Draftkings Sony Open First Round Showdown Picks 1/9/25
Draftkings picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 Sony Open.
2025 Sony Open
January 9, 2025 12:10 pm EDT
This Thursday, Draftkings golf fans will be presented with the first round of the 2025 Sony Open. Let’s take a look at the first round of this event from a DFS perspective.
Before I discuss my Draftkings player selections for this week’s PGA Tour event let’s review where the first round of the 2025 Sony Open will be played.
The first round of the 2025 Sony Open will be played at the Waialae Country Club. This golf course is a par 70 that measures 7,044 yards. Grayson Murray won the 2024 Sony Open with a cumulative four round score of 17 under par.
I wanted to emphasize that the purpose of this article is not to provide an exact DFS lineup.
Having stated that, this article will provide multiple player options in an effort to assist the reader in generating a unique lineup that will hopefully have the potential to win a DraftKings GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest!
For those readers that are not aware, the rules and scoring for DraftKings single round showdown contests are vastly different than the traditional classic contests offered by the platform.
If you need to review the specific rules for the single round showdown contests feel free to check out the DraftKings website.
Here are my DraftKings player selections for the first round of the 2025 Sony Open.
2025 Sony Open Draftkings First Round Showdown Picks
Maverick McNealy $9,300
The talented American has compiled three top eight finishes in his last four tournaments played on the PGA Tour, including a win at the 2024 RSM Classic in November.
Due to McNealy’s impressive win at the 2024 RSM Classic I decided to take a hard look at the relevant player statistics for the event to see how McNealy fared relative to the field.
Upon the completion of four rounds of competitive play at the 2024 RSM Classic, in relation to the field, Maverick McNealy ranked second in GIR (greens in regulation-79.2%), 13th in total birdies made (19) and third in bogey avoidance (5).
It is noteworthy that Maverick McNealy has posted a quality result at the Waialae Country Club previously. More specifically, McNealy finished seventh at the 2023 Sony Open.
Corey Conners $10,300
The talented Canadian has accumulated three top seven finishes in his last four events played (PGA and DP World Tours combined), including a sixth-place result at the 2024 Nedbank Challenge four weeks ago.
Keegan Bradley $9,400
The 2011 PGA Championship winner arrives at this week’s 2025 Sony Open on the heels of three consecutive top 15 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a win at the 2024 BMW Championship in August.
Keegan Bradley certainly checks the box for me when it comes to previous event/course history. Since 2020. Bradley has played the Sony Open five times. In those five events just noted, Bradley compiled three top 12 finishes, including a second-place result at the 2024 Sony Open.
In summary, I fully expect Keegan Bradley to continue his outstanding play in Thursday’s first round of the 2025 Sony Open.
Harry Hall $8,100
Harry Hall has tallied four top 14 finishes in his last five events played on the PGA Tour, including an eighth-place result at the 2025 Sentry last week.
Last season, Harry Hall won his first tournament on the PGA Tour when he captured a victory at the 2024 ISCO Championship in July.
Additional golfers I like to perform well in Thursday’s first round (Draftkings price noted): Tom Kim $9,700: Russell Henley $10,000: Austin Eckroat $8,800: Ben Griffin $8,100: Byeong Hun An $9,500: J.T. Poston $8,700: Max McGreevy $7,100.
