Betting on Golf – Odds to Win the Sony Open from Hawaii

Zach Johnson Looks to Repeat in this Week’s Sony Open

Held at the Waialae Country Club in Hawaii, the Sony Open figures to be the tournament where Zach Johnson begins his quest to move into elite status on the PGA Tour.  Johnson won the Sony Open in 2009.

Zach shot a 15 under 265 in order to take home the winner’s share of the Sony Open purse, $972,000, last January and will be looking to do the same this week when he and his fellow PGA pros tee-off on Thursday. 

Will Zach do it or will some other terrific golfer beat him on the course?  Every golfer is going off at double-digit odds in the golf sportsbook in this week’s tournament.  It’s time for gamblers to take a hard look at some of the logical contenders.

Sony Open To Win

1. Zach Johnson +1600 – - Johnson is not only the defending champion but he had a decent tournament out of the gate last week in the SBS Championship.  Johnson finished 18th which was far away from Geoff Ogilvy but good enough for me to believe that he has a shot this week in the Sony Open.  His driving accuracy, a key stat that could determine the outcome in this tournament, is 75%.  The PGA Tour average is roughly 71%.  Zach could repeat in the Sony Open this week.

2. Steve Stricker +1000 – - Stricker started out 2010 well finishing 10th behind Ogilvy.  It wasn’t a bad tournament for Stricker.  In fact some might say it was a very good tournament as Stricker improved in each round in last week’s tourney.  Stricker has finished tied for 4th in 2 out of the past 3 years at the Sony Open.  He could very well win it as the 10 to 1 favorite this year.

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3. Ernie Els +1800 – - The odds on Els are pretty good as Ernie won this tournament in 2003 and 2004.  He also finished up 2009 well by finishing 2nd in the WGC-HSBC Championship behind Phil Mickelson in Hong Kong.  He’s a contender.

4. Sean O’Hair +1500 – - O’Hair finished tied 4th in last week’s SBS Championship.  O’Hair is definitely talented and could win this but his driving accuracy, 65% as opposed to the PGA Tour average of 71%, could hurt him at Waialae.  If he’s improved his accuracy from 2009 to 2010, then he will be able to contend in the Sony Open this week.

5. David Toms +3000 – - The 2006 Sony Open winner hasn’t won another trophy since.  He tied for 2nd in last year’s Sony Open and was 4th in fairways hit in 2009.  That’s an important stat that could held Toms in this tournament.  At the odds, there aren’t many better bets in the Sony Open than David Toms.

6. Rory Sabbatini +2000 – - Sabbatini has finished tied 2nd twice in the Sony Open since 2006.  If that weren’t enough of an incentive to bet him, how about the 63 he shot in the final round of the SBS Championship last week?  Sabbatini made a big run at Geoff Ogilvy but fell a stroke short at -21 in that tournament.  He could win the Sony Open.

Best Underdog

Jerry Kelly +5500 – -  Kelly won the Sony Open in 2002.  Since then he has finished in the Top 5 three times and the Top 25 six out of 7 times.  Kelly isn’t ranked all that high in any key statistical category but his penchant for playing well in Hawaii, and in particular this tournament, makes him a nice underdog to bet.