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Expert picks for the Sony Open

Sure, it's only January, but Marc Leishman is currently No. 15 in the FedEx Cup standings. Getty Images

The best golfers in the world stay in Hawaii for another week, this time in Honolulu for the Sony Open, the second event of the 2018 calendar year.

Our panel of ESPN and FantasyGolfInsider experts have laid out the players whom they believe have the skills to succeed and provide big fantasy point totals.


Picks to win

Marc Leishman

The Aussie dropped to a tie for seventh at the Sentry Tournament of Champions after having held a share of the 36-hole lead, but he's still playing some of the best golf of his career, dating back to late last season when he won the BMW Championship. Leishman also has a good record at Waialae Country Club, where he has two top-10 finishes and hasn't missed a cut in eight appearances. -- Bob Harig

Brian Harman

It's already been a tough week for the Georgia Bulldogs, but a few of them could still bring some smiles to the folks in Athens. Kevin Kisner is a viable selection, but the pick here is Harman, who has finished in the top 10 in all four of his starts this season. He also has a slight advantage over most of the field, getting some tourney reps last week at Kapalua. -- Jason Sobel

Charles Howell III

Look up the phrase "horse for the course" in the dictionary when talking about the Sony Open, and Chucky Three Sticks' name had better be in the top two entries. Since 2002, he's never missed the cut at this event. Let me put that in all caps: SIXTEEN STRAIGHT YEARS in the money, with two runner-ups, two third places and eleven top-10 finishes. Howell has only finished outside the top 27 three times, the last coming in 2011. Saying that he is overdue for a win (none since 2007) would be like saying the Cleveland Browns are overdue for a draft pick to work out. Still, don't be surprised when his name is close to the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round. -- Michael Collins

DraftKings value picks

Brian Gay

Gay's former caddie mentioned how well the golfer has played on this course in the past, with two top-10 finished and only one missed cut in 10 appearances. Gay's track record on corollary courses is pretty superb, with a top-five at the RSM Classic and a top-10 at the RBC Heritage. I like him in all formats, and he could be the high-upside guy to use in cash games to differentiate your lineups. -- Taras Pitra

Stewart Cink

Cink probably sets up as a cash play as he's only missed two cuts in 10 appearances. He also ranked highly on the tour last year in "birdie or better" percentage on par-4 holes. Unfortunately, his results thus far haven't been superior, but if you're looking for a cheap cut maker, Cink is your guy. As far as his play goes on similar courses, he finished inside the top 10 at last year's St. Jude and turned in more middling performances in the other events. All in all, it's basically what you'd expect out of a 44 year old. -- Jeff Bergerson

Jason Dufner

Priced far too cheaply this week, we have a chance to get one of the better golfers in the field at a bargain-basement price. True, he missed the cut in last year's event, but finished in the top 10 in 2016. Dufner is one of the better all-around ball-strikers on tour, and looked good with his putter last week on the Bermuda grass greens at the TOC. He's a clear fit in every key statistical category this week, outside of his putting. As long as he can maintain what he had going a week ago, he should be in great shape. -- Adam Daly

FanDuel value picks

Ryan Armour

After a solid performance at the Tournament of Champions, Armour heads to a course that should suit his game really well. He's a shorter hitter, but it's a shorter, par-70 course. The fairways are narrow, but Armour led the tour in accuracy last season and was near the top in terms of hitting greens, so he should be well-positioned all week. He was sharp near the end of the season and in the fall, and has made the cut in nine of his last ten events -- including a win. Not a lot of people are likely to look his way, so he works well as a contrarian play, and one who offers salary cap relief. -- Zach Turcotte

Chez Reavie

Reavie was a reliable fantasy option to close out the 2016-17 PGA Tour season and, so far in 2017-18, he seems to be keeping the ball rolling. A top-13 finish at the Safeway Open was followed up by three consecutive top-25 finishes during stops in Asia. He then closed out his fall schedule with a top-14 finish at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Reavie now returns to action for the first time in 2018 and his game sets up nicely for the Waialae Country Club, where he had a top-10 finish last year. While he may have a difficult time finishing strong at times, his ability to stay in the mix and still get finishing position points is worth the $9,300 salary on FanDuel this week. -- Erik Dantoft