2023 Sony Open: Golf Betting Picks

by Joe Cistaro (joeycis) Last Updated 2023-01-11 15:04:09

This week, Joe Cistaro breaks down golf betting picks for the 2023 Sony Open. Use the PrizePicks promo code GRINDERS to claim a $100 deposit bonus on golf props today!

Golfers tee it up this week at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu for our first full-field event of the 2023 golf season. While the field is stuck between two stronger fields — the Sentry TOC and the American Express next week, we still will see a handful of great golfers tee it up. Tom Kim is all the talk this week as the prodigious upstart continues to stand tall amongst his new peers. Glance at our 2023 Sony Open Betting Preview and then feast your eyes at this year’s first betting card.

Sony Open Odds at BetMGM Sportsbook

At the time of this writing – January 9th – you can find these odds at BetMGM Sportsbook. The below list features all golfers priced at 45/1 or better.

2023 Sony Open Betting Picks

• Course: Waialae CC
• Date: January 12 – 15
• Par: 70
• Yardage: 7,044 yards
• Greens: Bermuda

Unless mentioned otherwise, all strokes gained statistics will be referenced over the player’s previous 36 rounds on the PGA Tour.

Tom Kim +1100 (PointsBet)

Well, let’s just depart from our normal game plan with regards to golf betting in our first event back. Normally, paying up for the top few players on the board is not of great interest to me but I am amidst a big chug of the Tom Kim Kool-Aid.

Kim is just light years ahead of the field with regard to statistics over the last 36 rounds. Kim is ranked first in the field in SG: Approach, fifth in Good Drives, and first in BOB gained. He is 10th in Par 4 scoring and I mean, let’s just stop here. He has been on fire and is one of the handful of players that played a full four rounds of competitive golf last week.

He is my one-and-done pick this week and will be getting two units of my money on PointsBet.

J.J. Spaun +4500 (DraftKings)

J.J. Spaun is another golfer that played a full four rounds at the Sentry TOC. Despite being a big longshot in that field, he put together quite the good week.

While he lost strokes on approach, Spaun showed very well in a variety of other categories last weekend. He gained 3.1 strokes off the tee and has gained in putting over his last two events. Waialae CC demands position off-the-tee and excellent putting. Spaun sits in the top fourth of the field in good drives.

That said, as a par 70, the course demands excellent Par 4 play. Spaun ranked second in strokes gained on Par 4’s in the field. As you can tell, I am making playing last week a priority this week. J.J. joins the card for a half-unit.

Brendon Todd +8000 (BetMGM)

Waialae CC does not demand great length to compete. All types of golfers can succeed at this course as accuracy off the tee is important and finding the proper position on the fairways to approach greens is vital. Brendon Todd checks a couple of those boxes.

Todd is 13th in Fairways Gained and 4th in SG: Putting. Todd is notorious for finding fairways but not being incredibly long off the tee. This is a course where Todd should not be fighting as far uphill against the longer hitters and can take advantage of his accuracy. While he didn’t play last week, I don’t mind capitalizing on Todd when the course fits.

At 80/1, he is at a modest price to keep our first card pretty cheap. Further, with paying so much for Tom Kim, we need to find some value elsewhere. We add Todd for a 1/4 unit.

Brendan Steele +10,000

Lastly, Brendan Steele was a golfer I wanted to watch ahead of this event. Steele is always one of the top golfers in the field at approaching greens and always seems like a good value given his skillset.

Steele has shown well at this course with a 2nd and 4th place to go along with his two missed cuts. We don’t mind the missed cuts as we are chasing upside. At 100/1, we are hoping Steele cashes in on all of his opportunities. He ranks 8th in the field in Par 4 scoring. Given the high volume of Par 4’s, we are very happy with his proficiency in this category. We close with a quarter-unit on Steele to round our first card out at three units in play.

2023 Sony Open Betting Card

Sony Open Total Units – 3

2023 Net Units – TBD

Good luck with all of you golf betting picks and DFS lineups this week.

Follow me on Twitter at @JoeCistaro to follow along with any additions, matchups, or top finishers I add to my outright betting card. Good luck with all of your wagers this week and thanks for reading.

Image Credit: Imagn