Golf

Marc Leishman among players worth a wager at Sony Open in Hawaii

Cameron Smith, priced anywhere from 20/1 to 25/1, won the Sentry Tournament of Champions by shooting the lowest under par score in a four-round event in PGA Tour history (34 under par). 

Smith stays on the islands for the second portion of the Aloha swing to play the Sony Open in Hawaii and is the tournament favorite at 9/1. He will attempt to be only the third player to complete the Aloha Slam, joining Ernie Els (2013) and Justin Thomas (2017). 

Other favorites in the tournament at Waialae Country Club include Sungjae Im and Webb Simpson, both 14/1 and Hideki Matsuyama (16/1). 

Here are some players who are worth a wager this weekend. 

Marc Leishman (18/1)

Marc Leishman holds up his ball and acknowledges the gallery after saving par on the first green during the final round of the Tournament of Champions golf event, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, at Kapalua Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii.
Marc Leishman AP

Comes in with good form posting a top 10 last week at Kapalua (ranking second for GIR only behind Jon Rahm) plus T-3 with another Australian Jason Day at the QBE Shootout in December. In addition, he was third at the Shriners Open and fourth at the Fortinet Championship over the course of the fall. 

His form here at Waialae Country Club is excellent. In 12 appearances, he has finished 12th in his course debut (2009), ninth (2013), fifth (2014), third (2019) and fourth (2020). 

Kevin Kisner (33/1)

Is not a very long hitter off the tee so there are few courses on the tour where he has a chance for victory, but Waialae is one of them. In fact, he has three top 5s in his last six appearances here. He leads this week’s field for Driving Accuracy and is consistently one of the best Bermuda grass putters on the PGA Tour. Kisner has victories at both Sea Island and Sedgefield, which are strongly correlated courses to Waialae. 

Billy Horschel (40/1)

Finished seventh here last year gaining eight strokes on the Bermuda greens. Four of his six PGA Tour victories have been on Bermuda, including TPC Louisiana (2013 and 2018), East Lake (2014), and Austin Country Club (2021). He was dead last in the field on approach last week, but that looked more of an aberration than a trend. 

Seamus Power (40/1)

Seamus Power plays his shot on the second tee during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on Jan. 8, 2022 in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Seamus Power Getty Images

Has never finished better than 49th at Waialae, but seven of his 12 career rounds here have been in the 60s. Finishes of fourth at the RSM Classic and sixth at the RBC Heritage on correlating courses indicate that he could do well here. He comes in with four top 15s in his last five starts, including last week at Kapalua. 

Joel Dahmen (66/1)

Has two top 15s in four appearances at Waialae and has shown he can win on a coastal layout having won the Corales Puntacana last year. He was fifth at Houston just three starts ago. 

Brian Harman (66/1)

Was T-4 here in the 2018 event. He rates fifth for Strokes Gained: Short Game over the course of the last 36 rounds. 

Branden Grace (80/1)

Has a great history on coastal courses including a victory last year at the Puerto Rico Open, a 2016 win at the RBC Heritage, and a 2012 trophy collected in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He ranks 13th for Strokes Gained: Short Game and 17th for SG: Putting over the course of the last 36 rounds.