DFS Dish: Prepare to pay a premium to roster Hideki Matsuyama at Sony Open

If you had Hideki Matsuyama on your roster for The Sentry, take a bow. Even without Scottie Scheffler in the field, Matsuyama flew somewhat under the radar at the season opener before going lights out at Kapalua with a record-breaking performance of 35 under across 72 holes en route to victory.

If you missed out on Matsuyama last week, or if you’re eager to go back to the well this week and have him on your roster for a DraftKings DFS contest for the Sony Open in Hawaii, prepare to pay a premium.

Matsuyama tops the salary chart this week at Waialae Country Club, listed at $11,000 and one of only two players (Corey Conners) priced above $10,000 for the first Full-Field Event of 2025. It’s an understandable position, given both Matsuyama’s incredible form last week and his affinity with the Sony Open venue. The 11-time PGA TOUR winner took the title here in 2022 and has shot 66 or better in nine of his last 16 rounds.

But that victory is the only time that Matsuyama has cracked the top 10 at Waialae in 11 starts, with his T12 in 2020 his next-best finish. So it’s not exactly a course history slam dunk, but Matsuyama has been largely solid here while making the cut in seven straight starts.

The other element in debating Matsuyama’s price tag is the alternatives around him at the top of the board. Conners exceeded expectations at Kapalua, particularly on the greens, while Russell Henley is a former champ (2013) and Keegan Bradley and Ben An both lost out in a playoff a year ago. Tom Kim boasts a strong pedigree as one of the few near the top of the board who didn’t play Sentry.

Waialae can be quirky, and it’s on the opposite end of the spectrum from Kapalua: last week’s huge greens and rolling fairways are swapped for a dead flat layout with some of the tiniest targets on TOUR. Rostering Matsuyama means you’ll need to hit elsewhere with some serious value picks, but I’ll be looking to mix in a little bit of salary flexibility by looking at some other options near the top of the board:

Russell Henley ($9,900): Henley blitzed the field en route to winning here in his first start as a TOUR member 12 years ago, and he has cracked the top five in two of the last three years. He’s among the most consistent players in the field and simply loves Waialae, with nine scores of 66 or better here since 2021.

Keegan Bradley ($9,500): He lost a playoff here last year, and he has finished T12 or better in three of the last five years. It’s more feast/famine with Bradley, as he missed the cut in the other two instances, but his game is a fit for Honolulu.

Maverick McNealy ($9,200): McNealy has never missed the cut here in three appearances, topping out with a T7 in 2023. Now he plays this event after a start at Kapalua for the first time, having posted a solid T8 result in his Sentry debut. He didn’t skip much of a beat after winning the last official event of 2024 at The RSM Classic.

Luke Clanton ($8,400): I’m going to keep Clanton on the radar for the foreseeable future. A college standout a few months ago, Clanton posted four top-10s on TOUR last year and nearly won The RSM Classic in November. Two of those high finishes The amateur seems destined for a TOUR win, and soon.

Of course, targeting the right top-tier picks won’t be enough to cash a DFS contest. Last week’s top entries surely included Matsuyama but also had a high percentage of guys like Harry Hall and Thomas Detry, low-priced options who exceeded expectations.

Both Hall ($8,100) and Detry ($7,500) are in the field this week, looking to build upon the new year momentum from Kapalua. But here are some players from the back half of the field that I’ll have on the shortlist for consideration this week, given the unique challenges presented by short-but-narrow Waialae:

Mac Meissner ($7,100): Meissner doesn’t have a ton of name recognition, but his 2024 stats were surprisingly solid – including 21st on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He showed some solid form in the FedExCup Fall and will look to take some aggressive lines on the reachable par-5s at Waialae.

Carson Young ($6,700): The “other” C. Young on TOUR doesn’t have the length to handle some of the burliest layouts on the schedule, but his ball-striking numbers fit a cozy confine like Waialae and he could surprise this week if the short game comes around.

Frankie Capan ($6,600): When we spoke to the crop of new Korn Ferry Tour graduates in the fall, Capan’s name came up with frequency when asked who the breakout performer from the 2025 newcomers might be. He could be a low-priced option to rely on when rounding out rosters this week.

Here's a look at how I would build a lineup this week in Hawaii, staying below the $50,000 salary cap for DraftKings contests:

• Russell Henley ($9,900)
• Maverick McNealy ($9,200)
• Taylor Pendrith ($8,800)
• Luke Clanton ($8,400)
• Justin Lower ($7,000)
• Frankie Capan ($6,600)

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