SportsLine’s proven model simulated the Sony Open 2022 10,000 times and revealed its PGA picks
The 2022 Sony Open gets underway from Waialae Country Club in East Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday, Jan. 13. Experienced and amateur bettors alike will lock in wagers for this event, which features a great mix of proven champions and budding superstars eager to make their mark on the PGA Tour. Major champions like Webb Simpson and Hideki Matsuyama are expected to be in the mix at the 2022 Sony Open, with 500 FedEx Cup points on the line.
Kevin Na is the defending champion, and he’s going off at 30-1 to repeat according to the latest 2022 Sony Open odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Cameron Smith, who set the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record of 34-under par last week, is going off as the 11-1 favorite on the PGA odds board. Before locking in your 2022 Sony Open picks, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, it’s up almost $10,000 on its best bets since that point, nailing tournament after tournament.
Earlier this season at the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, the model was all over Viktor Hovland (18-1) winning his third PGA Tour title.
At the 2021 Open Championship, McClure’s best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 long shot. He was also all over Daniel Berger (+220) and Emiliano Grillo (+700) finishing inside the top-20. McClure’s best bets netted over $2,200 at the 2021 Open Championship.
In addition, McClure’s model was all over Jon Rahm’s (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner. And at the 2021 Masters, McClure nailed Rahm’s (+250) top-five finish in his best bets, as well as Corey Conners’ (+550) top-10 showing.
This same model has also nailed a whopping seven majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.
Now that the 2022 Sony Open field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2022 Sony Open leaderboard.
The model’s top 2022 Sony Open predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2022 Sony Open: Matsuyama, a seven-time PGA Tour champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles and doesn’t even crack the top-five. The 29-year-old has already been victorious this season, finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Zozo Championship in October. He’s also coming off a strong showing last week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, finishing T-13.
However, Matsuyama has struggled mightily with his putter this season, ranking 205th in strokes gained: putting (-2.05), 174th in total putting (284.8) and 156h in one-putt percentage (37.78). In addition, Matsuyama hasn’t had success at Waialae Country Club, finishing T-27 or worse in three of his last four starts at the coastal venue, which doesn’t bode well for his chances to win this week. He’s not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the Sony Open 2022 field.
Another surprise: Russell Henley, a 33-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Henley doesn’t explode off the tee quite as much as some of the other top contenders, but he’s one of the best iron players on tour. In fact, Henley ranks fourth in strokes gained: approach the green (1.005) and he’s hitting over 74 percent of greens in regulation this season. Henley also ranks fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green (1.354), eighth in scoring average (69.765) and 17th in driving accuracy percentage (69.93). Those will all be valuable skills this week in Hawaii, making Henley a great choice for 2022 Sony Open bets.
How to make 2022 Sony Open picks
The model is also targeting three other golfers with odds of 30-1 or higher who will make surprising runs. Anyone who backs these long shots could hit it big.
2022 Sony Open odds
Cameron Smith 11-1
Webb Simpson 16-1
Sungjae Im 16-1
Hideki Matsuyama 20-1
Marc Leishman 22-1
Corey Conners 28-1
Kevin Na 30-1
Russell Henley 33-1
Harris English 35-1
Abraham Ancer 35-1
Kevin Kisner 35-1
Talor Gooch 35-1
Seamus Power 40-1
Matt Jones 40-1
Billy Horschel 40-1
Jason Kokrak 40-1
Cam Davis 50-1
Si-Woo Kim 50-1
Joel Dahmen 50-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1
Maverick McNealy 50-1
Charles Howell 55-1
Brendan Steele 60-1
Brendon Todd 60-1
Denny McCarthy 66-1
Ryan Palmer 66-1
Chris Kirk 66-1
Brian Harman 66-1
Matt Kuchar 66-1
Keith Mitchell 66-1
Erik Van Rooyen 66-1
Keegan Bradley 70-1
Aaron Rai 80-1
Branden Grace 80-1
Takumi Kanaya 80-1
Patton Kizzire 80-1
Tom Hoge 80-1
Lucas Herbert 80-1
Stewart Cink 80-1
Chez Reavie 80-1
Emiliano Grillo 80-1
Adam Long 90-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 90-1
Henrik Norlander 100-1
Brian Stuard 100-1
Zach Johnson 100-1
Robert Streb 100-1
Taylor Pendrith 125-1
Alex Smalley 125-1
Lucas Glover 125-1
Chad Ramey 125-1
Stephan Jaeger 125-1
Hayden Buckley 125-1
Hudson Swafford 125-1
Russell Knox 125-1
John Huh 125-1
Brandt Snedeker 150-1
Hank Lebioda 150-1
Tyler Duncan 150-1
Greyson Sigg 150-1
Adam Schenk 150-1
Rory Sabbatini 150-1
Pat Perez 150-1
J.J. Spaun 150-1
Vincent Whaley 150-1
Michael Thompson 150-1
Cameron Young 150-1
Harry Higgs 150-1
Scott Piercy 150-1
Kramer Hickok 150-1
Max McGreevy 150-1
Kyle Stanley 175-1
Jim Furyk 175-1
Mark Hubbard 175-1
Rikuya Hoshino 200-1
Chan Kim 200-1
Andrew Putnam 200-1
Graeme McDowell 200-1
Ryan Moore 200-1
Kevin Tway 200-1
Keita Nakajima 200-1
Ryan Armour 200-1
Nick Hardy 200-1
Camilo Villegas 200-1
Jim Herman 200-1
Davis Riley 200-1
Andrew Novak 200-1
Sepp Straka 200-1
Sahith Theegala 200-1