January 19, 2026
It was a strong end to the year for Ludvig Aberg, who finished no worse than T23 over his last eight starts between a mix of PGA Tour and DP World Tour events. We have long established that the Swede has the game to travel anywhere, but his ability to keep the hammer down throughout an entire event remains suspect. He had a scoring average that was nearly a stroke-and-a-half higher in rounds two and three compared to rounds one and four last season. That kind of discrepancy is what ultimately keeps him from contending more, and why it feels like he's constantly leading a crazy Sunday charge just to come up a couple of shots short. Choosing to ride with Aberg is always going to be a novel thought, but at an event where one even-par round could tank a player's week, there may be less volatile options elsewhere.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 19, 2026
It was a close call on Sunday for Ryan Gerard, who ultimately fell two shots shy of the winning score. It was his second consecutive solo second after finishing runner-up on the DP World Tour in December. Ranking 26th last season in strokes gained on approach (+0.457), he lives and dies by his ball-striking ability, which would bode well if he consistently had the other parts of his game in shape. However, things start to get concerning outside the scope of that one particular stat metric, even with the recent showings. The former Tarheel is particularly weak with wedge distances, ranking 164th in proximity from 50-125 yards (20' 5") last season. He also has a real problem making par-5s count, ranking 162nd in birdie-or-better percentage (42.52%). If you were a beneficiary of his great run over his last two events, now may be the time to jump off the train.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 19, 2026
Sepp Straka returns to La Quinta this week to defend his title at The American Express, where he ran away from the field a year ago with a dominant 25-under-par winning total. The path to a repeat won't be easy, as this year's field features eight of the world's top 20 players. With four PGA Tour victories since 2022, the big Austrian has firmly established himself as a consistent contender. The AmEx marks his 2026 season debut. He warrants serious consideration across DFS lineups and betting markets.
--Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
January 19, 2026
Si Woo Kim recorded a T11 at last week's Sony Open in his first start of 2026. Kim is scheduled to tee it up in this week's American Express, an event where he's performed consistently well in the past. The South Korean's track record at La Quinta includes a victory and three additional top-25 finishes since 2021. He flashed strong ball-striking chops last week in Hawaii, gaining 1.1 strokes off the tee and 1.7 strokes on approach. With proven course history and trending form, Kim profiles as a high-upside option in both fantasy and betting markets for the AmEx.
--Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
January 14, 2026
Ben Griffin enjoyed a career-best season in 2025. The North Carolina native capped off a brilliant year with a win at the World Wide Technology Championship in November. Griffin logged four top-10 finishes across his last 10 starts of 2025. He'll look to keep that positive momentum going at this week's Sony Open. Griffin's best finish at the Hawaiian event was a T12 in the 2023 edition. If his leveled-up output of last year continues, he should soar past that result this weekend. The 29-year-old profiles as an elite fantasy and betting option in the Sony.
--Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
January 14, 2026
After a year marred by injury in 2024, Jordan Spieth returned in a somewhat subdued capacity in 2025. The evolving landscape in professional golf makes it challenging to determine what a typical schedule looks like these days. Nonetheless, Spieth is hoping to reestablish his place among the best players in golf this year. Waialae presents an opportunity for the former Texas Longhorn to get off to a fast start. Last season was his best strokes gained putting season since 2021 (+0.152), and his ball-striking stats returned to an acceptable +0.313 strokes gained average off the tee and +0.230 on approach. A juiced-up field, easy green complexes, and a course where good short game can be a huge strength down the stretch; sounds like heaven for Jordan Spieth.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 14, 2026
It was a great year for Aaron Rai, even if the finishes are a bit high compared to the exceptional ranking in ball striking stats. He was the second-most accurate driver of the golf ball of anyone on tour last season (73.85%) and was 18th in greens in regulation (70.52%). That culminated in ranking inside the top 25 in both strokes gained off the tee and on approach metrics. Putting was/is a large detriment to his limited upside. He also isn't a very long hitter, which also doesn't bode well for keeping pace at some venues. However, a spot like Waialae isn't the most demanding he'll see this season, and the accuracy is clearly there. Rai is by no means a must-play this week, but there are certainly worse options.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 13, 2026
After a 2024 season loaded with close calls, last year for Collin Morikawa looked like more of the same at the beginning. Most of the success over the last 18 months can be attributed to his better putting statistics over that time. However, the issues with the flat stick returned toward the back half of the season, as the 28-year-old averaged -0.655 strokes gained putting over his last nine measured starts. That doesn't inspire much confidence at a tournament that historically requires holing a ton of putts. His ball-striking ability will always keep him around for most events. But a place that has such an emphasis on Morikawa's glaring weakness is certainly the place that gives a decent reason to hold off on the two-time major winner this week.
--Todd McGillSource: Data Golf
January 13, 2026
From a ball striking perspective, Kurt Kitayama is as good as you could expect. He finished 2025 ranked seventh in strokes gained from tee to green (+1.094), ranking inside the top 40 in all three individual metrics. Putting is the missing piece of the equation for the 32-year-old, who ranked 148th in strokes gained putting (-0.269). Even at this week's event at Waialae, Kitayama has only gained strokes on the greens once in four career appearances. The bright side is that he has continuously done enough to post solid finishes, and at $10,200, he'll be a decent safe play for DFS lineups.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 13, 2026
After a frustrating year that included only three finishes inside the top 25, Tom Kim's tour membership is on life support. His 70th ranking in strokes gained on approach (+0.152) and 33rd ranking in strokes gained around the green (+0.197) weren't enough to overcome the abysmal game off the tee and on the greens. Kim was too inaccurate with the driver when compared to his middling distance, and he's never been one to make a whole lot of putts. He needs a solid year to get back into the fold of golf's elite, but until we see signs of life, he'll need to remain in DFS purgatory.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 13, 2026
After losing most of last season to a hip surgery in May, Billy Horschel was able to sneak in a few events before the year ended. He last played at the Hero World Challenge in December, following his participation in a couple of fall events. Due to the lack of data, opinions about his ability this week will be more rooted in feelings than statistics. However, it is unquestioned that the things Horschel has done well throughout his career are what should spell success at Waialae. The 39-year-old closed out the year with an average of +0.81 strokes gained putting and +0.52 strokes gained on approach. If that trend continues, there's no reason to think he can't make a run at an early victory this week.
--Todd McGillSource: Data Golf
January 13, 2026
While there were some solid finishes last season for Corey Conners, it wasn't exactly up to the same level of play that we had come to expect. The Canadian's ball-striking prowess slipped a little in 2025, ranking 39th in strokes gained on approach (+0.315), which was his lowest performance output since the 2017-2018 season. For a guy who lives and dies by the ability to hit quality approach shots to take pressure off a mediocre putter, if he isn't top 15 in approach, we're probably going to see a similar outcome this year. However, expect Conners to figure it out and get back to contending for leads. He is making his eighth start in this event, where he has had plenty of success outside of last year's missed cut. It will again come down to what he does on the greens. For someone looking for solid upside, the 34-year-old is a decent option to start the new season.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 13, 2026
After a breakthrough season in 2025, Chris Gotterup will begin his new season at the year's first event. We've already seen him take some swings with his involvement in the early TGL season as well, but that's very different than playing actual 72-hole competitions. His highlights last season were unsurprisingly heavy in success off the tee, as he was the seventh-longest hitter on tour (316.7) and ranked ninth in strokes gained off the tee (+0.566). The low ranking in putting and approach play was marred by a rough start to the year, but improved as things went along, culminating in a victory at the Scottish Open. While distance doesn't always spell success at Waialae Country Club, the game he showed as things were wrapping up shows he's more than capable of having success in other ways.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
January 13, 2026
Gary Woodland always seems to produce positive numbers. The American golfer only had one Top 10 result in 2025 but was T-16 at last year's Sony Open. He did have three straight Top 25 finishes to start off 2025. One of the big reasons was his ability to hit off the tee. Overall, he ranked 18th in driving distance (313 yards). That is impressive for someone in their early 40's. Waialae features a few holes where driving well is an asset. Yes, accuracy concerns are always lurking (59% -115th last season). His overall birdie average was troubling at 3.7 (142nd). However, when Woodland is hitting the ball well he is capable of shooting all four rounds in the 60's.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
January 13, 2026
Keith Mitchell often lingers around contending at events like the Sony Open. However, the American golfer finished 30th in 2025. The worst thing probably was the time off after the Grant Thornton Invitational. Mitchell had fired eight straight rounds in the 60's and his form was solid. Now, he has to start all over again this week in Hawaii. Mitchell's 29.08 putts per round in 2025 was high but slightly improved from the 29.33 in 2024. It explains a lot of the up and down in the past. His most balanced event was the Truist Championship last year where he finished T-7. Waialae is not an extremely tough course unless the birdies do not fall. It may be wise to fade Mitchell this time around.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
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