Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 preview, picks & analysis

After what seems like an eternity, the PGA Tour makes its return at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The year should have kicked off with the Tournament of Champions last week but it was cancelled because the course was impacted by drought conditions and water management measures.

And so Canada’s Nick Taylor will defend the title he won 12 months ago.

Winning golf tournaments is not meant to be easy. Just ask Taylor, who needed two playoff holes to see off Nico Echavarria of Colombia to claim the Sony Open - his fifth PGA Tour win.

He had an eagle at the par-five 18th while Echavarria got up and down from a greenside bunker to force the extra holes at Waialae. Both players birdied the 18th the second time around but when they repeated the hole, Echavarria missed from seven feet while Taylor holed out from about half the distance for his third successive playoff victory.

"I'm a bit stunned this worked out this way," he said. "To be able to hit a nice pitch, unfortunate for Nico to hit a three-putt there to open the door for me, but knowing I can rise to the occasion, it's pretty fun."

There will be no Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy in Hawaii. McIlroy is otherwise occupied in Dubai, while the world number one has chosen to delay his return to competitive action. However, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre is part of the field this week.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

I will be keeping a close eye on Michael Kim this year. He was born in South Korea but raised in San Diego. He attended the University of California, where he was a teammate of Max Homa.

On June 2, 2013, he became the first University of California men's golfer to win national player of the year honours when he was named by the Golf Coaches Association of America as the Division I recipient of the 2013 Jack Nicklaus Award.

That same season, he won the Haskins Award, which goes to the national player of the year in men's college golf and selected by voting from players, coaches and members of the national media.

He qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open and after the third round, was tied for 10th He finished tied for 17th and was the low amateur. After such a glittering amateur career, big things were expected of Kim.

He turned professional in December 2013 and had limited status on the 2014 Web.com Tour. He played in 17 events, making the cut in 11 with a best finish of tied second at the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

He played on the Web.com Tour again in 2015 and finished 13th on the money list, earning full-time membership to the PGA Tour for 2016.

Kim has been a full-time member of the PGA Tour since 2016, and won his first PGA Tour event at the 2018 John Deere Classic by eight shots, setting the tournament scoring record. In the process. But he missed 19 cuts in 20 events in 2019 and fell to 502nd in the world rankings.

In the 2020-21 season he made just nine cuts in 30 starts, finished 214th in the FedEx Cup standings and lost his full PGA Tour Card. In 2021-22, Kim returned to the Korn Ferry Tour and regained his PGA Tour card for the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.

He finished tied second at the 2025 Phoenix Open and won his first DP World Tour title at the French Open in September 2025. Kim says he has been working hard during the off-season and is determined to get back into the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour. He could be one to watch this week.

You could be forgiven for doing a double-take if you see 62-year-old Vijay Singh. 

Not content with his 648 PGA Tour appearances, he is taking advantage of a loophole that will allow him to take part in a full campaign. How? He is sixth in the all-time career money list and that means he is entitled to a one-year exemption. I am utterly at a loss to understand why a man who is clearly past his prime but who earns a comfortable living on the Champions Tour would want to compete against young guns who will be blasting the ball 30+ yards beyond him. His last regular event was the 2021 Honda Classic, where he missed the cut after rounds of 74 and 73. And the last time he played 10 or more events in a season was in 2017-18.

The oldest player to make a PGA Tour cut in an individual stroke-play event is Sam Snead, who, at 67, played the weekend at the 1979 Westchester Classic. Jack Nicklaus and Fred Funk both made PGA Tour cuts at 64, and Tom Watson did so at 65. But these are different times and when Singh chooses to play he will be denying a place in the field to a younger, more deserving golfer.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2017 by Justin Thomas, in 2018 by Patton Kizzire, in 2019 by Matt Kuchar, in 2020 by Cameron Smith, in 2021 by Kevin Na, in 2022 by Hideki Matsuyama, in 2023 by Si-Woo Kim, in 2024 by the late Grayson Murray and last year by Nick Taylor.

The Course:

Waialae is a par 70 measuring just 7,044 yards. Its only real defence is the wind, and you can expect to see some very low scoring. When Justin Thomas won here in 2017 he opened with a 59 and won with a 72-hole score of 253, 27 under par.

Prize Money:

There is a prize fund of $9.1m, with 500 FedEx Cup points and $1.5m up for grabs for the winner.

How to Watch:

Thursday, January 15, Friday, January 16, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm, Saturday, January 17, Sky Sports Golf, 8.30pm, Sunday, January 18, Sky Sports Golf, 6pm.

To Win:

Hideki Matsuyama. Loves this place

Each Way:

Michael Kim. One to watch in 2026

Each Way:

Robert MacIntyre. Now in his element

Five to Follow:

Hideki Matsuyama. Will be hoping to stay fit

Michael Kim. Looking to make progress after good 2025

Robert MacIntyre. Loving life on the PGA Tour

Tom Kim. Needs to turn things around

Collin Morikawa. Has a point to prove

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Luke Clanton. I believe he is going to be a sensation

Dan Brown. Huge opportunity for the Englishman

Haotong Li. Will be fascinating

Gordon Sargent. Could be a superstar

Jordan Spieth. Can the three-time major winner return to form in 2026?