Sony Open in Hawaii 2019: Course and current form guides for Waialae

From the wide open fairways of Kapalua, the PGA Tour travels to the shorter, tighter Waialae Country Club for this week's Sony Open.

As many as 23 of the 34 golfers who contested the Tournament of Champions remain in Hawaii, for what will be a completely different test of golf on the island of Oahu.

The fairways are narrower while the greens are smaller, placing a greater emphasis on accuracy.

And unlike the many undulating fairways of the Plantation course, those at Waialae are generally flat.

One feature that should remain consistent from last week will be the coastal breezes, which blow across these vulnerable Pacific islands.

Huge Advantage

However, those who played at Kapalua should still have a huge advantage over the rest of the field.

This is because approximately two-thirds of those taking part have not struck a competitive ball for more than seven weeks.

Justin Thomas, winner of the Sony Open in 2017, stood on the podium at the weekend and will most likely start as favourite at Waialae.

Aussie Marc Leishman, fourth at Kapalua on Sunday, stays in Hawaii along with defending champion Patton Kizzire who finished eighth at the Tournament of Champions.

It is not yet known whether Gary Woodland, who suffered a family bereavement last week, will tee-up at Waialae on Thursday.

If he does, he will face a course on which he has posted three top 10s in his last four visits.

Other players who have enjoyed a string of top-10 finishes here include Charles Howell, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and veteran Jerry Kelly.

Howell and Kuchar competed at Kapalua last week, while former Sony champions Johnson and Kelly did not.

Howell will particularly fancy his chances at Waialae following his victory in Georgia in November, which was his first PGA Tour success in more than 11 and a half years.

Recent Trend

Yet course form does not appear to hold any major significance in this event, probably due to the time of year it is staged.

With many players still dusting off the cobwebs, following the festive period, it should come as little surprise that six of Waialae's last 10 champions had never previously posted a top-25 finish at the course.

Current Form

Two players who finished 2018 strongly were Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer, although neither qualified for Kapaula.

Smith won the Australian PGA Championship on home soil, while Mexico's Ancer won Australia's national open.

And world No 53 Shugo Imahira ended last year in good shape thanks to eight straight top-15 finishes in Japan, which included a victory at the Bridgestone Open.

In all, the Japanese pro posted seven podium finishes on his home tour during 2018.

Established PGA Tour Venue

Waialae has been around since 1927, making its Tour debut 53 years ago.

It underwent a revamp in the early 1990s and is one of the lowest-scoring venues on the calendar.

The course has more than 80 bunkers and, since the turn of the Millennium, the average winning 72-hole total is 262.5.

Only twice since 2000 has the winner fired a four-round score higher than 266.

Waialae has never been a venue where the shorter drivers on Tour have been at a distinct disadvantage.

Eleven of the most recent 13 winners have been American, with Waialae yet to crown a European champion.

The journey for those who played last week on the island of Maui will have been a comfortable 80 miles.

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List contains leading reserves