A field of 140 golfers descends on Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii this week for the 2020 Sony Open. It’s the first full-field tournament since late November’s RSM Classic. Justin Thomas, who claimed his second victory of the 2019-20 PGA Tour season at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions is the top golfer from the Official World Golf Ranking in attendance at No. 4.
Fantasy Golf Rankings: Top 30
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club.
30. Zach Johnson
The former major champ hasn’t accomplished much of late, but the short venue (7,044 yards) suits his game. He was T-6 here in 2017 and T-9 in 2016.
29. Patton Kizzire
A winner in 2018, Kizzire followed it up with an adequate T-13 showing last year. He missed 15 cuts in 2019, but he’s still worth trusting in Honolulu.
28. Hudson Swafford
Two top 10s and no missed cuts in his last four appearances. The approach game is strong, he just needs to get there.
27. Kyle Stanley
Has slipped to No. 118 in the world after peaking at 26th in 2018. One of his five top 10s over the last two years came at Waialae.
26. Keegan Bradley
Enters in woeful form since his co-runner-up finish at the 2019 Travelers Championship, but his best success has come on shorter tracks (like TPC River Highlands).
25. Sebastian Munoz
Munoz stood his ground at his first Sentry Tournament of Champions following a breakthrough win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He has been great off the tee and avoids trouble.
24. Brian Stuard
A true course horse with a T-8 and T-4 results in his last two visits to the Sony Open.
23. Shugo Imahira
Has a win, two runners-up and a third-place finish on the Japan Tour since mid-October to rocket up to No. 30 in the OWGR.
22. Brendon Todd
Todd fell back to Earth with a 29th-place finish in the more competitive 30-man TOC last week, but he still jumped 11 spots in the OWGR to 61st.
21. Kevin Na
Only Martin Trainer lost more strokes per round putting last week than Na’s 1.45. It’s usually a strong part of his game and can be expected to bounce back.
20. Russell Knox
One of the best in the field at avoiding trouble and taking bogeys. Has three top 20s in the last five years.
19. Emiliano Grillo
Winless since 2015, Grillo has slipped outside of the top 100 in the world since finishing T-41 at the Mayakoba Classic. He’ll rely on a strong approach game to set up birdies on the short par 4s.
18. Alexander Noren
Makes his debut at this event, but has the driver to make a short course even shorter and give himself good angles into the greens.
17. Rory Sabbatini
Loves carding eagles and has the approach game needed to compete at Waialae.
16. Abraham Ancer
Had a T-8 at the Mayakoba and a T-4 at the WGC-HSBC Champions before shining for the International team at the Presidents Cup. Will be able to set himself up well off the tee.
15. Cameron Smith
Another Presidents Cup star for the losing side, Smith hasn’t missed the cut here in his last four tries. Can handle the par 4s but will need to make some eagles.
14. Joaquin Niemann
The Greenbrier champ picked up a surprising T-5 result at the TOC last week with a well-balanced game.
13. J.T Poston
Ranked third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting last week at the TOC and will look to keep the flat stick hot in Honolulu.
12. Corey Conners
Broke through with a T-3 result here last year after gaining entry as a Monday qualifier. He won’t need to rely on his shaky putter with his driver and irons dicing up the short course.
11. Chez Reavie
The best in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and third in Eagles Gained and Good Drives Gained. Also tied for third a year ago.
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10. Brandt Snedeker
A runner-up in 2016, Sneds was T-16 last year. Hasn’t missed a cut in eight events since The Open.
9. Kevin Kisner
Will be able to score well with seven of the 12 par 4s coming in below 450 yards.
8. Charles Howell III
Two T-8 showings in his last three appearances here. He can take advantage of easy scoring opportunities.
7. Collin Morikawa
Will be playing in front of plenty of friends and family who call Maui home again this week. It helped him finish T-7 in his debut at the TOC last week.
6. Sungjae Im
Im hasn’t played competitively since a T-11 at the HSBC Champions. He was T-16 in his tournament debut last year.
5. Patrick Reed
Gained a ridiculous 2.33 strokes per round putting last week. His approach game was poor and it’ll need to be on point this week.
4. Matt Kuchar
The defending champ tied for 14th last week. He’s a wiz on the par 4s.
3. Marc Leishman
Leish comes off a T-10 showing at the Australian Open. He’s another member of the tie for third last year.
2. Webb Simpson
Simpson leads my stat model at Fantasy National with best-in-show ranks in SG: Approach and SG: Par 4s. He didn’t play last year, but was T-4 in 2018 and T-13 in each of his three previous trips.
1. Justin Thomas
Three wins since mid-August all against stiffer competition than he’ll face this week. He’s well worth the price of admission.
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
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