2022 Sony Open: Betting Odds, Favorites and Sleeper Picks for Waialae Country Club
As records were being broken in the NFL via an added week to the regular season, Cam Smith decided it was only right break some of the PGA Tour’s via a par-73 layout.
En route to winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Smith set the all-time lowest score to par (-34) during a 72-hole event on Tour. Smith took advantage of the benign conditions and showcased his wizardry around the green. He was also not the only one getting in on the birdie party. Smith had to hold off world No. 1 Jon Rahm by just one stroke and fellow Aussie Matt Jones by just two. Until this week, only three players had ever finished a 72-hole tournament at 30 under or lower, and we now add three more.
As for the picks, both Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed did not play horribly, they just couldn’t keep up with the record-setting pace and finished 12 and T-15, respectively.
This week, the Tour will island hop from Maui to Oahu. The Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in capital city Honolulu will feature 21 professionals who played last week, but Smith will be the only top-10 player in the world. Eight out of the past nine winners at the Sony Open have also competed at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The one outlier is Cam Smith in 2020 and he’ll look to complete the Hawaiian double in style.
According to Caesars Sportsbook, last week’s winner and 2020 champion Cam Smith is the favorite at 11-1. Next up are South Korean Sungjae Im, who finished T-8 last week, and Webb Simpson making his first start in 2022 at 16-1. To follow is reigning Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama at 20-1 and to close out the notables is Australian Marc Leishman at 22-1.
For our favorite, we’re going to ride the momentum of Sungjae Im at 16-1. As pointed out above, those who play in both Hawaiian events have a clear advantage even though each course might set up differently. Im played pretty well last week all things considered and Waialae Country Club should suit his style of play better than Kapalua. He was one of just five players to gain strokes in every major category at Kapalua, so if he can take advantage of his ball-striking prowess and add a hot putter, he’ll be right there on Sunday.
For a midrange pick, we like Mexican star Abraham Ancer at 35-1. Ancer continues to fly a bit under the radar while continuing to produce solid results. The first-time winner in 2021 did not play up to standards in Kapalua, but like Im, the shorter Waialae Country Club sets up well for his superior ball-striking skills. Ancer currently ranks in the top-10 in each key putting statistic and is third in driving accuracy. Ancer will shake off last week’s result and glean more on his most recent full-field performances at The CJ Cup and Mayakoba where he finished 14th and seventh, respectively.
For a sleeper, we must take Brenden Steele at 60-1. Steele was set to win the Sony Open in 2020, but bad luck dropped him into a playoff with eventual winner Cam Smith. Last year, a third-round 61 propelled him to the lead after 54 holes as well, but he could not keep the pace and settled for T-4. Steele is certainly a horse for this course and even with recent disappointments, he knows he can win here. He also finished runner-up at the Zozo Championship this past fall, so look for Steele continue his solid play at Waialae.
2021-22 picks scoreboard:
Winners: 1
Top 5s: 4
Top 10s:
Top 20s: 1
2022 Sony Open Notable Betting Odds
Here are some notable odds, according to Caesars Sportsbook:
Cameron Smith 11-1
Webb Simpson 16-1
Sungjae Im 16-1
Hideki Matsuyama 20-1
Marc Leishman 22-1
Corey Conners 28-1
Kevin Na 30-1
Russell Henley 35-1
Harris English 35-1
Abraham Ancer 35-1
Kevin Kisner 35-1
Talor Gooch 35-1
Seamus Power 40-1
Matt Jones 40-1
Billy Horschel 40-1
Jason Kokrak 40-1
Cam Davis 50-1
Si-Woo Kim 50-1
Joel Dahmen 50-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1
Maverick McNealy 50-1
Charles Howell 55-1
Brendan Steele 60-1
Brendon Todd 60-1
Denny McCarthy 66-1
Ryan Palmer 66-1
Chris Kirk 66-1
Brian Harman 66-1
Matt Kuchar 66-1
Keith Mitchell 66-1
Erik Van Rooyen 66-1
Keegan Bradley 70-1
Aaron Rai 80-1
Branden Grace 80-1
Takumi Kanaya 80-1
Patton Kizzire 80-1
Tom Hoge 80-1
Lucas Herbert 80-1
Stewart Cink 80-1
Chez Reavie 80-1
Emiliano Grillo 80-1
Adam Long 90-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 90-1
Henrik Norlander 100-1
Brian Stuard 100-1
Zach Johnson 100-1
Robert Streb 100-1
Taylor Pendrith 125-1
Alex Smalley 125-1
Lucas Glover 125-1
Chad Ramey 125-1
Stephan Jaeger 125-1
Hayden Buckley 125-1
Hudson Swafford 125-1
Russell Knox 125-1
John Huh 125-1
Brandt Snedeker 150-1
Hank Lebioda 150-1
Tyler Duncan 150-1
Greyson Sigg 150-1
Adam Schenk 150-1
Rory Sabbatini 150-1
Pat Perez 150-1
J.J. Spaun 150-1
Vincent Whaley 150-1
Michael Thompson 150-1
Cameron Young 150-1
Harry Higgs 150-1
Scott Piercy 150-1
Kramer Hickok 150-1
Max McGreevy 150-1
Kyle Stanley 175-1
Jim Furyk 175-1
Mark Hubbard 175-1
Rikuya Hoshino 200-1
Chan Kim 200-1
Andrew Putnam 200-1
Graeme McDowell 200-1
Ryan Moore 200-1
Kevin Tway 200-1
Keita Nakajima 200-1
Ryan Armour 200-1
Nick Hardy 200-1
Camilo Villegas 200-1
Jim Herman 200-1
Davis Riley 200-1
Andrew Novak 200-1
Sepp Straka 200-1
Sahith Theegala 200-1