With a win in Hawaii last week Justin Thomas made it crystal clear he intends to start being included in the most important golf conversations with Spieth, Day, McIlroy and Johnson. The former college teammate of Jordan Spieth picked up his fourth professional win in the elite field event, and in the process compounded Hideki Matsuyama to just his second loss in four months (also to Thomas).
It’s only a matter of time before Thomas joins the echelon, and it could be sooner rather than later if he can pick up another Hawaiian win this week.
The Course
Waialae Country Club in Hawaii is nicely positioned between a spectacular mountain range on the north and the vast Pacific Ocean on the south. Built in 1920, it’s a spectacular combination of scenery and strategic golf. The golf course has improved out of sight over the last few years – coinciding with the PGA Tour setting up the Sony Open here in 1999. The course now tests PGA Tour players with sharply tailored greens and protected fairways, while television viewers are simply treated to exquisite sunset views.
The Defending Champion
Fabian Gomez won for the second time on the PGA TOUR here in 2016. The Argentine started the final round four shots adrift but closed strongly with seven straight birdies midway through his final round. His 20-under total of 260 was too good for nearest challengers Brandt Snedeker and Zac Blair. Bookies aren’t giving him much chance to repeat, though. He’s at $81 to go back to back.
The Contenders*
Justin Thomas $13
Fresh off a win last week, Thomas is the form golfer in the world right now (along with Hideki Matsuyama. Thomas is the only player to beat Matsuyama over the last four months). His win last week could be the start of something incredible as he looks to challenge the other names at the top of world golf more regularly. Two wins and a fourth from his last four starts. Should go close.
Hideki Matsuyama $8
Last six starts have been four wins and two seconds. The guy is in serious form. And despite having a less than stellar record at Waialae, his imported putting should still see him feature on the leaderboard come Sunday.
Jordan Spieth $7
The tournament favourite based on a strong history in Hawaii and some promising form last week. Spieth’s final round last week was the best in the field and showed his game is heading in the right direction. If he can eliminate the mistakes (he had triples and doubles last week) he’ll be tricky to beat even though he missed the cut at his last start here.
Jimmy Walker $21
Two-time winner here and last week’s first round leader. Walker won by nine here in 2015 and followed it up with a top 15 last year. Seriously comfortable on Hawaiian courses as evidenced by his 66 scoring average. Consider.
Paul Casey $21
Hasn’t played a bunch of late, but before a summer off had four consecutive top 4s. Casey opened last year’s event with a 62, which remains his career lowest round on the PGA Tour. It will be interesting to see if he’s still got the belief from last year’s incredible effort.
*Odds from Sportsbet.
The Winner
Thomas looks sensible money for an outright market or for a finish inside the top 5/10. Outside of the contenders above Gary Woodland is good money at $36. Those two are where I’d be looking.
