For the first event of the 2026 PGA TOUR season, we head to Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7,044 yards, Bermuda greens) in Honolulu, Hawaii for the Sony Open. Ever since this event was added to the PGA TOUR schedule in 1965, Waialae CC has been the only course to host a Sony Open. At this tournament last year, Nick Taylor (-16) by defeated Nico Echavarria in a playoff. There are 120 players competing this week and there will be a top-65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.
Below, I dive into two of my favorite DFS options on DraftKings for the Sony Open.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Season Tee Off [$100K to 1st]
Corey Conners ($8,600)
Conners only missed one cut in 21 starts last season and he carded 12 top-25 finishes, including a T4 at the TOUR Championship to conclude the season. While his recent outings were two unofficial events, Conners was successful in December following the season, finishing T7th at the Hero World Challenge and then T5th at the Grant Thornton Invitational with Brooke Henderson as his partner at the team PGA/LPGA co-sanctioned event.
Conners has gained strokes on approach in six of his last eight solo starts and the veteran has been excellent at Waialae CC, making six of seven cuts at the par 70 with four top-15 finishes. Conners finished T3rd at Waialae CC in 2019 and he ranks third in strokes gained per round at the venue among the players in the field who have competed here more than once. Conners was priced all the way up to $10,200 for last year’s Sony Open, and despite returning to Waialae CC three spots higher in the world golf rankings this week at No. 30, his salary is down to only $8,600. This is almost inexcusable as Conners is a value who simply can’t be ignored this week.
Nico Echavarria ($7,900)
Ehcavarria has thrived at Waialae CC, finishing T12th, T66th and runner-up in his three starts at the par 70, with that runner-up coming just last season. Echavarria has shot 66 or lower in five of his 12 rounds at Waialae CC and ranks fourth in strokes gained per round at the par 70 among the players in this field who have competed at Waialae CC more than once. After nearly winning the Sony Open last season, Echavarria returns to this course coming off an impressive fall swing.
From October to November, the Columbian finished 9th, T14th, T46th and T4th, in that order. Echavarria shot under par in 14 of these 16 rounds, most notably with a 9-under 63 to close out the World Wide Technology Championship in November. This event was played at El Cardonal in Mexico and Echavarria has a real prowess for tropical venues. In addition to his runner-up at Waialae CC last season, Echavarria won the 2023 Puerto Rico Open by two shots. The 31-year-old being priced under $8,000 this week is surprising, making Echavarria a value play to take advantage of.
Sahith Theegala ($7,100)
After producing just two top-25 finishes in 23 starts last season as he dealt with nagging neck and back injuries, Theegala is looking to have a big bounce-back season in 2026. The 28-year-old isn’t guaranteed PGA TOUR status in 2027, so he will need to have an impressive campaign in 2026 and a late resurgence this past fall suggests his game is trending in the right direction.
After missing four straight cuts in the summer, Theegala finished T38th, T27th, T27th, T42nd and MC in the fall (in that order). He gained strokes on approach at four of these five events and that missed cut at the RSM Classic to conclude the run was largely the result of one mediocre round. Theegala opened the event with an even par 70, but then rallied back with a 4-under 66 in the second round to miss the weekend by just one shot.
Theegala has shot under par in 13 of his last 15 rounds and now heads to Waialae CC, where he has made two of three cuts and finished T37th last season. Focused and ready for the fresh start that this new season brings, Theegala should have a better performance this week. Not only is he cheap, but Theegala shouldn’t be popular by any means after his disappointing 2025 season.
