Canadian Corey Connors has two career wins on the PGA Tour, most notably at TPC San Antonio in 2019 and 2023.
I believe things will change this week. That's because Connors is the outright favorite to win the Sony Open in Hawaii at 14-1. The Ontario native arrived at Waialae Country Club with the second-best odds behind Hideki Matsuyama after a T-5 finish at Sentry on Maui.
Connors led Kapalua in strokes gained in putts, but it was a departure from his usual struggles on the greens. Last year, he ranked 124th in strokes gained putts and 142nd in putts made from within 10 feet, converting just 87% of his chances. It's also worth noting that Connors hit 1,099 legal greens throughout the 2024 season, but only made 349 birdies. This equates to a conversion rate of 31.76%, which ranks him 87th on the PGA Tour. Still, Connors, one of the best ball strikers in the world, ranked third in strokes gained approaching green last year. Only Scotty Scheffler and Tony Finau fared better.
Connors has hit a lot of greens in regulation and considering Waialae is a short course that prioritizes ball striking and positioning, the Canadian should do well this week. Connors is our candidate given the fact that he has a notable putter. History is also on his side. The former Kent State University standout has played in the Sony Open six times, qualifying all six times. His best finish was in 2019, when he shot two 6-under 64s over the weekend to tie for third place. A season ago, he tied for 57th, which was abysmal, but he has finished 12th or lower in his past three starts in 2020, 2022 and 2023. He finally broke through this week, which will solidify his desire to start the season on a positive note.
Sony's opening odds:
Pre-tournament odds provided for players to win: fan duel:
Hideki Matsuyama +900
Corey Connors +1400
Tom Kim +2000
Russell Henry +2000
Keegan Bradley +2500
Maverick McNeely +2500
Robert McIntyre +3000
Ahn Byung Hun +3000
Luke Clanton +3000
Kim Si Woo +3300
Saheth Segala +3500
Austin Eckrot +3500
Taylor Pendrith +3500
Cart Kitayama +4000
JT Poston +4000
Davis Thompson +4000
Sepp Straka +5000
Daniel Berger +5000
Harry Hall +5000
Ben Griffin +5000
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
