12th Jan 2021 | Sony Open
Sony Open Trends
The PGA Tour stays in Hawaii for the Sony Open, starting Thursday. With a big field to examine, we look at the trends of past champions for pointers.
After kicking off the year with the Tournament of Champions, the PGA Tour stays in Hawaii for its first full event; Waialae Country Club in Honolulu cast in its usual role of host.
Played in a beautiful setting the average winning score in the last five years is 21-under. The sea breeze acts as defence but despite the chance of rain, the winds are forecast to be light.
The Sony Open is a tournament where fairways are hard to find, with driving accuracy percentages much lower than most other PGA Tour events but ultimately the competition is decided on the greens.
Let us look at the previous 14 winners to see if they offer us any clues:
Top-60 on tour for strokes gained putting
Skill with the flat stick is not to be underestimated. Just like at the Tournament of Champions, winners in Hawaii tend to be those who putt best. Thirteen of the last 14 champions ranked inside the top-60 on tour for strokes gained putting. Patton Kizzire, 2018 champion, broke the trend but his putting performance in Hawaii was his best of the season, gaining 1.7 strokes on the field. Last year’s champion Cameron Smith, led the field in strokes gained putting.
Top-60 in strokes gained putting in field (2020 season):
Aaron Baddeley
Abraham Ancer
Adam Scott
Andrew Putnam
Billy Horschel
Brandt Snedeker
Brendon Todd
Brian Harman
Brice Garnett
Bronson Burgoon
Cameron Smith
Charles Howell III
Chase Seiffert
Daniel Berger
Harris English
J.T. Poston
Keith Mitchell
Kevin Kisner
Kevin Na
Lanto Griffin
Mackenzie Hughes
Mark Hubbard
Matt Kuchar
Pat Perez
Patton Kizzire
Peter Malnati
Rhein Gibson
Richy Werenski
Sepp Straka
Sungjae Im
Talor Gooch
Troy Merritt
Vaughn Taylor
Webb Simpson
Zach Johnson
Odds correct at time of publishing: 16:04 12th Jan, 2021 but subject to change
