Sony Open 2023 picks, predictions, odds, field: PGA pundit says Tom Kim, loses to Jordan Spieth at Waialae

Nearly half of the PGA Tour courses from last week will make the short trip to Honolulu for the 2023 Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. Nineteen of the 39 players from the Sentry Tournament of Champions are scheduled to tee off on Thursday. The top names are three-time major champion Jordan Spieth, defending Sony Open champion Hideki Matsuyama and 20-year-old rising star Tom Kim. Matsuyama recovered from five shots down with nine holes to play last year before beating Russell Henley in the playoffs. This is the second time in three years the Sony Open has added extra holes. Matsuyama hit 63 consecutive hits for a victory score of 23 below par, and this is expected to drop again in 2023. The average win score over the past 10 years has been under 20.

The latest Sony Open 2023 odds from Caesars Sportsbook list Kim as the favorite at 12-1, with Sungjae Im (14-1) and Spieth (16-1) right behind. Other top contenders in the field of the 2023 Sony Open are Matsuyama (18-1), Henley (22-1) and Tom Hoge (22-1). Before you close any Sony Open 2023 picks, Make sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.

After stints at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald’s still likes to dip his toes into weekly betting groups on the PGA Tournament.

McDonald’s takes a deliberate approach to its outright selections and is having a successful 2022-2023 season in every category. He nailed the Houston Open, backed Tony Finau to a 25-1 win, and rallied nearly 10 units in his play total. That’s a nearly $1,000 profit for those who bet $100. The pro has also cashed in on his head-to-head matches and made a lot of money as Brendan Steele (80-1) as the first round lead at the Zozo Championship.

The professional finished the 2021-22 season with 42 units in his outright games, beating Cameron Smith (22-1) at the League of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship. Last week, he listed Jon Rahm among his top picks, and the 28-year-old dropped 10 points on Sunday to win. Anyone who follows McDonald’s advice benefits.

Now, McDonald’s has researched the 2023 Sony Open pitch and is closing in on its best bets, top oversleepers and favorites to avoid. You can visit SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.

Sony Open Experts’ Top Picks in 2023

Shockingly, McDonald’s is fading away Spieth, the biggest name in the field and one of the betting lovers. The 29-year-old won a similar course in Harbor Town last April, but the expert knows it was a mistake. Spieth is inaccurate at teeing off – he placed 150th on the tour with a 56% hit rate on the roll last season – and is not very good with approach nor on the green. He doesn’t rank in the top 50 when approaching anywhere but 100 yards. Spieth missed out on two of his four Waialae appearances, including his last in 2019, and finished in the top 20 the other two.

Experts also know Kim is a favorite here for a reason. McDonald said that Waialae “should be an ideal statistical fit” for the South Korean, who is a two-time PGA Tour champion. He has 11 wins worldwide since 2018, many on smaller Asian tours and is the highest-ranking player in the field. He’s 14th, one place ahead of Spieth and one of the most accurate players on the tour. Kim finished sixth last season in both driving accuracy (72.8 percent) and regulatory greens (76.4 percent). He is also sixth in GPA (69.3) and fifth last week in Kapalua. You can see who else will return to Waialae Country Club here.

How to make Sony Open 2023 picks

Ahead of this week’s PGA Tour event, McDonald’s had his best bet on the 2023 Sony Open. His outright play included five key long shots that scored more than 40-1. One of these players excels on tight courts where tee accuracy is important and if this player can land a breakout win he’ll take home a big payday more than 100-1. You can find out who it is and see the rest of the McDonald’s Sony Open picks, predictions and best bets at SportsLine.

So which Sony Open 2023 should you target? Which player has an off-court match to win by more than 100-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top backing picks for the 2023 Sony Open, all from the pundit who raked in nearly $1,000 on his PGA Tour picks this seasonand find out.

Sony Open 2023 odds, fields, top contenders

See the full Sony Open 2023 picks, bets and predictions here.

Tom Kim +1200
Sungjae Im +1400
Jordan Spieth +1600
Hideki Matsuyama +1800
Russell Henley +1800
Tom Hoge +2200
Corey Conners +2200
Brian Harman +2600
Adam Scott +3100
Taylor Montgomery +3100
Billy Horschel +3200
Cameron Davis +3300
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +3400
Keegan Bradley +3400
Keith Mitchell +3700
Si Woo Kim +3700
Maverick Mcnealy +3700
JJ Spaun +4000
Alex Smalley +4500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +4500
MacKenzie Hughes +5000
Emiliano Grillo +5000
Harris English +5000
JT Poston +5000
Denny McCarthy +5000
Matt Kuchar +5000
Webb Simpson +5000
Gary Woodland +5000
Kurt Kitayama +5500
Adam Svensson +5500
Will Gordon +5500
Andrew Putnam +5500
Chris Kirk +6000
Brendan Steele +6500
Hayden Buckley +6500
Brendon Todd +7500
Nick Hardy +8000
Aaron Rai +8500
Davis Thompson +9000
Chun-an Yu +9000
Russel Knox +9500
Greyson Sigg +9500
Patton Kizzire +9500
Ryan Palmer +10000
Robby Shelton +10000
Stephan Jaeger +10000
Justin Suh +11000
Ryan Armor +11000
Troy Merritt +11000
Brandon Wu +11000
Ben Griffin +11000
David Lipsky +12000
Chez Reavie +12000
David Lingmerth +13000
Kevin Strelman +13000
Sam Ryder +13000
Higa Kazuki +14000
Michael Thompson +14000
Lucas Glover +14000
James Hahn +14000
Mark Hubbard +14000
Stewart Cink +14000
Taiga Semikawa +14000
Seonghyeon Kim +14000
Joseph Bramlett +15000
Carl Yuan +15000
Nick Taylor +16000
Brian Stutt +16000
Harry Higgs +16000
Adam Long +16000
Keita Nakajima +16000
Tyson Alexander +16000
MJ Daffee +16000
John Huh +16000
Adam Schenk +17000
Scott Piercy +17000
Cole Hammer +17000
Zac Blair +19000
Ben Taylor +19000
Austin Eckroat +21000
Daniel Lee +21000
Peter Malnati +21000
Byeong Hun An +21000
Yuto Katsuragawa +21000