Sony Open 2026

The highly anticipated 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii sets the stage for the PGA Tour season opener, inviting both seasoned champions and emerging talents to test their skills at the iconic Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. This tournament offers a fresh start and a perfect opportunity for players seeking redemption after last season's challenges.

Waialae Country Club is renowned for its strategic complexity and breathtaking setting. The course boasts meticulously maintained greens and narrow, tree-lined fairways,demanding accuracy and thoughtful play. Players will need to navigate numerous bunkers and the occasional gusty trade winds, which add an extra layer of challenge. The signature par-4 13th hole, with its captivating views of the Pacific Ocean, often becomes a pivotal point in the tournament. 

As the first tournament of the year, the Sony Open is a platform where many golfers aim to establish momentum and make a statement. Seasoned players returning from setbacks are eager to regain their form, while rising stars view this event as a springboard to cement their status on the tour. The picturesque and demanding Waialae course is set to deliver a spectacular start to the 2026 golfing season, promising intense competition and unforgettable moments for fans and players alike.

John Keefer 1pt ew 50/1 (8 places Powers)

As the PGA Tour heads to Waialae Country Club for the Sony Open in Hawaii, John Keefer arrives as one of the more intriguing young players in the field, continuing his transition from dominant Korn Ferry Tour performer to full-time PGA Tour member. Keefer’s talent is undeniable, but this week presents another test of whether his underlying metrics are beginning to translate into consistent results at the highest level.

Keefer’s recent form has been mixed, reflecting the adjustment period common for rookies. Over his most recent stretch of starts, he has produced only one top-20 finish, highlighted by a T13 at the Procore Championship, while the rest of his results have hovered around the cut line. From a strokes gained perspective, his numbers offer a clearer picture of where he stands: modest gains off the tee (+0.02) and on approach (+0.14), paired with positive putting (+0.17), have been offset by a notable weakness around the greens, leaving his overall strokes gained slightly below field average. When Keefer has scored well, it has largely been driven by solid iron play and a cooperative putter rather than dominance tee-to-green.

Waialae Country Club presents a course fit that could either stabilize or expose those trends. The par-70 layout emphasizes precision, approach play, and controlled scoring, rather than raw power. Historically, Sony Open contenders gain heavily with their irons and rely on efficient putting on Bermuda greens. While Keefer’s length won’t be a major advantage here, his ability to generate birdie looks through approach play gives him a path to contend — provided his short-game inefficiencies don’t compound missed greens.

Ultimately, Keefer enters the Sony Open as a developmental prospect with upside rather than a finished product. If his approach numbers continue trending upward and he maintains his positive putting, Waialae could offer a platform for one of his more complete PGA Tour performances to date. However, without improvement around the greens, his ceiling may remain closer to a solid made cut or fringe top-30 finish rather than a true run at contention.

Nico Echavarria 1pt ew 40/1 (8 places Boyles)

Nico Echavarria returns to Waialae Country Club this week for the Sony Open in Hawaii with strong memories of this event. At the 2025 Sony Open he finished second in a playoff, posting a 16-under total and narrowly missing out on the title—a performance that underscored both his comfort with the tight, scoring layout and his ability to score low around the green complex at Waialae. Historically he’s also shown good results here, having posted a top-15 finish previously and generally finding his best form in Honolulu compared with other early-season stops. 

Statistically, Echavarria’s recent form has been a blend of peaks and valleys. Over the course of the 2025 season, his strokes gained profile shows particular strength on the greens, where he ranked near the top of the Tour in SG: Putting and has gained multiple strokes on the field at times, especially in events like the Sony Open where he ranked highly across putting, around-the-greens, and total strokes gained.  Off the tee and with his approach game his numbers have fluctuated more, often hovering around the tour median, but when his iron play and scrambling click he can climb the leaderboard rapidly. Overall, Echavarria’s combination of course familiarity, proven ability to post low scores here, and a strokes-gained profile that spikes in the right conditions makes him a player capable of threatening the top of the leaderboard again if he brings his best game to Waialae this week. 

Eric Cole 1pt ew 50/1 (8 places Powers)

Eric Cole arrives in Honolulu for the Sony Open in Hawaii with solid recent history at this event and enough statistical nuance to make him a player to watch this week. At the 2025 Sony Open, Cole finished fifth, carding 14-under and posting some of the strongest strokes-gained numbers of his season—he ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Total, fifth in SG: Approach, and tenth in SG: Putting in that tournament, proving he can excel across multiple facets when everything clicks.  His Waialae course form is noteworthy: in his last three appearances he’s posted finishes of T13 (2024), along with a T61 in 2023, showing familiarity with the firm, trick-green setup that rewards precision. 

Looking at recent form and strokes-gained trends, Cole’s performances over the past season and beyond paint a picture of a capable competitor who thrives when his short game and iron play are sharp. Last season he posted a scoring average around 71.1, made a majority of cuts, and earned multiple top-10 finishes, finishing 54th in the FedExCup standings. While his overall SG: Off-the-Tee numbers have tended toward the lower half of the Tour, and his SG: Putting and approach metrics have ebbed and flowed, his best strokes-gained marks often come in week’s where he contends—highlighted by his Sony Open performance. Over his last stretch of events, his strokes-gained profile suggests some inconsistency, but when Cole’s approach play and putting combine well, as they did here previously, he can rise up the leaderboard with birdie-making and smart course management. 

In sum, Cole’s combination of course history at Waialae, proven ability to accumulate strokes on approach and on the greens in the right week, and a track record of solid scoring gives him a credible chance to be in the mix at the Sony Open. If he can replicate the ball-striking and putting efficiency that produced his top-five finish last year, he’ll be one of the more interesting names near the top of the leaderboard this week. 

Haotong Li 1pt ew 80/1 (8 places bet365)

Haotong Li returns to Waialae Country Club this week for the Sony Open in Hawaii with a history that suggests the course can suit his eye. He has competed here previously and shown an ability to go low, most notably firing a 63 at Waialae earlier in his career, a reminder of how dangerous he can be when his ball-striking and putting align on this scoreable par-70 layout. While his overall Sony Open results have been mixed, that low-round potential is significant on a course where birdie runs and momentum often separate contenders from the pack.

In terms of recent form, Li enters the week off a resurgent stretch internationally, highlighted by strong finishes on the DP World Tour and a top-five at the 2025 Open Championship, which helped secure his PGA Tour status and signal a return toward his best level. Statistically, his strokes-gained profile over recent PGA Tour starts has been uneven: he has hovered around neutral in SG: Total, with flashes of strength off the tee and on approach, but less consistency on the greens. Waialae’s emphasis on precise iron play and makeable putts could help smooth out those weaknesses, and if Li finds even an average putting week, his proven scoring ability and comfort on the layout make him a legitimate dark-horse candidate to feature on the leaderboard

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Nick Dunlap 1pt ew 150/1 (8 places bet365)

Nick Dunlap returns to Waialae Country Club this week for the Sony Open in Hawaii with one of the more interesting statistical backdrops in the field. Although Dunlap has shown inconsistency at times on the PGA Tour, he posted one of his best strokes-gained performances at this very event last year, finishing 10th in the 2025 Sony Open and ranking 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on the strength of excellent putting and solid ball striking. In that tournament he led the field in SG: Putting and was among the leaders in overall strokes gained—an indication that when his putter is hot and his fundamentals are in sync, he can climb the leaderboard on a course that rewards precision around the green. 

Looking at recent form and broader strokes-gained metrics, Dunlap’s results have been a mixed bag. Over his last stretches on Tour he has shown solid Strokes Gained: Approach numbers, often ranking in the top half of the field in proximity and tee-to-green control, while his off-the-tee metrics have generally lagged behind, leaving him slightly negative in SG: Off-the-Tee overall. Over the past season his SG: Putting has hovered around average to slightly positive, though short-term figures in recent starts have shown some variability.  This combination suggests that Dunlap’s key to another strong showing at Waialae will be continual improvement with his irons into scoring positions and renewed consistency with his flat stick. With his proven scoring potential here and flashes of high-level play, he has the game to contend again if he can minimize mistakes off the tee and maintain his strengths around the greens.