The 2026 Sony Open gets the PGA Tour season started this weekend from Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
While the best golfers in the world vie for the year's first tournament title, there are more ways to bet the tournament than just who will emerge victorious on Sunday. For more instant gratification, we turn to the First Round Leader market to find value on who will sit atop the leaderboard when play comes to an end on Thursday.
Here are my favorite Sony Open First Round Leader bets for Thursday.
Sony Open Props: First Round Leader Picks
Robert MacIntyre (+3500)
Robert MacIntyre was one of the best opening round golfers last year, finishing 21st on TOUR in first round scoring average. That success largely hinged on his dominant putting, which sets him up well this week at Waialae Country Club.
Last year, each of the top nine finishers at the Sony Open ranked 30th or higher among the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. There was not a single strokes-gained category in which such a trend occurred.
Meanwhile, MacIntyre has gained true strokes, putting in eight of his past nine tournaments in which ShotLink data was available. He finished in the top 20 in seven of those nine events, including a win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and a runner-up performance at the BMW Championship.
J.J. Spaun (+3500)
Another golfer entering this year in good form is J.J. Spaun. He has finished in the top 25 in nine of his past 10 tournaments, including his win at the U.S. Open. Spaun makes putting easier with a strong approach game that sets him up with easy looks.
From 150-175 yards, Spaun makes birdie or better over 15% of the time, above the TOUR average. That is important to note this week as 26.1% of approach shots come from that 25-yard range, which is over 7% more than any other 25-yard range grouping.
Therefore, it should not be surprising that Spaun finished T3 at this venue last season. He was just two shots off the lead after Thursday's opening round last year, and has only improved since then.
Jordan Spieth (+5000)
In 2023, Jordan Spieth entered the clubhouse with the lead after Thursday at Waialae.
Spieth has certainly had a tumultuous career, but he ended 2025 in promising form. He made the cut in 15 of his final 16 tournaments and had eight top-25 finishes over that stretch.
He also gained true strokes putting in 11 of those 16 events and finished the campaign ranked 18th in birdie or better percentage from 150-175 yards.
