3rd, three strokes back, while Ben Taylor, Andrew Putnam and David Lipsky finished T-4, four strokes back.
Player to Fade:
Players who make it to the PGA Tour who are the sons of famous golfers are often held to a higher standard and are often compared to their famous parent, for better or for worse. Tyler McCumber has entered the chat. The son of 10-time tour winner Mark McCumber, it was assumed that Tyler would follow suit and put together a solid career. That has yet to happen for McCumber, as he has made only 24 of 58 cuts on tour, with a mere 3 top 10’s to show for it. Keep in mind, McCumber last made a start on tour at the 2022 The Honda Classic and has been battling shoulder issues ever since. McCumber is making a triumphant return this week, but the odds are stacked against him. First off, there’s bound to be plenty of rust having not played on tour in almost two years. Secondly, he missed the cut here in both of his previous starts in this event. With as strong a field as there is this week, McCumber’s return will be a mere footnote on the way to a missed cut.
If you remember from reading our season predictions for the 2024 PGA Tour season, you’ll know that there are several players we have high expectations for moving forward. One of those is Ben Kohles. Kohles earned his PGA Tour card for the third time thanks to an impressive campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, earning 2 wins, 8 top 10’s and 11 top 25’s in 23 starts. More impressively, Kohles was a ball striking machine, hitting 71.17% of his fairways (8th on tour) and 76.37% of his Greens in Regulation (2nd on tour) on the way to making his return trip to the PGA Tour. Kohles also teed it up one time during the FedEx Cup Fall portion of last year’s schedule and made the most of it, finishing T-5 at The RSM Classic. Kohles has had modest success at Waialae Country Club before too, making the cut in both of his previous Sony Open in Hawaii starts, with a best finish of T-27 coming in 2022. The way Kohles has been hitting it, we honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out and shocks the world with a win this week. Realistic expectations in place though, we confidently predict a top 20 for Kohles this week.
Corey Conners’ 2024 season got off to an inauspicious start, as he notched a T-33 finish at The Sentry. However, his iron play was “on fleek,” as I believe the hip kids say, ranking 4th in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and 6th in Greens in Regulation Percentage, hit 87.50% of his greens at Kapalua. As has often been the case in his career, a bulky putter held Conners back from more success, ranking 54th out of 59 players in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing 1.305 strokes on the green to the field last week. However, this is a new week and Conners has had solid success at Waialae Country Club in his career, with 1 top 10, 4 top 25’s and 0 missed cuts in 5 starts, including 4 consecutive top 12 finishes. If Conners can just find any relevance at all on the greens, he will most certainly be bringing home his first top 10 of 2024 this week.
At 45-years-old, many players on the PGA Tour are content to coast on their laurels until they reach the Champions Tour. Not Matt Kuchar. Still ranked 55th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Kuchar proved he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, with 6 top 10’s and 10 top 25’s in 27 starts, highlighted by a T-3 at the Valero Texas Open and a T-2 at the World Wide Technology Championship. Kuchar’s game hinged on his deft touch around the greens, ranking 2nd in Scrambling and 1st in Sand Save Percentage last season. Most importantly, Kuchar has the checkers or wreckers and horses for courses type mentality at Waialae Country Club. In 18 career starts at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Kuchar has 1 win, 8 top 10’s, 9 top 25’s and 8 missed cuts in 18 starts, including back-to-back T-7 finishes here each of the past two seasons. Kuchar has 9 career wins in his PGA Tour career, with his most recent one coming in this event back in 2019. In a stacked field, we predict that Matt Kuchar is going to turn back the clock and find victory once again at the Sony Open in Hawaii!
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