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Sony Open in Hawaii
Course: Waialae Country Club (7,044 yards, par 70)
Purse: $6,600,000
Winner: $1,188,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
Beginning this week with the TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open, FanDuel will utilize WSC Sports’ AI technology to deliver highlights to betting customers through FanDuel Sportsbook app. Feb 02, 2021 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open: Optimal FanDuel, DraftKings Fantasy golf picks, player pool, advice from a DFS pro Mike McClure is a professional daily Fantasy sports player who has nearly $2 million in DFS winnings and now he's sharing his optimal fantasy golf picks for the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Feb 03, 2021 No tournament will be impacted more by the lack of fans than the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The atmosphere around the par-3 16th hole in non-COVID-19 years is unlike anything in the sport. This is the most attended tournament year in and year out, but in 2021 it will be limited to just 5,000 spectators per day. The New Meadowlands Racetrack Victory Sports Bar is located at 1 Racetrack Dr. East Rutherford, NJ. The Meadowlands' hours of operations are currently 10am-12am daily, following the reopening of the Meadowlands facility in July 2020. Jan 13, 2021 This article is part of our FanDuel PGA series. Sony Open in Hawaii. Course: Waialae Country Club (7,044 yards, par 70) Purse: $6,600,000 Winner: $1,188,000 and 500 FedExCup points. Tournament Preview. Waialae and Kapalua might both be located on the islands of Hawaii, but the two courses could not be more different.
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Waialae and Kapalua might both be located on the islands of Hawaii, but the two courses could not be more different. We go from some of the widest fairways, biggest greens, and giant elevation changes of Kapalua to small greens, narrow fairways, and an extremely flat course in Waialae. Many players will be making their first start of 2020 with this being the first full-field event of the year. 30 of the 42 players that teed it up last week at the Tournament of Champions will be making the short trip over to Waialae. That includes Harris English, who picked up his first win since 2013 at the Plantation Course last week. All together nine of the top-25 in the OWGR will be teeing it up at one of the most historic courses on the PGA Tour schedule. Cameron Smith is playing some of the best golf of his career and he will be hoping to defend his title after taking down Brendan Steele in a playoff last year. Temperatures should be sustained in the low-80's with chances of passing storms throughout the week to soften the golf course. The winds are not expected to be anywhere close to what they were last year and we should see a winning score much closer to 20-under-par.
Recent Champions
2020 – Cameron Smith
2019 – Matt Kuchar
2018 – Patton Kizzire
2017 – Justin Thomas
2016 – Fabian Gomez
2015 – Jimmy Walker
2014 – Jimmy Walker
2013 – Russell Henley
2012 – Johnson Wagner
2011 – Mark Wilson
2010 – Ryan Palmer
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach
- GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting
- SG: Off-the-Tee
Champion's Profile
If you look at the list of past winners at Waialae, you'll notice that you don't see a lot of bombers. That's because you can't really overpower this course and it will be much more about accuracy off the tees to put yourself at a good angle to attack these small greens. Overall iron and wedge performance will likely be the most important factor once again this week to determine the champion. The bermuda greens will run extremely pure, so if you're rolling it well you can rack up a lot of one-putts. There are only two par-5's at Waialae (No. 9 and 18), but both of them play as some of the easiest par-5's on the PGA Tour so they need to be taken advantage of. Whoever is controlling their distances and rolling the rock the best is typically the man that will prevail at Waialae.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Webb Simpson ($12,000)
It's almost hard to believe that Simpson has not won at Waialae yet considering how well his game fits this course. He's not the longest hitter obviously, but he is deadly accurate and can shape the ball both ways with ease off the tee. Simpson is also a tremendous iron player and putter, as evidence by ranking inside the top-15 in both SG: Approach and SG: Putting last season. The Wake Forest product hasn't finished outside the top-20 in any of his last six starts in this event, including a T4 in 2018 and T3 in 2020.
Sungjae Im ($11,200)
Im had a very nonchalant week in Kapalua that ended up seeing him finish T5 in his first trip around the course. He also led the field in SG: Tee-to-Green. Im's game is very versatile, but if he's striking the ball like that at Waialae it would be hard to see him not holding the trophy at the end of the week. He's gone T16-T21 in two career starts at the Sony Open.
Joaquin Niemann ($10,900)
Niemann came so close to picking up his second PGA Tour win last week at Kapalua, but ultimately fell on the first playoff hole to Harris English. Even at 22 years old, you can see the super star potential in Niemann. All he has done this season is post six top-25's in seven starts. The Chilean ranks ninth in SG: Total, fourth in birdie average, and 10th in scoring average.
Russell Henley ($10,400)
Henley provides one of the better values in this field. He's off to a great start this season, making five-of-six cuts and adding a pair of top-five finishes. The Georgia product's ball striking numbers have also been very impressive once again, as he currently sits seventh in SG: Approach, sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green, seventh in driving accuracy, and 17th in GIR percentage. Those type of numbers of prime for success at Waialae, which is likely a big part of the reason why he is a former winner there.
Longer Shots with Value
Emiliano Grillo ($9,800)
Grillo has been one of the best iron players on Tour over the last few seasons. That has been something that has carried over early in the 2020-21 campaign, as he ranks 14th in SG: Approach, sixth in GIR percentage, and 13th in proximity to the hole. The putter will always be a question with Grillo, but that consistently strong ball striking makes his floor so high. He finished out 2020 going T18-T8 and has finished top-25 in each of the last two editions of the Sony Open.
Charles Howell III ($9,700)
Someone you always have to keep an eye out for early in the calendar year is Howell, because he has strong track records at so many of these West coast courses. He may be at his best at Waialae, as he has made every cut in all 19 of his starts and has notched 13 top-15 finishes. Howell's ball striking is not up to his usual elite standards early this season, but he is currently sitting 13th in SG: Putting. Trust the experience here.
Brandt Snedeker ($8,800)
It certainly wasn't the fall that the nine-time PGA Tour winner was looking for, but Snedeker is another player that has great records on a lot of these early season courses. He has finished top-20 in three of his last four starts at the Sony Open, including a runner-up back in 2016. I'm betting on experience again here and a putting stroke that has the ability to fill it up anywhere.
James Hahn ($8,700)
Hahn has already racked up three top-10's in just five starts this season, which is more than he has had in the past three seasons combined. His ball striking has been the biggest key, as he ranks fourth in driving accuracy and sixth in GIR percentage. Hahn is also in the top fourth of the Tour in SG: Putting. The 39-year-old has gone 6-for-8 at Waialae, including a runner-up in 2018.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
Waialae is typically a place where experience matters, so veterans that have played well here in the past is what I would be looking to round out my rosters with. On the top end, however, a majority of the attractive options are younger players that are striking the ball incredibly well like Sungjae Im and Joaquin Niemann. With the depth of the field top to bottom not as strong as last week, I think it puts the onus on DFS players to be a little more strategic in making sure they don't spend all their money on the top end because you don't want to be going down the board too far this week. As I said earlier as well, distance will not be a factor this week so consistent iron players or strong putters is what you are looking for.
Us Open Fanduel Lineup
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Waste Management Phoenix Open
Course: TPC Scottsdale (7,266 yards, par 71)
Purse: $7,300,000
Winner: $1,314,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
No tournament will be impacted more by the lack of fans than the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The atmosphere around the par-3 16th hole in non-COVID-19 years is unlike anything in the sport. This is the most attended tournament year in and year out, but in 2021 it will be limited to just 5,000 spectators per day. Despite the lack of fans, there will still be an incredible field set to do battle at TPC Scottsdale. Rory McIlroy will be making his tournament debut alongside fellow top-10 players Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, and defending champion Webb Simpson. Other notables include Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, and Jordan Spieth who are all looking to get on track after a slow start to the season. A theme in recent years at the Waste Management Phoenix Open has been playoffs. In fact four of the last five years it has taken extra holes to decide the champion, which has cut into the first quarter of those trying to also watch the Super Bowl. If things stay consistent, Tyreek Hill might have 200 yards receiving again by the time us golf nerds make the switch to CBS for the big game. The scores in Scottsdale should be fairly good, as the weather is looking perfect and we should see the return of 'dome golf.' Phil Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia's record score of 28-under-par is probably safe, however, as Mickelson is the only winner to break 20-under-par in the last 13 years.
Recent Champions
2020 – Webb Simpson
2019 – Rickie Fowler
2018 – Gary Woodland
2017 – Hideki Matsuyama
2016 – Hideki Matsuyama
2015 – Brooks Koepka
2014 – Kevin Stadler
2013 – Phil Mickelson
2012 – Kyle Stanley
2011 – Mark Wilson
2010 – Hunter Mahan
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Tee-to-Green
- GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting
- Scrambling
Champion's Profile
Ball-striking typically tells the story at TPC Scottsdale. Just look at some of the recent champions. Being a desert course, trouble lurks not far away from the edge of the fairway. With the area getting more precipitation than normal this winter, that may cause the rough to potentially be more penal this year. That will only enhance the importance of driving it well off the tee. From there the challenge moves to approaching the greens. The putting surfaces in general are fairly large this week, but will play much smaller because of the multi-tiered greens. There are several hole locations that take a really fantastic shot to get close to, but perhaps none more intimidating than the back pin placement at the drivable par-4 17th hole. Historically, fortune favors the bold in this event. The players that teed it up last week at Torrey Pines will be overjoyed to get to move from bumpy poa annua greens to smooth bermuda greens this week. If you're feeling it with the putter, you can really roll in a lot of putts here. The last thing to consider has to be scrambling. Many of the greens are elevated, meaning we will see a lot of chips from the fairway cut up onto the putting surfaces. There will be a lot less chopping it out from thick rough around the greens, meaning the players who are strong in the short game department can separate themselves from some of the weaker players around the greens.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Fanduel Open Parlay
Jon Rahm ($12,000)
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Rahm really put himself on the national radar in this event back in 2015, when he finished T5 while he was still attending Arizona State. In five career starts at TPC Scottsdale, he has not finished worse than a T16. The World No. 2 has such a high floor, as he has finished top-7 in each of his last four starts and top-25 in each of his last 10 starts. In my opinion, Rahm is the easy favorite this week.
Webb Simpson ($11,300)
Simpson was finally able to breakthrough at TPC Scottsdale last year. That made it seven top-20's in his last eight tries in the WMPO. The Wake Forest product is rested off a T4 at the Sony Open, which is one of six top-20's in seven starts this season. Simpson drives is straight, hits a lot of greens, and is 16th in SG: Putting and fifth in scrambling. There's so much to like here.
Hideki Matsuyama ($11,000)
If you do 'One-and-Done' leagues, I think you could put Hideki Matsuyama in ink for this event every single year. Outside of his 2018 appearance, in which he had to withdraw with a wrist injury, Matsuyama hasn't finished worse than a T16 in six starts. That includes two wins and a runner-up as well. We know Matsuyama's ball-striking is as good as anyone when he's on and while he usually struggles on the greens, these TPC Scottsdale surfaces are one's he excels at.
Ryan Palmer ($10,100)
Palmer continues to play arguably the best golf of his career at age 44. He is coming off a T2 at Torrey Pines, which is his third top-four finish in his last four starts. Palmer ranks inside the top-40 in both SG: Putting and SG: Tee-to-Green this season. He is also 22nd in GIR percentage and third in birdie average. Palmer has posted three career-top five finishes at the WMPO.
Longer Shots with Value
Max Homa ($9,600)
Homa got off to a brutal start to the season, but he turned things around recently, going T12-T21-T18 in his last three starts. The California native scored a T6 last year at TPC Scottsdale as well. Homa ranked eighth in SG: Approach and 14th in SG: Tee-to-Green last week at Torrey Pines, two stats that will be important for setting up scoring opportunities at this course.
Byeong Hun An ($9,400)
This is plain and simply An's best course on Tour. He has finished T6-T23-T20-T9 in four career starts at the WMPO, and is a couple poor final rounds away from contending for a win. An's putting has been abysmal this season, but he is 14th in SG: Around and 26th in SG: Tee-to-Green. He turned in a T8 a couple weeks ago at The American Express.
Chris Kirk ($8,900)
Kirk has quietly been striking the ball very well this season. He ranks inside the top 40 on Tour in SG: Approach, SG: Tee-to-Green, GIR percentage, and proximity to the hole. Kirk is also top-60 in SG: Around-the-green and putts per GIR. The 35-year-old has only missed one cut this season and went T2-T16 over his last two appearances. Kirk has only missed the cut once in nine starts at the WMPO.
Martin Laird ($8,400)
Laird is a Scottsdale resident and has been able to take advantage of his course knowledge when teeing it up in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in his career. Over his last 10 starts in the event, the Scot has missed only one cut with four top-10's and six top-30's. Laird is gaining strokes in every category this season and ranks top-10 on Tour in driving accuracy and GIR percentage.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
For whatever reason, course history seems to play a big impact at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. As I've mentioned, TPC Scottsdale is suited towards the ball-strikers and that's a big part of the reason why those players have had repeated success in the desert. The other reason is because many of the players who do well here have embraced the chaos that comes along with this event. It will look a little different in 2021 obviously, but I'm still sticking with course history and strong ball-striking as the two biggest factors for constructing my lineups this week. Some other sleepers I'd watch this week are Chez Reavie ($8,300), Doc Redman ($8,200), and Harold Varner III ($7,900).