Sony Open preview
Thursday Jan.15th- Sunday Jan.18th
Course: Waialae Country Club- Oahu, HI.
Format: Stroke Play
The 2009 PGA TOUR officially kicks off with the 2009 Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Oahu Hawaii. This will be the first full field event of the PGA Tour for 2009, and 140 of the top players in the world will be competing for $5.4 million in prize money. KJ Choi won the 2008 Sony and he headlines a field that features 26 of the 33 players who participated in last weeks winners only Mercedes Benz Classic. Since 1999, 7 of the 10 past winners of the Sony participated in the MBC the previous week. Only Ernie Els in 2003 has been able to win both the Mercedes Benz and the Sony in back to back weeks. The Waialae Course features multiple elevation changes, high winds, tough greens, and narrow fairways. It is ranked 28th toughest out of the 54 courses played on the PGA Tour.
Player breakdown with Odds to Win:
Ernie Els (+800): Els loves Waialea, he won here in 2003 and 2004 and has 5 top 5 finishes over this course. In 16 PGA starts in 2008, he had 1 win and 5 top ten finishes. Els finished in 6th place in last weeks MBC.
Geoff Ogilvy (+1000): He won last week’s MBC in runaway fashion winning by 6 strokes. In 2008 the Aussie had 1 win and 6 top 10 finishes in 20 starts. He is ranked #6 in the World Golf Rankings.
Davis Love (+1200): He finished 2nd in last weeks MBC, and has 5 top 10 career finishes at Waialea. Love won once in 2008 and had 3 top 10 finishes. Love holds the course record at Waialea shooting a 12 under 60 in 1994.
Kenny Perry (+1800): Perry finished 6th in last weeks MBC with a very respectable -15 under. Won 3 times in 2008, and was a member of the USA’s 2008 winning Ryder Cup team.
Rory Sabbatini (+1800): He has 2 top 5 finishes in his 3 starts at the Sony, and this could be his year. He had 3 top 10 and 6 top 25 finishes in 2008.
Adam Scott (+2000): Scott shot a -9 under and finished in 18th place at least weeks MBC. Won the 2008 Byron Nelson Championship, and had 3 top ten finishes. Movie star Kate Hudson showed up to watch him play last week, and he could be distracted by the tabloids and paparazzi this week.
KJ Choi (+2000): The Korean won here in 2008 and finished in 4th in 2007, definitely loves this course and has the game to master it once again. Choi shot a 66 last Saturday at the MBC and had a streak of 6 birdies in 7 holes. Serious long shot contender and warrants a small play at 20-1.
Steve Stricker (+2000): He finished in 4th place the last two years at the Sony, and obviously likes this course. In 2008 he had 6 top 10’s and 13 top 25 finishes.
Zach Johnson (+3000): He finished 6th in last weeks MBC, shooting a 64 and a 67 in the final two rounds. Johnson is knows as one of the Tours top ball strikers and has a game suited to master the Waialea Course.
Sean O’Hair (+3000): Finished 4th in last weeks MBC shooting a -17 under which was highlighted by the 65 he shot on Sunday. The young Texan had 3 top 10 and 6 top 25 finishes in 2008.
Boo Weekley (+4000): He finished in 15th place with a -9 under at last weeks MBC. Had 1 win and 5 top 10 finishes in 2008, and is one of the Tours most charismatic players.
JB Holmes (+5000): He finished in 29th place in last weeks MBC with a -4 under, but ended up shooting a 67 on Sunday. In 3 starts at the Sony, the Tours longest hitter has 2 top 20 finishes. In 2008, Holmes won the FBR Open and had 8 top 10 finishes.
Parker Mclachlin (+6000): He is the ‘home town boy” and grew up playing at the Waialea Country Club. He finished 10th in last years Sony, and had 1 win and 3 top 10 finishes in 2008.