The Sony Open in Hawaii is the first full-field event in 2023. Sony is the title sponsor of this tournament, which celebrates its 25th anniversary. Nineteen of the 39 players who participated in the Sentry Tournament of Champions are also expected to make it to the island for the Sony Open. FIELD NOTES – The field will be dominated by Jordan Spieth who is the No.14-ranked player in the world. Spieth is playing his first Sony tournament since 2019. Spieth’s friend and new foe, Tom Kim (read more about their friendship here), is right behind him in the world rankings at number. 15 and will be teeing up… Six of the eight FedExCup ranking’s top golfers (as at Jan. 7) will take on Waialae CC… Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion, looks to become the first player to go back-toback since Jimmy Walker (2014-15 )… Keegan) is the highest-ranked FedExCup (as at Jan. 7) player in the field. He is currently No. His win at the ZOZO Champion, his first victory since 2018, made him No. 2. Other notables include Presidents Cup participants Adam Scott and Billy Horschel, Corey Conners and K.H. Lee and Christiaan Benzuidenhout… The 10 top finishers in The RSM Classic (2022), earned spots in The Sony. 1 amateur Cole Hammer. His T5 at The RSM was a record-breaking finish on the TOUR and capped off a great first year as a professional. He was fifth in last year’s class of graduates for the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented to Velocity Global. Although he does not hold PGA TOUR status, he will be granted conditional Korn Ferry Tour Status this year. Sponsor exemptions include Blaze Akana, a sophomore at University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kohei Okada (who was the winner of the Japan Amateur Championship last season), and a pair of former world No. Taiga Semikawa, Keita Nakajima are Japan’s No. 1 amateurs. Semikawa won back to back starts on the Japan Tour last season before becoming a professional. Nakajima was the former Asia-Pacific Amateur champion and was the No.1-ranked amateur in the world for a record 87 consecutive weeks. Nakajima was T12 in the ZOZO last year and T5 half way through the Sony last year before finishing 41st… Kazuki Higashi is also amongst those who are exempted from sponsor fees. In 2022, he topped the Japan Golf Tour’s money lists. Higa was recently invited to the Masters by Gordon Sargent, reigning NCAA champion. FEDEXCUP: The winner receives 500 FedExCup Points. COURSE: Waialae Country Club, par 70, 7,044 yards. The Honolulu course was designed by Seth Raynor and recently renovated by Tom Doak. It is one of the longest-tenured venues on the TOUR. This narrow layout features 83 bunkers and fairways that are tree-lined. STORYLINES – Tom Hoge will travel from the Sentry Tournament of Champions towards the Sony Open, but not without making a stop in Los Angeles. Hoge will travel to Los Angeles to attend TCU’s College Football Playoff title match against Georgia… Hoge is among 19 golfers who will play both the Hawaii and Hawaii swings this season… Sixteen of the last 24 Sony Open tournament winners have been to Hawaii since 1999… Taylor Montgomery will be keeping an eye on Hoge this week to see if he continues his hot fall efforts as the calendar changes. Montgomery, a Korn Ferry Tour grad from last year, made all seven cuts this fall, with six top-20 finishes. He is currently 11th in the FedExCup standings. 72-HOLE REGORD: 253, Justin Thomas (2017) 18–HOLE RECORD : 59, Justin Thomas (Round 1) LAST TIME: Hideki Mizuyama fought back from a five shot deficit and beat Russell Henley in a playoff. He had hit, perhaps, the best approach to a par-5 of the year. Matsuyama shot a 31 on Sunday to be 23 under for the week. He also launched a 3-wood of 276 yards to 2 feet on the par-5 18, the first playoff hole, and drained his eagle putt. Matsuyama shot a pair of dazzling 63s at Waialae GC on Saturday and Sunday to win the eighth PGA TOUR title. His eight TOUR titles tied K.J. Choi won the title of Asian-born player with the most TOUR titles. Henley seemed to be in cruise control after posting a 6-under 29 score on his front nine, including birdies on Nos. 6-8 and an eagle at the par-5 9th. Henley could not get any momentum on the back nine. He made eight pars and one bogey on par-3 11. He tried to make a 10-foot birdie on the 72nd hole, but it didn’t work. Seamus Power and Kevin Kisner finished tied for third at 19. Under, while Michael Thompson & Lucas Glover completed the top five. Henley, the 2013 Sony Open champion, won in Mexico later in the year, his first victory in five years. HOW TO FOLLOW: TV: Thursday through Friday, 7:00 p.m.-10.30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, TBD* PGA TOUR Live : PGA TOUR Live can be viewed exclusively on ESPN+ Main feed. It features the best of the tournament action. Marquee Group: A new “marquee” group that showcases every shot of each player. Featured Groups : Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage for two concurrent featured groups. Featured Holes : A combination of iconic or pivotal holes. Radio: Thursday through Friday, 5:00 -9:30 p. ET; Saturday-Sunday, TBD*. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) *Note: The weekend broadcast windows for TV and radio will be available on Jan. 9 based on NFL scheduling.
By: Adam Stanley
Title: The First Look: The Sony Open in Hawaii
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/the-first-look/2023/01/07/course-field-preview-the-sony-open-in-hawaii.html
Published Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0500
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