The first full-field PGA Tour event of 2021 takes place this week at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the Sony Open. Harris English looks to go back-to-back following his win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and Cameron Smith defends his 2020 title at Waialae. Below, we’ll look for the best value bets in the 2021 Sony Open betting odds with tournament matchups, placings and first-round leader (FRL) predictions.
Matchup bets
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Ryan Palmer vs. Kevin Kisner (-110)
Kisner tied for fourth last year and has three top-10 finishes in his last five appearances at the Sony Open. He lost 0.23 strokes putting per round last year, but he gained 0.76 strokes per round with the flat stick last week at the Tournament of Champions and will look to keep it rolling on Bermudagrass greens once again.
Palmer finished fourth last week and in this event last year but the value’s right in what should be closer to a pick ’em. Eleven spots separate the two in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings with Palmer at No. 33 and Kisner at 44.
Cameron Smith vs. Sergio Garcia (+110)
Smith is the defending champ but his 2020 victory came with a field-best 2.06 Strokes Gained: Putting per round. Garcia led last week’s field with 1.15 SG: Around-the-Green and was fourth with 2.00 SG: Tee-to-Green per round en route to a T-11 finish. Smith tied for 24th with 0.91 strokes lost on approach per round.
Garcia just needs an average performance with the putter in his debut in Honolulu to capitalize on otherwise excellent form.
Placing bets
Top 5: Marc Leishman (+1000)
Leishman is second in this field among those with a minimum of 10 rounds played at Waialae CC with 1.45 strokes gained per round over his 44 rounds. He tied for 28th last year amid a horrendous putting performance. He tied for third in 2019 with 1.12 SG: Putting per round. He struck the ball well last week with 1.09 SG: Tee-to-Green and 0.95 SG: Approach per round.
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Top 10: Hudson Swafford (+1400)
Swafford also tied for third in this event in 2019 and has two other top-10s finishes in seven career appearances. He’s averaging 1.06 strokes gained per round at Waialae over 26 total rounds played. He won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the fall but is +20000 to win this tournament against stiffer competition.
Top European: Sergio Garcia (+175)
As mentioned above, Garcia was in top form last week other than on the greens. He’s a strong plus-money pick in this small, six-man pool while ranked 37th in the Golfweek rankings. None of the other five are higher than Rory Sabbatini‘s 59th.
First-round leader bet
Webb Simpson (+2200)
Simpson is the betting favorite to win the Sony Open at +1200 but comes at a much better value for the 18-hole lead. He finished third last year and fourth in 2018, and is coming off a T-17 finish in a smaller, but much stronger field last week. He also won the 2020 RBC Heritage on a similar course (Harbour Town) and is the third-best golfer in this field by the Golfweek rankings.
Takumi Kanaya (+10000)
Kanaya turned pro just last year but is a two-time winner on the Japan Tour and is 146th in the Golfweek rankings. This is the weakest field he has competed against on the PGA Tour and the lack of fans on the course play in the 22-year-old’s favor.
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