19th Hole
Vincenzi: Sony Open First Round Leader picks
The first full-field event of the 2023 golf season is upon us as the PGA Tour stays in Hawaii to play the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. The short par 70 (7,054) sets up well for accurate players off the tee who can dial it in with their irons and catch a hot putter for the week.
Since 2010, the winners at Waialae have gained 48.6% of their strokes against the field putting, which is the highest of any course on TOUR. In the past five editions of the tournament, there have been nine first-round leaders or co-leaders. Of the nine, four have come from the morning wave, and five have come from the afternoon wave. It appears there is no real advantage to either starting time historically but that may be impacted this year as a result of the weather.
As of Tuesday, the wind looks as if it may be a factor during round one. The early starters should see winds 12 MPH with gusts up to 17 MPH. The afternoon starters will have the more difficult draw. Winds will be around 20 MPH with gusts up to 28 MPH. For this reason, I’d favor AM starters but wouldn’t rule out the PM wave completely.
Sony Open First-Round-Leader Selections
Billy Horschel +8000 (BetRivers)
First-Round Tee Time: 8:20 a.m. Local Time
Last week, we saw veteran Chris Kirk benefit from having some time off. I feel the same may apply to Billy Horschel.
Horschel ended 2023 summer strong, finishing 13th at the 3M Open and 4th at the Wyndham Championship. He then went over to the DP World Tour and finished in the top 20 in three of his four starts, including a T14 at the Alfred Dunhill Links. The busy schedule caught up with the 37-year-old, and he missed the cut at the RSM Classic.
If Billy is recharged, Waialae should be a good course for him to perform well at. He finished 7th here in 2021, posting four rounds of 66 or better (65, 66, 66, 65). Horschel should enter 2024 with a chip on his shoulder.
Justin Suh +8000 (FanDuel, Caesars, BetRivers)
First-Round Tee Time: 1 p.m Local Time
Last season, Justin Suh seemed to have a habit of starting quickly out of the gates and fizzle over the weekend. Therefore, to start 2024, I’ll be looking to target him in the first-round-leader market rather than the outright market.
The numbers would indicate that Suh being a fast starter is indeed the case. In his past 24 rounds, the USC product ranks 1st in the field in Strokes Gained: Total in round one. A short, scoreable course should suit Suh well this week.
Taiga Semikawa +10000 (Caesars)
First-Round Tee Time: 9 a.m Local Time
Taiga Semikawa has been scorching hot of late, finishing in the top ten of four of his past five starts on the Japan Tour, inlcuding a dominant victory in his most recent start. The 23-year-old is busting at the seams with talent, and I believe will eventually become a factor on the PGA Tour. Waialae should provide a pretty comfortable layout for the young Japanese star.
Did I mention he was named after Tiger Woods?
Jhonnatan Vegas +12500 (BetRivers)
First-Round Tee Time: 8:30 a.m Local Time
I am absolutely ecstatic to have Jhonnatan Vegas back on the PGA Tour after an injury hiatus, as he will be featured in my first-round-leader column regularly in 2024.
After eight months off, the Venezuelan played twice this fall on the DP World Tour and looked to have quickly returned to form. After a missed cut to shake off the rust in his first start, he finished 17th at the ISPS Handa Australian Open.
Vegas has historically been a fast starter. In his past 50 rounds, the 39-year-old ranks 6th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total in round one.
Harry Hall +14000 (Bet365)
First-Round Tee Time: 1:10 p.m Local Time
Harry Hall finished 28th in his debut at the Sony Open last season, posting four rounds in the 60’s including an opening round 66. The Englishman has been excellent on resort courses and also finished 3rd (and really should have won) the Charles Schwab at Colonial which shares strong leaderboard correlation with Waialae.
I tend to favor good putters for first-round leader bets and Hall ranks first in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting in the first round in his past 24 rounds.
Nico Echavarria +14000 (Bet365)
First-Round Tee Time: 8:10 a.m Local Time
Nico Echavarria has his specialty courses on Tour, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that Waialae could be one of them. He finished 12th at the course last year and his season started strong with a 25th place finish at The Sentry last week in a loaded field.
Last season, the Colombian won the Puerto Rico Open while missing four straight cuts prior to the win and missing two cuts immediately after demonstrating his love for the coast. As Ernest Hemingway once said, “A man is never lost at sea”.
Joel Dahmen +15000 (BetRivers)
First-Round Tee Time: 8:40 a.m Local Time
Joel Dahmen had a strong fall, finishing 13th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and 7th at the Shriners Children’s Open, gaining 4.6 strokes on approach at TPC Summerlin, which is the most he’d gained since November of 2022.
Dahmen has had some solid starts at Waialae, finishing 22nd at the course in 2019 and 12th in 2020, closing with a 4th round 66.
The fan-favorite will be looking to hit the ground running it 2024.
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19th Hole
Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year
While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.
Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”
The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.
Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships
While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.
“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.
“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.
“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’
“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.
“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”
Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.
Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items
The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Since then, more details have emerged about the case.
According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.
Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”
The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.
Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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