Location | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
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Established | 1965, 52 years ago |
Course(s) | Waialae Country Club |
Par | 70 |
Length | 7,044 yards (6,441 m) |
Organized by | Friends of Hawaii Charities |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Format | Stroke play |
Prize fund | $6.0 million |
Month played | January |
Aggregate | 253 Justin Thomas (2017) |
To par | −28 John Huston (1998) |
Justin Thomas |
The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian Open in November 1965. Originally a mid-autumn event for its first five editions, it was skipped in 1970 as it moved to its winter slot in early February 1971. Currently, it is held in mid-January and is the first full-field event of the calendar year, following the Tournament of Champions on Maui. The front and back nines of Waialae are switched for the PGA Tour event, finishing at the dogleg ninth hole.
The first lead sponsor was United Airlines in 1991, succeeded by current sponsor Sony in 1999. There have been five multiple winners of the tournament, all two-time champions: Hubert Green, Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins, Ernie Els, and Jimmy Walker. All have won major championships. The tournament is currently organized by Friends of Hawaii Charities.
In addition to the usual PGA Tour eligibility criteria, the Sony Open may invite up to three professional golfers from emerging markets.
In 1983, forty-year-old Isao Aoki became Japan's first winner on the PGA Tour. He holed out a wedge shot for an eagle-3 on the 72nd hole to beat Jack Renner by a stroke.