Sony Open in Hawaii preview

The PGA Tour remains in Hawaii this week after the exciting Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Russell Henley defends the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club

Russell Henley
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Sony Open in Hawaii preview

The PGA Tour remains in Hawaii this week after the exciting Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Russell Henley defends the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club.

A strong field will assemble at Waialae as many of those who competed at Kapalua have stayed on for this event. Jason Dufner, Adam Scott and Matt Kuchar are among those who'll tee it up.

The Hawaiian Open has been contested at Waialae CC since 1965 and the list of winners is impressive - Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh have all lifted the trophy.

Last year, Tour rookie Russell Henley produced three superb rounds of 63 and one of 67 to set a tournament scoring record of 256: 24-under-par. He won by three from Tim Clark.

Opened for play in 1927, the course at Waialae 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 9-12 Course stats: par 70, 7,044 yards Purse: $5,600,000 Winner: $1,008,000 Defending Sony Open Champion: Russell Henley (-24) TV Coverage: Thursday 9 - Sky Sports 4 from midnight Friday 10 - Sky Sports 4 from midnight Saturday 11 - Sky Sports 4 from midnight Sunday 12 - Sky Sports 4 from midnight Player Watch:

Jordan Spieth - after a superb performance at Kapalua, the youngster looks like he's going to step up another level in 2014. Victory here would be a significant move in that direction. Charles Howell III - He has a great record at Waialae with seven top-five finishes including second places in 2007 and 2012. He's never won here but this could be the year.

Zach Johnson - An extremely consistent performer, Johnson will feed of a fine victory at Kapalua last 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 488 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 of most difficult fairways to find on the circuit. The greens are tough to hold when not playing in from the short stuff so finding the shortest cut will be crucial for success this week. The wind will also be a factor.

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?

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