2024 Sony Open: Head-to-Head Matchups Odds & Picks

by Tom Stad |
Jan 10, 2024

In the words of Dak Prescott pre-snap, “Here we gooooo”! We have our first full-field event of the 2024 PGA Tour season this week. There will be 144 players who tee it up Thursday at Waialea Country Club in Honolulu in pursuit of the first ticket to next year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Chris Kirk, who won The Sentry last week, is in the field and playing as well as he ever has on Tour. Swedish phenom Ludvig Aberg is primed for a big year and is currently sitting at +1800 to win, slightly behind tournament favorite Tyrrell Hatton, who sits at +1600. 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 and picks.

Waialea C.C. will play 7,044 yards, and par is 70 this week. 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. Tight fairways and flat greens will put a premium on accuracy this week, so keep that in mind when deciding who to back.

Let’s get to the picks.

2024 Sony Open in Hawaii Head-to-Head Matchup Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Lucas Glover vs. Matt Kuchar

This one is a matchup of a couple of grizzled veterans. Both golfers are in their mid-40s and still going strong. If nothing else, Matt Kuchar is the model of consistency. The Georgia Tech alum finished 66th in the FedEx Cup standings each of the last two seasons and has a combined 10 top-25 finishes over that span. A winner here in 2009, Kuchar also finished in the top 10 each of the last two seasons.

The 44-year-old Lucas Glover has been far less consistent, going over a decade without a victory on Tour. That changed significantly last season, with back-to-back victories at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The Clemson graduate got off to a poor start here in 2023, missing the cut, but posted a T5 the year prior. Three straight rounds in the 60s last week resulted in a T29 finish. Look for Glover to continue to dial it in this week.

The Pick: Lucas Glover (-110)

Cam Davis vs. Keegan Bradley

28-year-old Cam Davis is no stranger to Waialea. The Australian will be making his sixth-career start here, but he has yet to find much success. Davis posted a top-10 finish in 2020 but has failed to finish higher than T27 in his other four appearances. Davis got off to a rough start with a T52 last week, so he’s not exactly in good form.

Keegan Bradley isn’t exactly off to a great start this season, either. Bradley was only marginally better last week, finishing T45 at The Sentry. Still, the Vermont native is making his 12th start here and has a pair of T12 finishes in the last four seasons. The nephew of LPGA legend Pat Bradley had one of his best years on Tour last season, finishing ninth in the FedEx Cup and winning twice. We’re banking on him improving this week and taking down Davis in this matchup.

The Pick: Keegan Bradley (+105)

Denny McCarthy vs. Brendon Todd

Still in search of his first career win, Denny McCarthy came up just short at the Memorial Tournament last season, losing in a playoff to Viktor Hovland. Despite that loss, the Maryland native put together a solid season and finished with three straight top-10 results. This will be the 30-year-old’s third start at Waialea, and he will look to make the cut and finish strong for the third year in a row.

While Brendon Todd has three career wins, he hasn’t found the winner’s circle since the 2019 Bermuda Championship. The University of Georgia product will be making his 10th career appearance in Honolulu, where he has made the cut nine times. Despite making the weekend in all but one start, Todd has yet to post a top-10 finish here. Look for McCarthy to best him this week.

The Pick: Denny McCarthy (-110)

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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