The Sony Open kicks off the 2026 PGA Tour season as some of the world’s best players tee off in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Sony Open: First Round Leader Picks
The Sony Open is being played at Waialae Country Club. Waialae Country Club is a par 70 golf course and ranges 7,044 yards. Waialae Country Club is one of the shortest courses on the PGA Tour schedule, but it requires sharp iron play and proficiency on Bermuda greens. The Sony Open is a full-field event, which will have a standard cut after 36 holes. The field features four of the top ten players in the world: Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun, Robert MacIntyre and Ben Griffin. Other notable players in the field are Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley. The defending champion, Nick Taylor, is also in the field.
Ben Griffin FRL (+3500)
Ben Griffin had a breakout season on the PGA Tour in 2025. He entered the season having never won on the PGA Tour, then proceeded to win three events, finish in the top ten of two majors, finish T-10 in the final FedEx Cup rankings and make his first Ryder Cup team. Griffin is hoping to carry that momentum into this season, starting with the Sony Open. He even kept himself sharp after the Ryder Cup, winning his final PGA Tour start of the season at the World Wide Technology Championship in November.
Griffin is a good course fit for the Sony Open. He finished last season fifth on tour in total strokes gained. This is a bunker-heavy course, and playing from the sand is an important factor this week. Griffin finished last season 13th on tour in proximity out of bunkers. The one weak spot in Griffin’s game is off the tee, which is not much of a factor on this course, the ninth-shortest on the PGA Tour calendar. Griffin should carry over his excellent form with his irons and putter from last season and jump out to an early hot start on Thursday at the Sony Open.
Brian Harman FRL (+6000)
Brian Harman was very inconsistent last season. However, he proved that he can still compete with the best in the world when his game is sharp. He won the Valero Texas Open and finished T3 at the RBC Heritage within two weeks of each other last season. He also finished T10 at the Open Championship and ended up T13 in the Tour Championship to close the season out strong. If Harman carries his A-game over to this new season, he has a chance to compete at the Sony Open. His game is tailored to this course with his great wedge play and putting stroke. He has six top-25 finishes here, including one T4 finish, in his career. Harman is elite at scrambling to make pars, playing out of the sand and putting within ten feet. If his iron game is sharp on Thursday, he has a real shot to be the first-round leader at the Sony Open.
