Golf

Steve Palmer's Sony Open predictions & free golf betting tips

Racing Post

09 January 2024

Steve Palmer's Sony Open predictions & free golf betting tips

When to bet on the Sony Open

It’s also worth noting that Sky Bet are offering £30 in free bets when you bet on the Sony Open

Where can I watch the Sony Open

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Sony Open predictions

Brian Harman
3pts each-way 20-1 bet365

Eric Cole
2.5pts each-way 30-1 bet365

Harris English
2pts each-way 40-1 Betfair, Power

Justin Rose
1.5pts each-way 40-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Adam Svensson
1pt each-way 50-1 Betfair, Power

New customers can get £30 in free bets when they bet on the Sony Open with Sky Bet

Steve Palmer's Sony Open preview

A 150-1 outsider beat a 66-1 chance in the opening event of the PGA Tour season on Sunday – the favourites were humbled in The Sentry – and the first three names in the betting for this week's second Hawaii gathering may also be best left alone.

Ludvig Aberg is adjusting to life with a new caddie and making his Waialae Country Club debut. English duo Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton are also Sony Open virgins heading to a long-established venue which has been staging PGA Tour events since 1965.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Brian Harman 20-1

The Sony Open is usually won by a player who teed up in The Sentry the previous week – eight of the last ten Sony champions warmed up by competing at Kapalua – and five men are recommended as likely lads to bolster that statistic.

Waialae CC – a fiddly track which will put a premium on short-game class this week – is an ideal layout for Brian Harman. Like last week, an extremely low-scoring event in Hawaii can be expected, and Harman has the putting ability to stay the pace.

The increasingly confident left-hander had his putting stroke in top order at Kapalua last week, finishing fifth in The Sentry, closing with a 64 on Sunday. He has threatened to win the Sony before – 13th in 2015, 13th in 2016, fourth in 2018 – and this year arrives for the first time as a Major champion.

Harman has taken his game to a new level in the last six months. He started playing well just before his Open victory in July – and stayed in solid form afterwards. Two points on his Ryder Cup debut was a strong effort on a USA side which was thrashed. Harman is world number nine and a fourth PGA Tour title could be coming on Sunday.

Next best bet

Eric Cole 30-1

The PGA Tour Rookie of the Year can do plenty of damage at Waialae. The consistency of Eric Cole in 2023 won him that award and the obvious target for 2024 is to put a victory on top of that long streak of solid golf.

Cole finished runner-up in the Honda Classic in February, following up with fifth spot in the Mexico Open, 15th in the US PGA, sixth in the Canadian Open, fourth in the Fortinet Championship, third in the Shriners, second in the Zozo and third in the RSM Classic. No maiden has been knocking more loudly on the gate of the winner's enclosure.

Cole was a prolific champion in lower grades before establishing himself on the PGA Tour. The 35-year-old is at the peak of his powers – his approach-play is excellent and his short-game is top-class – and he closed with a 65 to finish 14th on his Sentry debut last week.

The Florida-based pro was ranked 383rd in the world for his Sony debut 12 months ago, sharing 61st place, but he has returned as world number 39.

Other selections

Harris English 40-1

Justin Rose 40-1

Adam Svensson 50-1

Two more players with the short-game class to reach the super-low winning score required this week are Harris English and Justin Rose. English was slow from the blocks in The Sentry last week, but closing rounds of 66, 64 and 69 meant a share of 14th place. He loves teeing up in Hawaii, where he won The Sentry in 2021.

English was fourth in the Sony Open in 2014, third in 2015, and he performed well in elite company last year, finishing second at Bay Hill, third at Quail Hollow and eighth in the US Open. His control off the tee was eyecatching last week and a fifth PGA Tour title could be coming soon.

Rose tied the Kapalua course record on Sunday – a 12-under-par round of 61 comprising 12 birdies and six pars. The Ryder Cup star got off to a terrible start in The Sentry, playing the wrong ball from the seventh fairway and suffering a two-shot penalty, but by Sunday the Christmas rust had emphatically fallen off.

Rose won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am by the coast last year and is relishing his return to Waialae, where he finished runner-up in 2017 on his last visit. Four of his five Sony Open starts have resulted in a top-20 finish.

Complete your team with Adam Svensson, who has gone almost seven months without missing a cut, finishing in the top 20 in five of his last nine tournaments. He was fifth on his RSM Classic title defence in November and three closing rounds of 68 in The Sentry was a useful 2024 pipe-opener. The Canadian finished seventh in the Sony two years ago. The first of his three Korn Ferry Tour wins came in The Bahamas and he clearly thrives by the coast.

Course guide for the Sony Open

Course Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
Prize money $8.3m ($1.494m to the winner)
Length 7,044 yards
Par 70 – two par-fives, 12 par-fours, four par-threes
Field 144 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Matt Fitzpatrick (8), Brian Harman (9), Tyrrell Hatton (14), Keegan Bradley (16), Sahith Theegala (20)

Course records - 72 holes 253 Justin Thomas (2017) 18 holes 59 Justin Thomas (2017)
Course winners taking part Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, Russell Henley, Patton Kizzire, Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim
When to bet By 5pm on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Thursday
Time difference Hawaii is ten hours behind the UK and Ireland
Last week – The Sentry 1 C Kirk (150-1), 2 S Theegala (66-1), 3 J Spieth (25-1), 4 B An (125-1), T5 S Im (28-1), B Harman (66-1), JT Poston (80-1), C Morikawa (14-1), S Scheffler (11-2)
Course type Parkland
Course overview Waialae, host since 1965, contrasts greatly with the wide-open Plantation Course where Chris Kirk won The Sentry in Maui last week. The fairways are thin, the greens are small and accuracy is the key to success. The Hawaii turf and trade winds are similar to Kapalua, though, and Sentry runners have an excellent record of Sony success
Story of last year Si Woo Kim overtook Hayden Buckley in the final round to claim a fourth PGA Tour title
Weather forecast Some storms early in the week look set to be followed by some more showers on Thursday evening. Pleasant temperatures in low-20s, with gentle breezes throughout
Type of player suited to the challenge Pure, accurate ball-striking has typically been the key to success at Waialae, as demonstrated by wins for David Toms, Paul Goydos, KJ Choi, Zach Johnson, Mark Wilson, Johnson Wagner, Fabian Gomez and Matt Kuchar, but rain-softened turf and relatively windless skies may encourage more attacking players
Key attribute Accuracy

Steve Palmer's Sony Open key stat

Seventeen of the 25 Sony Open winners played at Kapalua the previous week

Get £30 in Sky Bet free bets when you bet on the 2024 Sony Open

We’ve already mentioned that Sky Bet are offering £30 in Sony Open free bets.

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Sky Bet golf Sony Open betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

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