Sony Open: Top 10 power rankings at Waialae Country Club

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HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 13: Matt Kuchar of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 13, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

Matt Kuchar will look to refind the rhythm he had at this time last year. His 2019 Sony Open win was his second in the span of four starts and was part of a stretch of seven consecutive top-30 finishes.

Kuchar posted rounds of 63-63-65-66 to reach 22-under and win comfortably by four over Andrew Putnam. He was fairly aggressive with driver (311.8 yards), but it paid off to the tune of 71.43% accuracy. The ball striking (83.33%) and putting (1.76 strokes gained) were there, too.

It was the cherry on top of what’s been an impressive run of golf for the 41-year-old at Waialae. He finished T-4 here in 2002, T-5 in 2011, T-5 in 2013, T-8 in 2014, T-3 in 2015 and T-13 in 2016.

Kuchar is starting to get phased out at some of the PGA Tour’s longer tracks, but he’s still a good fit at the Sony. He was 38th on Tour last season in driving accuracy (67.41%, 38th) and was 20th in greens in regulation (69.38%). Kuchar was also 35th in birdie average (4.01) and 36th in proximity from 125-150 yards (21’9″).

Fourteen has been a common number for Kuchar of late. He finished T-14 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, 14th at the Hero World Challenge and T-14 last week at the Tournament of Champions.

Not terrible results, but two of those were against limited fields. Let’s see if the Georgia Tech grad can get back to his old ways at a place of comfort.

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