Sony Open in Hawaii preview

The PGA Tour remains in Hawaii this week for the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Mark Wilson defends the title but will face stiff competition from a strong field.

Mark Wilson defends Sony Open (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: The PGA Tour remains in Hawaii this week for the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Mark Wilson defends the title but will face stiff competition from a strong field. After last week's, season opening, Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, 18 of the men who competed there will tee it up again this week. That means that, as ever, there's an impressive line-up of star names in this event. Last season it was Mark Wilson who came out on top at Waialae. He fired four excellent rounds in the 60s to finish two clear of Tim Clark and Steve Marino. The Hawaiian Open has been contested at Waialae Country Club since 1965 and the list of winners is impressive - Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh have all lifted the trophy. Opened for play in 1927, the course has a long and distinguished history. The layout was originally by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks though Desmond Muirhead completed a redesign in 1990. It's a course where the wind is often a significant factor.

Venue: Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii Date: Jan 12-15 Course stats: par 70, 7,068 yards Purse: $5,500,000 Winner: $990,000 Defending Champion: Mark Wilson (-16)

TV Coverage: Thursday 12 - Live on Sky Sports 2 from midnight Friday 13 - Live on Sky Sports 2 from midnight Saturday 14 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from midnight Sunday 15 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from midnight

Player Watch:

K.J. Choi - The Korean is a former winner of this event, back in 2008. He was tied fifth last week so is on good form. He's a consistent, straight hitter and his game is clearly suited to this course.

Webb Simpson - Tied third last week, Simpson was the revelation of 2011 on the PGA Tour. He seems to feature in every event he starts at the moment and this should be no exception.

Jason Dufner - Another man who enjoyed a superb 2011, he'll be looking to start 2012 on a similar track. He doesn't have a great record in this event with just two top-20 finishes to his name. But when he gets in contention he tends to stay there. If he can start well, he'll be around at the end of the week.

Key hole: 1st. Modelled by course architect Seth Raynor on the Road Hole at St Andrews, this hole used to be a par 5. At 480 yards to a shallow green protected by a huge bunker, it now plays to an average of almost 4.5.

Skills required: Driving accuracy. This is one of the tightest courses on the PGA Tour schedule, regularly ranking in the top-10 in terms of most difficult fairways to find on the circuit. The greens are tough to hold when you're not playing in from the short stuff so finding the shortest cut will be crucial for success this week. Where next? European Tour - Joburg Open preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

Latest