by Over the years, we’ve seen a bevy of veterans finish in the top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Players like Matt Kuchar, Russell Henley, Lucas Glover, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, and Keegan Bradley have all found recent success at Waialae Country Club. And now, 36-year-old Nick Taylor has added his name to the list of Sony winners, a hot start to his 11th season on the PGA Tour.
Personally, I don’t think it’s imperative for players to have reps on this golf course before having success at the Sony. However, I do think seasoned veterans show up on Sony leaderboards because over the years they’ve refined their skills and ability to control the golf ball with different shot types and trajectories, which becomes important when the wind blows. Particularly on the back nine, the Seth Raynor-designed Waialae requires players to hit crafty shots into fairways and greens that are sometimes angled diagonally, not something you see every week on the PGA Tour.
Many of the young, Trackman-equipped golfers bursting their way onto the professional golf scene are more comfortable mashing stock fades with driver than drawing a controlled 3-wood or long iron into a crosswind down a fairway lined with water on the left. Often on the PGA Tour, stock shots are the only shots you need. But when the wind kicks up at Waialae, it’s useful to have some additional shots in the bag. Young pros may not be able to consistently execute those shots just yet.
Entering the week, I was eager to see how the highly talented 25-and-under trio of Davis Thompson, Nick Dunlap, and Luke Clanton would fare on a quirky, windy week. Of the three, only Dunlap made the cut en route to a T-10 finish, an extremely impressive showing for the 21-year-old who is known more for his power than his control of the golf ball off the tee. Also, shoutout to 25-year-old Jackson Suber, the only player under 30 to finish inside the top 10.
In other category-related results, it’ll be interesting to track the performance of the 30 2024 Korn Ferry Tour grads versus the top 10 finishers from the DP World Tour in 2024 once again this PGA Tour season. At the Sony, 29 of the 30 KFT grads teed it up. Ten made the cut and just two finished inside the top 30 (Suber T-6, Paul Peterson T-10). Only two of the 10 DP World Tour graduates competed at the Sony – Jesper Svensson finished T-10 and Rikuya Hoshino missed the cut.
This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
