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Three Asians can shine in Hawaii
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An Italian pick in the desert
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Read Steve's Sony Open preview here
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And his Dubai Invitational preview here
Three full weeks of inactivity on the sport's two main circuits will have many of us suffering from withdrawal symptoms which makes all the rumblings out of the PGA Tour HQ in Florida even more worrying - because new supremo Brian Rolapp apparently wants a schedule with just 20-odd events on it!
This year we've already lost The Sentry (because the course, badly damaged in poor weather last year, was not up to standard yet) and this week's Sony Open is among the tournaments apparently in the CEO's crosshairs.
We'd better tuck in while we have the opportunity!
Sony Open Bet #1 - Back Haotong Li @ 130.0
There's no doubting the boom or bust nature of China's Haotong Li, but 2025 was a boom to such an extent that he earned himself a crack at the PGA Tour this season and this week represents a good opportunity for him to start well.
The most obvious sense of that notion is that he closed 2025 in good nick. He held a halfway lead in October at the Genesis Championship, was T8 in the DP World Tour Championship after a very slow start (T46 after 18 holes), and then T10 in the Nedbank Challenge.
He also likes a blustery oceanside test, nearly winning at windy Verdura in Sicily, notching two Open top five finishes, and landing victories at Emirates and Doha (the latter in February year).
Finally he has course experience with a MC in 2016 (two 69s) and T12 in 2022. In the latter, he opened 63-65 and was third with 18 holes to play.
And if we wanted any more encouragement he is also a pick for Dave Tindall.
Back Haotong Li in the Sony Open
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0
Sony Open Bet #2 - Back Seonghyeon Kim @ 230.0
Another Asian with two previous course visits is Korea's Seonghyeon Kim who was T12 on debut in 2023 and T30 two years ago (including a second round 64).
Since he started competing in the States in 2022 he's taken a shine to tropical island golf, landing a second and third in the Bahamas - the most recent of them last year when he lost a play-off.
After graduating from the second tier last year he knocked off four consecutive top 20s in Asia and should be chipper about this week's test.
Back Seonghyeon Kim 1U
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0
Sony Open Bet #3 - Back Keita Nakajima @ 140.0
A third Asian but another who has seen the course before and, in the case of the 25-year-old Japanese player, he's made the cut in both of his starts (in 2022 and 2023) and in the first of them a second round 64 vaulted him to T5 on the 36-hole leaderboard (and five of his eight scores have been sub-68).
He's taken quite a liking to India with a win and second at DLF CC plus another runner-up finish at Delhi GC and, while the geography and backdrop won't tally with a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, those courses do feature Bermuda grass greens (which this week's test also features).
He has also played well at Jumeirah (T7 and T16) and Emirates (T21) in an albeit small sample of such putting surfaces.
Back Keita Nakajima
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0
Dubai Invitational Bet #1 - Back Guido Migliozzi @ 260.0
I was sorely tempted by two-time desert winner Antoine Rozner as he slipped into three figures but eventually selected the Italian Guido Migliozzi who was an improving-through-the-week T13 on the course (Dubai Creek) in 2024.
There's a notion that this test resembles The Belfry and Eichenried in the shaping, many of the landing areas are defined by water like Le Golf National, and, like Emirates, it is designed by Karl Litten.
Migliozzi has lost in extra holes at The Belfry, has a top 10 at Eichenried, was a winner at Le Golf, and was eighth at Emirates this time last year.
Back Guido Migliozzi
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0