Hawaii, take two.
Historically, the Sony Open was the first full-field event of the PGA season. And really, it still is, despite the actual season kicking off back in October with the Frys.com Open. While the swing-season sees a splattering of superstars, it’s mainly third-tier veterans and a host of recent Web.com Tour Grads. It’s essentially an extended pre-season.
Most of the elite players who hit Hawaii last week for the Tournament of Champions have taken off for the Middle East to prep for the Abu Dabhi and Qatar events. Still, enough names have stuck around to tee it off at Waialae to pad the field.