Strong Field In Hawaii For Sony Open

Fabian Gomez defends the Sony Open in Honolulu with Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas and Justin Rose all in the field

Strong Field In Hawaii For Sony Open

The PGA Tour hops islands from Maui to Oahu for the first full-field event of 2017 at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club.

Waialae CC in Honolulu has hosted the Hawaian Open every year since 1965, and only three venues have hosted more PGA Tour events than it.

Argentina's Fabian Gomez won the title last year in dramatic fashion, beating Brand Snedeker in a playoff after shooting a final round eight-under 62.

Gomez and Snedeker finished at 20-under-par last year in an event that usually sees low-scoring, Russell Henley's 24-under total of 256 in 2013 holds the record.

A strong field has been assembled for the tournament, which includes Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, last week's winner Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Paul Casey.

2016 USPGA Champion Jimmy Walker also plays, he won the Sony Open in both 2014 and 2015.

Venue: Waialae Country Club Date: Jan 12-15 Course stats: par 70, 7044 yards Purse: $6,000,000 Winning share: $1,080,000 Defending Champion: Fabian Gomez

TV Coverage:

Friday 12 – Sky Sports 4HD from 00:00 Saturday 13 – Sky Sports 4HD from 00:00 Sunday 14 – Sky Sports 4 from 00:00 (round 3), Sky Sports 4HD from 23:00 (round 4)

Player watch:

Hideki Matsuyama: The world's most in-form player has won four of his last six starts, finishing second in the other two. He came very close to winning last week at the Tournament of Champions but missed a couple of vital putts from inside 10 feet late on and Justin Thomas was able to pull away.

Jordan Spieth: The world number five finished in a tie for third last week and looks set to have another good tournament in Honolulu.

Jimmy Walker: The 2014 and 2015 champion was the first round leader last week armed with a 42" driver. The USPGA Champion has an incredible record in Hawaii and his game certainly looks close to its best now that he's finding more fairways again.

Key Hole: 17^th. This is a very challenging par-3 requiring a long or middle iron. The hole features a Redan-style green with a large bunker on the left and a series of four deep bunkers protecting the right. A par is a good score here, especially on the final day.