When betting golf, you have to be prepared for some pain or “sadness” as Collin Morikawa called it after Sunday’s final round at Kapalua. Morikawa looked like he was going to be a wire-to-wire winner at the Sentry Tournament of Champions as he had a nine-shot lead on the field with 17 holes left to play. At the turn, Morikawa was -20000 to win. He had been bogey-free for the first 67 holes, then disaster struck and Morikawa made three consecutive bogeys at 14-15-16, the only player in the field to do that all week. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm, who finished runner-up last year at 33 under par to Cameron Smith, bogeyed the first hole, then shot 11 under for the final 17 holes, including three consecutive birdies at 12-14, then an eagle at 15, to post a 10-under final round of 63 and win the 2023 PGA Tour opener at an average price of 7-1. 안전놀이터

My “Long Shots” co-host Brady Kannon and I experienced the “sadness” Morikawa had described as both of us were on him at a range of 22-1 to 24-1. He finished outright second and looks to have made big improvements in his putting with new putting coach Stephen Sweeney. Unfortunately, he was not able to get home for us this time.

So we take a day to stew over it and then move on with the second leg of the “Aloha Swing” as the PGA Tour leaves Maui for Honolulu on the island of Oahu for the first full-field event of 2023 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Tom Kim (12-1) led the field for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green at Kapalua and finished T-5. His South Korean compatriot Sungjae Im (14-1) was sixth in last week’s field for SG: Tee-To-Green but settled for a T-13 finish as he never got much going on the greens. Jordan Spieth (16-1), who hosted Tom Kim at his home for Christmas, also finished T-13 last week and finished third here in 2017.

Hideki Matsuyama (20-1) returns to the Sony Open as its defending champion having defeated Russell Henley (22-1), another second place on my mantle, last year in a playoff. Brian Harman (22-1), fourth here in 2018, closed 2022 with consecutive runner-up finishes at Mayakoba and the RSM Classic. Corey Conners (28-1) finished third here in 2019. Tom Hoge (30-1) also owns a third-place finish here in 2018 and was T-3 last week in Kapalua having led the field for Strokes Gained: Approach.

Unlike the above players, PGA Tour rookie Taylor Montgomery (33-1) is making his 2023 debut, but he has already made his presence known with a top-5, three top-10s, and top-15 finishes in six of seven events since earning his tour card last fall.