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2024 Sony Open: First-Round Leader Odds, Picks & Predictions

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The 2024 PGA Tour season is underway! Chris Kirk held off a star-studded field at The Sentry Tournament of Champions Sunday to become the first winner in the new year. Now we get the first full-field event, which starts Thursday at Waialea Country Club in Honolulu with 144 players set to tee it up in Hawaii.

While there were a lot of changes to the Tour in the offseason, that’s not why you’re here, so let’s move past all the off-course changes and get right to the analysis.

Waialea C.C. will play 7,044 yards, and par is 70 this week. Scores shouldn’t be as low as last week, but the wind is forecasted to be mild throughout the tournament. Waialea can certainly open itself up to a historic round like Justin Thomas’ 59 in 2017. Last year’s champion, Si Woo Kim, posted twin 64s over the weekend on his way to a 262 (-18) for the win. So we’ll be looking to back players who are familiar with the course, are in good form based on last week’s tournament and are looking to stay hot.

Let’s get to the picks.

2024 Sony Open in Hawaii Best First-Round Leader Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Chris Kirk (50-1)

The 38-year-old claimed his sixth career win on Sunday. The Atlanta native will be making his 14th start here this week after finishing third here a year ago. Kirk opened with a 64 on his way to the title and posted an opening round 63 in 2018, so the track record is solid. With his game in tremendous form and having played here more than anyone but five other players in the field, backing the Georgia alum at this number is a no-brainer.

J.T. Poston (55-1)

Even though J.T. Poston could not secure a victory last year, the ninth-year pro finished the 2023 season strong, with top-25 finishes in six of his last eight starts. This will be the 30-year-old’s seventh start at Waialea, and he carded an opening round 64 just two years ago. Poston carded a final round 65 on Sunday to finish T5 at The Sentry Tournament of Champions last week, so let’s bank on him to stay hot and be atop the leaderboard Thursday night.

Lucas Glover (70-1)

In August, the resurgent Lucas Glover nabbed a pair of victories in back-to-back weeks in 2023 at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championships. The 44-year-old veteran got off to a slow start last week, posting an opening round 72, before settling in and carding three straight rounds in the 60s on his way to a T29 finish. The South Carolina native is just a year removed from a T5 finish here and has gone as low as 64 at Waialea. Glover is worth a sprinkle at this number, and you could be rewarded with a nice payout if he can put together a solid round on Thursday.

Best of luck in the new year. Let’s cash some tickets and have some fun along the way!

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday:


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