2024 Sony Open - DraftKings Picks

Strategy

* Each tournament, the Betsperts Golf strategy show with Byron Lindeque and myself will be posted here and will cover strategy and our best plays of the week.

With the Sony Open being the first full-field “cut-event” tournament for the year, the strategy changes dramatically for DFS purposes compared to last week. With only the top-65 and ties making it to the weekend, another season is upon us where we try to solve one of the mysteries of life – getting all six players through the cut-line. Even for myself, having played DFS golf for many years, getting a decent rate of all six golfers through continues to be a challenge. Depending on the course, the field, and player salaries, there are many types of lineup strategies to employ that will change from week to week.

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A couple of main points to consider when thinking about your player pool. Course history matters a ton here. It is the second most predictive course on Tour behind Augusta National. It’s a classical course with a lot of nuances. Also, a quarter of the field is playing Waialae for the first time. Sixteen of the last 17 winners of the Sony Open have competed here at least once before winning. Second, I am strongly prioritizing golfers who played at The Sentry last week. Having a week of competition under your belt to knock off the rust is huge in my opinion. Finally, with windy conditions expected the SG: Wind model in my rankings which will be important to analyze this week.

I won’t repeat everything I laid out in the DraftKings show, but the top of the board is very interesting this week. The three highest-priced golfers – Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Ludvig Aberg – have never played here. And the fourth, Sahith Theegala has only played at Waialae once and, because of his volatility off the tee, is not the best course fit. I am completely fading Aberg and Theegala. The main reason I will have at least some Hatton and Fitzpatrick is because of their prowess in the wind.

Most of my lineups will begin in the $9K range which is loaded with the likes of Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk and Hideki Matsuyama. Tons of value plays in the low-$7K and $6K range allow for high-upside “Stars and Scrubs” lineups as well. My favorite plays overall, including my entire player pool is posted at the bottom of this article.

Most Important Stats For Success at Waialae Country Club

*In order of importance

SG: APP
Fairways Gained
Par 4 Scoring (400-500 yds)
SG: Putting (Bermuda)
Birdie or Better %
Proximity 125-200 yds
Waialae CC Course History
Good Drive %
Bogeys Avoided
SG: ARG

Weather Forecast – Honolulu, Hawaii

Sony Open – DraftKings Picks

Each week along with presenting my top choices for each of the categories below, I will include each of the pertinent stats for the specific event that comes directly from my model. Except for the “Core Plays,” which most weeks will typically be somewhat on the chalky side, I will include at least one player I am positive on who is forecast to be lower-owned and who will present a good pivot from some of the higher-owned options. In essence, the players you see below make up the majority of my player pool for this event.