Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - 2026 Sony Open

January 12, 2026

Todd McGill's DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2026 Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. Picks for daily fantasy golf based on course history

Hi Ho! After a month of no golf to really care about, we are finally back to PGA Tour action with the Sony Open in Hawaii. After skipping last week's usual kickoff at Kapaula for drought issues, there are bigger names this week than we're used to seeing at this event. So, while missing out on the traditional tournament of champions is a bummer, getting a juiced-up field this week at Waialae is a decent alternative.

This event has produced a plethora of different winners through the years. The ease of putting and limiting stress on accuracy and distance brings everyone into the fold. We've seen everyone from top to bottom win this thing, so Thursday is really anyone's ballgame. Still, with such a longstanding event, there is plenty of data to give us a good idea of historical outcomes for many players.

Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week, check out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely, here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using the Promo Code TDG for an extra discount at checkout!

2026 Sony Open

We have four of the top 10 players in the world who made the trip to the Aloha state: Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun, Bobby Mac, and Ben Griffin. Past that, anyone outside the top 25 in the OWGR is basically here. With the PGA Tour continuing to alter its model regarding member and field size, I expect to see many names at various events this season where they might not have been previously. Especially later in the year when things aren't going quite like they planned.

That will be a problem felt by both top players and the guys on the fringe, with LIV still lurking as a mild concern for the Tour and its leadership. The issue for guys finding places to play is as complicated as ever. On one hand, asylum has become more difficult on the PGA Tour, and the possibility of total banishment and uncertainty looms on the other in how LIV moves forward.

For now, events like this week at Sony will be able to reap the benefits of having more stars. That being said, the total score for the week may be slightly lower than the previous two years. It all depends on what Mother Nature throws at them. Nick Taylor will look to defend his title from last season. It has been a great tournament for the 37-year-old, so expect a hefty effort.

You can find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report weekly. And be sure to read our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles and Player News/Matchup Outlook Posts to help you win big!

Waialae Country Club

Par 70 - 7,044 | Greens: Bermudagrass | Designed By: Seth Raynor

Since 1965, this property on the Island of O'ahu has hosted the PGA Tour in the January timeslot of the season. It has been a popular spot for cut-throat playoffs, with three occurring in the last four seasons. The golf course is similar to restrictor plate racing in NASCAR. It doesn't do much to separate guys throughout the course of the week. Many times, there can be as many as a dozen or more with legitimate chances to win heading into the back nine on Sunday.

As I mentioned earlier, this week is heavy on making putts from anywhere and everywhere. Flat green complexes pave the way for even the shakiest of putters to have solid performances here. High wind speeds are almost a given, so accuracy is somewhat of a moot point. They still need to have a heavy load of birdie looks, but every hole is gettable. In terms of any ball striking statistic, accuracy off the tee is perhaps the most important, as fairways are a bit tight, with trees and strategic bunkering lining them.

Most approach numbers fall in the 125 to 200-yard range (63.8%), and while some greens are oddly shaped, the overall size is a little larger than the PGA Tour average at 6,500sqft. Missing greens isn't always the worst thing as long as players leave themselves green to work with. This adds to the bunch at the top of most of the leaderboards we've seen, as gaining ground normally means making birdies and eagles rather than waiting for others to make mistakes.

Recent Sony Open Winners

• 2025: Nick Taylor (-16)
• 2024: Grayson Murray (-17)
• 2023: Si Woo Kim (-18)
• 2022: Hideki Matsuyama (-23)
• 2021: Kevin Na (-21)

The Horse

Russell Henley

• Notable Finishes: PT2 ('22), T4 ('24)

Winning this event all the way back in 2013, Russell Henley enters this week as the betting favorite and is ranked fifth in the world. He hasn't missed this event since winning in his rookie season. It hasn't produced another win, but he's come close on a couple of occasions. This could be another chance to see the 36-year-old hoist another trophy and get his year started with a bang.

We haven't seen Henley since the Ryder Cup, so there will undoubtedly be some competitive rust to knock off. However, Henley has become a world-class player over the last couple of years, and the incredible stats here over the past five seasons (2.188 total strokes gained average) say he'll be ready to go come Thursday.

The Ponies

Nick Taylor

• Notable Finishes: 1st ('25), T7 ('23 & '24)

Nick Taylor won on TOUR in a playoff for the third straight year, this time at the Sony Open with a clutch up-and-down for birdie. 🥶🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/31yOTg6iAl

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) January 13, 2025

After my previous remarks about the defending champion, you shouldn't be too shocked to see Nick Taylor here. He has been electric over the past four iterations, boasting a +2.193 strokes gained total average over the last five seasons (skipping the 2022 event). The Canadian has averaged +0.964 strokes gained on approach and +1.033 strokes gained putting over that same span.

Taylor last competed on the DP World Tour circuit in early December, finishing T18 at the Nedbank Challenge. Defending events is always a tall task, and seems to be becoming even more of a rarity. However, don't be surprised to see him put up a hell of a fight to do so.

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Hideki Matsuyama

• Notable Finishes: 1st ('22), T16 ('25)

Hideki Matsuyama drains it for eagle and he's rolling early at the Hero World Challenge (T-1). 🦅 pic.twitter.com/JL3W6d68Hp

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 4, 2025

Perhaps the biggest name to win this event in quite some time (2022), Hideki Matsuyama, is a force to be reckoned with at Waialae... On one condition: the putter must cooperate. Since 2017, the 33-year-old has done more than enough from tee to green to have success. However, even on greens much simpler than the ones he'll see later in the year, it's been a struggle to hole putts.

He ended 2025 with a victory at the Hero World Challenge and had compiled some solid finishes on various tours before that. The putting conundrum will most likely be there again this season, but the events where he gets hot with the flat stick usually have a high success rate to return good finishes.

Keegan Bradley

• Notable Finishes: PT2 ('24), T6 ('25), T12, ('22)

"I definitely made a mistake on the course setup."

Keegan Bradley on what he could've done differently following Team USA's Ryder Cup loss. pic.twitter.com/GUSTytl0Op

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 28, 2025

After one of the more stressful seasons a player can have, Keegan Bradley is likely looking forward to getting back to focusing on playing his game. It really doesn't get much more friendly a layout than Waialae for the 39-year-old, who has put together some wonderful four days over the past few years. The tee-to-green play has been fine, but he's been missing the element of making as many putts as he needs to.

It will be interesting to see how he returns to competitive play after lifting the weight of Ryder Cup captaincy off his shoulders. He ended 2025 rolling the rock well, averaging +0.633 over his final three starts; one of them being the extremely limited field at the Hero World Challenge. It would be quite the sight to see Bradley come out of the gates swinging, but at least look for him to be competitive.

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