Brooks Koepka is back and so are the golf betslips! It\u2019s time to wager on the PGA Tour again!<\/p>\n
After a three-month hibernation, the SI Golf Betting panel returns with some new blood. Betting analyst Brad Thomas<\/a> and The Model Maniac Byron Lindeque<\/a> join the panel, which also returns Inside Sports Network Tap in Birdie podcast<\/a> host Brian Kirschner, SI Betting insider Iain MacMillan, FanSided content director Cody Williams<\/a> and Minute Media VP of Betting Content Brian Giuffra.<\/a><\/p>\n Each Wednesday throughout the PGA Tour season, we post our betting picks for outright and longshot winners, first-round leader, our favorite prop bet and a final score prediction.\u00a0<\/p>\n The PGA Tour season kicks off with the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. While golf takes center stage starting on Thursday, Koepka\u2019s return to the PGA Tour from LIV is the talk of the town. We can\u2019t bet (or fade) him this week, but we will soon enough with the Farmers at Torrey Pines (Jan. 29-Feb. 1).\u00a0<\/p>\n Nick Taylor returns as defending champion of the Sony after beating Nico Echavarria in a playoff last year. Russell Henley (+1100), Hideki Matsuyama (+1700), Ben Griffin (+1700), J.J. Spaun (+1800) and Si Woo Kim (+2000) are atop the oddsboard at DraftKings.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few of those players feature prominently in our betting picks this week, but we also have plenty of players you might not think about betting on. Our graphic designer is off this week so no fancy photo showing you all of our picks (that will be back next week). You’ll just have to read on, which I promise is worth it! <\/p>\n Let’s cash some bets! <\/p>\n OutrightIain MacMillan: Ben Griffin +1600 (FanDuel)<\/p>\n In my opinion, Ben Griffin should be the favorite to win this event. He\u2019s leading the field in true strokes gained over the past six months. Two of his last three starts resulted in a runner-up finish at the Procore Championship and a win at the World Wide Technology Championship in November.<\/p>\n Brian Kirschner: Chris Kirk +4000 (DraftKings)\u00a0<\/p>\n Chris Kirk has shown the ability to win a golf tournament after a long layoff in Hawaii and on bermuda golf courses. I really like his chances to win this week on a course where he always competes and is obviously a very good fit. Although it is after a long layoff, Kirk ended the 2025 season very strong and was great with his irons in his last start.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brad Thomas: Hideki Matsuyama +1800 (Fanatics Sportsbook)<\/p>\n Matsuyama won at Waialae in 2022 and comes in off a strong performance at the Hero. If conditions get windy, he\u2019s one of the most reliable players to back because he consistently handles tough conditions well.<\/p>\n Byron Lindeque: J.J. Spaun +1800 (DraftKings)<\/p>\n The U.S. Open Champion returns to Honolulu where he had a T3 last year and a T12 in 2022. He just finished 4th at the Hero World Challenge and grades out as the #1 course fit in my Micro Model. If you don\u2019t think J.J. enjoys playing golf in Hawaii, Google his golf outfits when playing out there (or revisit our cover photo). 18-1 on one of the most well-rounded, in form, major champions in the field feels like a very fair price.<\/p>\n Cody Williams: Aaron Rai +3500 (FanDuel)<\/p>\n Two gloves and we\u2019re looking for one win. A winner on the DP World Tour in the fall, Aaron Rai checks boxes across the board for what\u2019s required to win at Waialae. Over the last 36 rounds, he\u2019s second in SG: Approach, fourth in Fairways Gained and seventh in SG: Par 4s measuring 400\u2013450 yards. While his history at the Sony Open is paltry (no Top 50 finish in three starts), I can\u2019t look away from the fit for the short-hitting Englishman. If the putter even marginally cooperates, he\u2019s striking it well enough to win this week.<\/p>\n Brian Giuffra: Robert MacIntyre +2200 (BetMGM)\u00a0<\/p>\n Bobby Mac has had a banger of an offseason, parlaying his great performance at the Ryder Cup (2-0-1) into a win and two top 10s on the DP World Tour, plus a 12th place finish at the Hero. He hasn\u2019t had a ton of success at Waialae, placing outside the Top 50 in two appearances, but I can\u2019t ignore his performance the last few months. If his approach game is on, which it has been recently, and his driver is marginal, he should be in the mix on Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Longshot\u00a0Iain MacMillan: Austin Eckroat +15000 (Caesars)<\/p>\n Austin Eckroat had a rough 2025, but if he can return to his 2024 form, he\u2019s going to be a sneaky good pick at 150-1. He finished 12th at this event in 2023. The last time we saw him was at the RSM Classic where he finished T41, but he gained +1.21 strokes per round putting and +1.18 true strokes with his approach play, which is extremely promising heading into the new year.<\/p>\n Brian Kirschner: Max McGreevy +9000 (DraftKings)<\/p>\n Although I like to target more experienced players with wins under their belt, it is hard to ignore\u00a0Max McGreevy this week. At these odds, it seems like an autoplay with how well he played in the fall. He finished the fall with a T3 and a solo runner-up at two short bermuda golf courses, and I think he has the chance to carry that form over this week at Sony.<\/p>\n Brad Thomas: Seamus Power +12500 (Bet365)<\/p>\n The last time we saw Seamus Power, he posted a T11 at Bermuda and followed it up with a T7 at the RSM Classic. He\u2019s going to find fairways and greens, and if the putter heats up, +12500 is simply too big of a number.<\/p>\n Byron Lindeque: Gary Woodland +10000 (FanDuel)<\/p>\n Woodland finished his final four fall swing events with three top 25 finishes. His T16 at the Sony last year is a gentle reminder that he had a run of T3, T13, T6 and T7 at this venue from 2015 to 2018. The U.S. Open winner at Pebble Beach on that course shows his expertise on short, positional tracks. He also pops as the 13th best option in my micro model.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cody Williams: Zac Blair +13000 (DraftKings)<\/p>\n Zac Blair deserves to be north of 100\/1 in most tournaments, because he\u2019s at a disadvantage the moment he tees it up with how short he hits it. This isn\u2019t one of those weeks, however. Blair has six starts at the Sony Open, which includes two Top 10 finishes and even a T30 last year, where he gained nearly 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. Now, he comes in ranking fourth in SG: Approach and 18th in Fairways Gained over the last 36 rounds in this field. That\u2019s better form and fit than 130\/1 would have you believe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Giuffra: Nick Dunlap +14000 (DraftKings)\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps I\u2019m early on the Dunlap bounce back season train, but I do feel +14000 is generous considering he was T10 here last year while LOSING over one stroke per round off the tee. That was, of course, his issue all year. If he fixes the driver, he\u2019ll be back to competing for championships soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n First-Round LeadIain MacMillan: Harry Hall +4000 (DraftKings)<\/p>\n Not only is Harry Hall a solid course fit (he finished in the top 10 here last season), but he was at his best in 2025 in the opening round. He finished the season third on the PGA Tour in Round 1 scoring average, behind only Scottie Scheffler and Garrick Higgo.<\/p>\n Brian Kirschner: Brian Harman +6000 (DraftKings)\u00a0<\/p>\n Harman will always be a very important golfer in my golf betting career after winning the 2023 Open Championship. I think that this is a great course for him and he has shown the ability to spike here. I think he can start hot Thursday morning for a first-round lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brad Thomas: Ben Griffin +3500 (FanDuel)\u00a0<\/p>\n Ben Griffin has had quite a few spike rounds at Waialae over his last few trips, and that\u2019s exactly what I want to see at this number. He\u2019s accurate off the tee, can get hot in a hurry, and 35-1 still leaves you plenty of room to add a few more names to the card while keeping the ROI upside strong.<\/p>\n Byron Lindeque:\u00a0Collin Morikawa +4000 (DraftKings)<\/p>\n Collin Morikawa gained two strokes in round one last year. That leads this field and is a full stroke better than any of his other three rounds. This is an ideal golf course for the Californian, as he can snipe these hard to hit fairways and attack the flags from 125\u2013200 yards on approach, which he also leads the field in.<\/p>\n Cody Williams: Ben Griffin +3500 (FanDuel)<\/p>\n Ben Griffin could very well win this tournament, make no mistake. I\u2019m quite confident that he\u2019ll play well, but I\u2019ll take the better value on the chance that he gets off to a hot start this week, which stands to reason. His ball-striking profile is great for Waialae, he won at El Cardonal in the fall, and he\u2019s posted a round gaining 3.9 strokes or more on the field in each of his three Sony Open starts. If that\u2019s the first round this week, we can definitely cash, and he\u2019s in the form to come out firing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Giuffra: J.J. Spaun +3500 (DraftKings)\u00a0<\/p>\n I wanted a piece of Spaun this week coming off a strong fall\/winter swing highlighted by a T6 finish at the Hero. He gained over a stroke per round on approach in that event after gaining 1.72 per round at the Procore. With two Top 10 finishes in this event, including a T3 last year, I could see him having a strong performance, starting\u00a0right away. <\/p>\n Prop BetIain MacMillan: Nick Taylor Top 20 (+145) DraftKings<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have faith in Nick Taylor winning the Sony Open for the second straight year, but he has posted consistent results here over the past three years, finishes in the top seven every season. All we need is for him to finish in the top 20 this week.<\/p>\n Brian Kirschner: Mac Meissner Top 20 (+200) DraftKings<\/p>\n I like looking at Mac\u2019s three best finishes recently and see that he has finished top 20 at the RSM, Wyndham and Sanderson. I think that all three can point to success at the Sony Open and 2\/1 are great odds for a top 20.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brad Thomas: Mac Meissner Top 20 (+200) DraftKings<\/p>\n Mac Meissner has been sneaky good at short positional courses over the last 12 months. In the field he\u2019s gained the second most strokes on average per round at Colonial, Sedgefield, and Harbour Town \u2013three comp courses to Waialae.\u00a0<\/p>\n Byron Lindeque: Nick Taylor Top 20 (+185) Draftkings<\/p>\n Nick Taylor will be the defending champ this week as he seeks to finish inside the top 20 of a Sony Open for the fifth consecutive time. He loves this golf course and the top 20 market gives the defending champ a little wiggle room to cash our ticket.<\/p>\n Cody Williams: Mac Meissner Top 10 incl. ties (+550) FanDuel<\/p>\n I\u2019m also on the Mac Meissner train this week, but I\u2019m going to be more aggressive. As Brian and Brad have noted, he\u2019s performed exceptionally well at comp courses for Waialae, and was T21 here last year. But he\u2019s also Top 20 on approach, fifth in Bogey Avoidance and SG: Par 4s measuring 400-450 yards, and Top 15 in the key proximity ranges. I love the Top 20 play, but why not start off the year getting even more aggressive than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Giuffra: Nick Dunlap Top 20 (+400) DraftKings<\/p>\n If I like Dunlap to win, I, of course, like him to contend. At +400, this is an interesting hedge that could cover all of my bets for the week. Just need that driver to cooperate.<\/p>\n Winning Score\u00a0Iain MacMillan: -20Brian Kirschner: -19Brad Thomas: -18Byron Lindeque: -16\u00a0Cody Williams: -18Brian Giuffra: -20<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooks Koepka is back and so are the golf betslips! 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