Sony Open in Hawaii 2025 First-Round Leader Tips: Picks at 55/1 and 60/1

• 55/156.00 Chris Kirk has twice been a first-round leader at Waialae

• 55/156.00 Harry Hall is in great form and has been starting fast too

• 60/161.00 MacKenzie Hughes has strong current and FRL form

Weather forecast for Thursday

While the sun comes out from Friday to Sunday, the course is set to experience rain in the build-up although that looks set to cease just before the morning starters tee off on Thursday.

Winds start at around 7mph and pick up to nearly double that by midday but there's nothing dramatic in terms of gusts.

Overall, the very early starters should get a soft course, less wind and smoother greens so I'll focus there.

Chris Kirk @ 55/156.00

Chris Kirk's defence of The Sentry didn't go too well (44th) although middle rounds of 67-68 (11-under) were hardly too shabby.

But he has a second chance to make his fortnight in Hawaii a happy one as Waialae is a course where he's flourished previously.

In the last four years Kirk has a second and a third and wind back further and you'll find another runners-up finish, fifth and 10th.

As for the FRL market, he's twice set the pace here on day one thanks to an opening 63 in 2018 and a Thursday 64 in 2023.

In fact his last four Thursday scores at the Sony show 66, 64, 66, 65.

A first-round leader in the St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind just six starts ago, Kirk can hopefully cash in on his early 08.00 tee-time from the 10th.

Harry Hall @ 55/156.00

Harry Hall enjoyed himself at the Sentry last week, shooting 68-65-66-70 to finish eighth. He ended every round inside the top 10.

That was an impressive debut and showed he's in good nick and now he has the chance to prove it again at a Waialae course the Englishman is familiar with.

Hall opened with a 66 to lie 11th after day one on his 2023 debut and he got another four rounds under his belt last year after posting a pair of 68s out of the gate.

The man in the flat cap certainly gets into the flow early and he hasn't been outside the top 25 after 18 holes in each of his last six starts.

Highlights include an opening 64 at the Shriners which put him second and a Thursday 65 at the Black Desert Championship that saw him finish round one in the top six.

Last year's ISCO Championship winner, who has reeled off four straight top 15s on the PGA Tour, sets off from the 1st tee at 07.50.

MacKenzie Hughes @ 60/161.00

MacKenzie Hughes has been consistently getting out of the blocks quickly.

In his last 11 starts he boasts first-round positions of 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and three others in the top 15.

That's part of a broader body of work which shows Hughes ending 2024 with four top eight finishes from his final five starts.

Two of those - the RSM Classic and Sanderson Farms - were on Bermuda greens, the same surfaces he tackles this week.

His overall form at the Sony Open is disappointing but on Hughes' penultimate visit in 2021 he fired 65s on days one and three so the Canadian can certainly score here.

On current form, he's worth a shot at the odds. Hughes drives off from the 1st at 07.40.

Read Dave's each-way Sony Open outright preview here