Steve Palmer's Sony Open in Hawaii predictions and free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Thursday

Best bets

Tom Kim
5pts each-way 11-1 general
Harris English
1.5pts each-way 45-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
1pt each-way 50-1 bet365, Hills

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Jordan Spieth admitted to "contention rust" and mental errors when walking away from the Sentry Tournament of Champions last week a disappointed man – and Waialae may not be the perfect place for him to recover from that setback.

Spieth cracked his driver on the eve of the Sentry Tournament of Champions yet still went into the weekend in fourth spot, before fading to 13th place. He missed three extremely short putts and spent post-round range sessions testing new drivers. The Texan missed the cut the last time he tackled Waialae (2019) and can be left alone at 14-1 this week.

Sungjae Im also left the Sentry having had a dent to his putting confidence, four-putting the 13th on Sunday, and the Korean has never made a serious impact at Waialae (16-21-56-MC). Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama is difficult to trust, given his regular fitness issues.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Tom Kim 11-1

The talent and character of Tom Kim gives him the potential to become a global superstar – and the Sony Open seems a perfect stage for the cocksure Korean to show off his skills. Expect a strong Waialae debut from a player who seems able to adjust immediately to any course in the world.

Most youngsters take time to settle on new terrain but Kim's game is so tight and controlled that he can approach fresh assignments with confidence. He swaggered into Kapalua for the first time last week and opened up with an eight-under-par 65, finding 17 greens in regulation.

Kim followed up with Sentry rounds of 69, 68 and 68, finishing fifth despite an unusually poor week of putting. The 20-year-old sensation holed precious little but still ended up on the first page of the leaderboard and three of the players who beat him in the Sentry are not teeing up in the Sony.

The short journey from Maui to Honolulu means Kim can get three full days of practice at Waialae and he should fall in love with the set-up. He is accurate from tee to green and typically deadly on the dancefloors so the Sony venue sets up perfectly for him. Lack of driving distance is his one weakness but he can hit three-wood off most tees at Waialae and still have a wedge in hand for his approach.

Kim's maiden PGA Tour victory came on a short par-70 in the Wyndham Championship in August – a five-shot success – and then he won the Shriners Open by three shots in October. He turns 21 in June with the world at his feet and the Presidents Cup star can complete a quickfire PGA Tour hat-trick on Sunday. The Thomas the Tank Engine fan is building up a huge head of steam.

Next best bet

Harris English 45-1

Slowly but surely, Harris English has been getting back to his brilliant best in the wake of hip surgery and the Sea Island resident can enjoy himself on the Honolulu coastline this week.

English's career had a five-month hiatus as he recovered from going under the knife and he returned to the PGA Tour in June. By September, the 33-year-old started looking solid again and he finished third in the QBE Shootout a month ago alongside Matt Kuchar.

English was ninth at Waialae in 2013, fourth in 2014 and third in 2015 and he won the Sentry Tournament of Champions two years ago so there must be every chance he threatens to complete a Hawaii Swing double on Sunday.

Two of English's four PGA Tour triumphs have come on a par-70 – he seems to like layouts where he can leave the driver in the bag for the most part – and a mustard short-game means he should handle the pace of this week's inevitably low-scoring assignment.

Other selection

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1

Another player with perfect attributes for Waialae is Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who is supremely accurate and typically carries a razor-sharp short-game. The South African does not drive his ball far, but that is not an issue in the Sony Open.

Bezuidenhout made his Sony debut last year and carded rounds of 65, 69, 65 and 67 for 17th place. He followed up with another top-20 by the coast in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am before finishing second in the John Deere Classic, strongly threatening a PGA Tour breakthrough.

The 28-year-old, who handled his Presidents Cup debut well and carries more self-belief than ever, was active before Christmas in his homeland. He was fifth in the Nedbank Challenge, third in the Joburg Open and 26th in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The first of Bezuidenhout's three DP World Tour victories was on a tight, fiddly course at Valderrama and a first PGA Tour success could be coming on Sunday at another tight, fiddly layout.

Players to note

Tom Hoge
Third place in the Sentry was encouraging and Hoge was also third in the 2018 Sony. The Pebble Beach champion has to be respected but he added 5,000 miles to his commute from Kapalua to Honolulu by diverting to Los Angeles for a Monday-night college gridiron game.

Cameron Davis
The Aussie won a low-grade event in his homeland just before Christmas and has less rust to shed than many others in Hawaii. Any putting improvement would make the Presidents Cup star a threat.

Mackenzie Hughes
The Canadian has the game to go low at Waialae in calm conditions and the forecast will encourage the Sanderson Farms champion.

Taylor Montgomery
Like Hughes, Montgomery typically carries a magic-wand putter and the PGA Tour rookie has made a magnificent start to his PGA Tour career.

Waialae course guide

Course Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
Prize money $7.9m ($1.422m to the winner)
Length 7,044 yards
Par 70 – two par-fives, 12 par-fours, four par-threes
Field 144 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three

Course records – 72 holes 253 Justin Thomas (2017) 18 holes 59 Justin Thomas (2017)

Course winners taking part Jerry Kelly, KJ Choi, Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, Russell Henley, Jimmy Walker (twice), Patton Kizzire, Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama

Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Tom Kim (14), Jordan Spieth (15), Billy Horschel (18), Sungjae Im (19), Hideki Matsuyama (21)

When to bet By 5pm on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Thursday

Time difference Hawaii is ten hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week – Sentry Tournament of Champions 1 J Rahm (6-1), 2 C Morikawa (20-1), T3 T Hoge (66-1), M Homa (33-1), T5 T Kim (28-1), JJ Spaun (125-1)

Course type Parkland

Course overview Waialae, host since 1965, contrasts greatly with the wide-open Plantation Course where Jon Rahm won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui last week. The fairways are thin, the greens are small and accuracy is the key to success. The Hawaii turf and trade winds are similar to Kapalua, though, and Sentry runners have an excellent record of Sony success. The most difficult holes are the 488-yard par-four first and the 478-yard par-four 13th

Story of last year Hideki Matsuyama produced one of the shots of the season to set up a short eagle putt to win a playoff against Russell Henley

Weather forecast Sunny and warm for the most part, with gentle breezes

Type of player suited to the challenge Pure, accurate ball-striking has typically been the key to success at Waialae, as demonstrated by wins for David Toms, Paul Goydos, KJ Choi, Zach Johnson, Mark Wilson, Johnson Wagner, Fabian Gomez and Matt Kuchar. The forecast suggests scoring will be low this week and sharp putting also seems essential

Key attribute Accuracy

Spotlight insight 17 of the 24 Sony winners played at Kapalua the previous week

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