Sony Open: Power ranking the top ten golfers at Waialae

The first full field event of 2019 on the PGA Tour comes in the form of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

The Sentry Tournament of Champions got the PGA Tour underway for 2019 last week, but this week’s Sony Open is the first full field event of the year as well as the first since November.

Some big names blend with a large crop of rookies and Web.com Tour graduates looking to make an early splash. We’ve got 144 players at Waialae Country Club for a standard 72-hole, 36-hole cut event.

Waialae is a 7,044-yard par-70 that relies on Honolulu’s oceanside winds to provide the course with some teeth, though it looks calm in this week’s forecast. The fairways are some of the narrowest on tour, but that aspect is negated considering players can often get by with less than driver off the tee.

It’s a second-shot golf course with proximity into the green a key stat to watch. Par-4 scoring and approaches from and around 150 yards are also useful.

Winning score has been 20-under par or better four of the last six years (17-under for the other two), so birdie-makers are needed, particularly when chances are a fewer on a par-70.

Bermuda grass is prevalent throughout the course, so look for players who have a history of playing well on this surface.

Aside from those who played last week in Maui at the ToC, the field is coming off a month-plus away from competition. That makes it difficult to use 2018 form as a huge indicator of success, though finishing the year strong certainly can’t hurt.

Note: All stats in this post are from the 2017-18 season unless otherwise noted.