US PGA Tour Golf - Sony Open in Hawaii

The Sony Open tees off tonight  at the Waialae course in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Waialae has been the course for this tournament four forty-five years and is 7,044 yards long, having been designed in 1927. It will host the first full-field event of 2010 and 144 golfers will be competing for a purse of $5.5 million, with $990,000 to the winner.

Steve Stricker has been made the favourite for the event at 12/1 (bet $10 to win $120 profit). The American is currently ranked third in the World with fifteen professional wins in his career but it not one of the many players taking part to have won this course before. Stricker had a good 2009, winning three events and showing a return to the form he possessed in his first few years as a pro.

Texas-born Sean O`Hair is second favourite at 18/1 after a thoroughly impressive 2009. O`Hair won in North Carolina in May tied for tenth in the Masters and twenty-third in the US Open.Last year also saw the 27 year-old break into the top fifteen in the Word Rankings after finishing sixth in the money list.

Following O`Hair is last year`s winner Zach Johnson. Johnson beat Australian Adam Scott by two strokes with a score of  -15 and will look to start his year in similar fashion in 2010. The 2007 Masters Champion also won the Valero Texas Open, defending his title and becoming the first player to shoot 60 twice on the PGA Tour. After finishing fourth on the money list in 2009 he will be very confident going into this event.

Ernie Els is one of two players taking part this year to have won the event twice, securing back-t-back wins in 2003 and 2004. The South African is available at 28/1 but and may be very determined this year to erase the disappointment of falling outside the top ten in the world rankings in 2009 for the first time in eighteen years. The other player to have won the Sony Open twice is Corey Pavin but the fifty year-old is far past his best and is 225/1 to win this year.

Some other interesting betting may be on Stewart Cink at 35/1, who has finished in the top ten in Hawaii four times in the last eight years, and Charles Howell, who is further out at 50/1 but has also finished in the top ten twice in this event.

The Sony Open tees off at 7 a.m local time and Hawaii is ten hours behind the UK and five hours behind US Eastern time.

Sony Open match betting odds

Sony Open winner betting odds

Other golf betting previews