The 2026 PGA Tour season officially kicks off this week at the Sony Open, played at the historic Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. Surprisingly, this opening event offers a little more star power than in years past, including four players ranked inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in Russell Henley, J.T. Poston, Robert MacIntyre, and Ben Griffin.
Those other star names teeing it up include Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, and Hideki Matsuyama, while defending champion Nick Taylor returns looking to repeat and place in the top 7 in four straight trips here. Waialae will bring out aggressive approach shots with plenty of scoring opportunities, creating a terrifying environment to kick the season off.
The biggest storyline entering the 2026 season came just days before the Sony Open, as Brooks Koepka officially applied for reinstatement to the PGA Tour after his departure to LIV Golf. Koepka will be allowed back under the Tour’s newly introduced “Returning Member Program”, opening the door for other players to come back, under severe penalty outlined below.
Koepka’s first event on tour is expected later this month at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. His reinstatement comes with a handful of penalties; he will not be eligible for PGA Tour equity grants for five years, will receive no FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026, and will not be allowed into Signature Events unless he qualifies through his play on tour. On top of losing opportunities to make money, Koepka is required to make a $5 million charitable donation.
According to Mark Schlabach of ESPN, these details were outlined in a memo sent to players by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp on Monday, January 12th. The Tour estimates the financial impact of these restrictions could exceed $50-$60 million. Now back to this week's event!
Waialae Country Club is a par-70 layout measuring just over 7,000 yards. In relation to basketball, if you like shot-making, this is the course for you. Possibly Wailae’s best feature is the ability for players to hit their approach shots, as players hit greens in regulation at roughly 65%, well above the PGA Tour average of 43.3%. What follows those approach shots? Scoring opportunities.
Positioning off the tee could give a fairly large edge, as fairway placement allows players to control distance, trajectory, and spin into the greens. Those attacking pins from the fairway gain a significant edge compared to shots played from the rough.
With scoring often from -15 to the -20’s, putting becomes the ultimate separator, as a majority of players will generate birdie looks. As seen in the key stats section, success at Waialae most often comes down to who converts those putts and who doesn’t.
Players who can consistently dial in their approach shots and capitalize on both short and mid-range putts tend to separate themselves on the leaderboard by the weekend.
I expect a battle at the cut line and a battle for the finish on Sunday. A solid approach and putting game has rewarded players over the past few seasons. These are some of the top key stats that correlate to a players success at Waialae;
● Putting from Outside 10 Feet (Ranked 7th in importance on Tour
● Approach Shots from 150–175 Yards (Ranked 10th on Tour)
● Putting from 4–8 Feet (Ranked 11th on Tour)
● Top 30 – Win 1% | Harry Hall (-106, BetRivers)
Hall is a player we have played and written about a million times, and that won’t change opening week. I love him in this spot, and he sets up extremely well for Waialae. He has the 13th highest adjusted true strokes gained at this course, in this field.
Last season, he placed T10, prior to that, T42, and T28. Hall burst onto the scene last fall, and since then, he has been one of the top, if not the top, putters on tour over multiple categories. In a birdie-heavy event where converting putts is the most key differentiator, I will always back Harry to out-putt the competition.
● Top 40 – 0.5% | Haotong Li (+140, BetRivers)
Li has not played this event since 2022, that year he placed T12, and while I am not basing my pick on that result alone, it sure helps the cause. He is playing some incredible golf, and we are getting value at +140 on BetRivers when he is -105 on Bet365.
Li placed T10 in his last event at the Nedbank just a month ago. Before that, he placed T8, T32, T21, and T40, ending the year with five straight top 40s. And though this was mostly on the DP World Tour, he placed top 40 in 17 events in 2025.
● Top 40 – 0.25% | Kazuki Higa (+350, BetRivers)
Higa perhaps, is a name no one knows, and statistically, he is playing some of the best golf in this entire field. Most of his events have been on the Japanese Tour, but he has played some PGA events.
His last few finishes have seen 7th, T21, T11, T65, and T5, while his only PGA event of 2025 (Baycurrent Classic) saw him finish T18. He does have experience here, which I like; he placed 72nd, making the cut was a positive for him, now he can shoot for top 40.
DFS Lineup
● Ben Griffin – $10,100
● Harry Hall – $9,100
● Keith Mitchell – $8,700
● Corey Conners – $8,600
● Haotong Li – $7,200
● Kazuki Higa – $6,200
This lineup balances elite ball-striking with strong putting upside, while maintaining exposure to players who have historically played at this course. All of these players, on their best days, thrive on shorter, precision-based courses like Waialae.