PGA Tour best bets: Sony Open in Hawaii

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Joel Dahmen … It was only two starts ago when he last appeared on this page, and he delivered with a T8 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD. After a solid summer, it's his only top-35 finish in six starts as he descends on Mayakoba for the fourth consecutive year. Given his relative success, it's easy to understand why he keeps booking the trip. He's 3-for-3 with a T23 in 2017 and a T6 last year. All 12 of his scores are red and his average is 68.33. Rory Sabbatini ... The grasses are different in Hawaii than they are at Mayakoba Resort, but the native of South Africa always has had an affinity for teeing it up in the islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Certainly, that goes for many guys who qualify for either of the first two events that launch a calendar year, but his longevity and success prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. His talent has flourished in non-tropical settings, of course, but he's also thrived at El Camaleón with a pair of top fives baked into a 7-for-9 record. The 44-year-old also has a pair of T12s already this season, including in the last event along the water at Sea Island. Scott Piercy ... Among the throng of tee-to-green surgeons who have found the fountain of youth at Mayakoba. In his first five appearances, a T20 in 2009 was the lone highlight, but he's gone T16-T4-T6-T26 since 2014. That run included a final-round 62 that equaled the course record in 2018. Now 42 years of age and separated from the distractions of a few months ago, he's positioned to pile on having gone 5-for-5 with three top 20s upon arrival. Chesson Hadley ... Disappointed recently at TPC Summerlin but he's recovered with top 25s in two starts to make it three on the season and four in his last eight. He's been streakier than consistently solid throughout his career, so it's fair to consider this moment in time as a good one to put his first FedExCup points on the board at Mayakoba. He did make the cut in his last trip in 2017, but he withdrew during his third round with an illness. En route to five top 25s among 12 cuts made in 2019-20, he ranked 22nd in fairways hit, 20th in greens in regulation, T4 in proximity to the hole and 19th in putting: birdies-or-better. Those ingredients helps explain why he's been making noise of late. Doug Ghim ... If victories by Martin Laird (Shriners) and Robert Streb (RSM) don't resonate as second chances fulfilled (since both would have needed to retain their fully exempt status at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals if that series wasn't canceled), try Ghim's resurgence on for size. It's the learning curve incarnate. After a lackluster rookie season during which he started near the bottom of the KFT graduate category and didn't climb higher than 35th after any reorder (en route to finishing 184th in the FedExCup), the 24-year-old has pounced early and often to sit 56th in points for his debut at Mayakoba. He's 4-for-5 with three top 20s and a T23. Currently 28th in greens hit and 44th in converting those chances into par breakers. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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Si Woo Kim learned the bad news shortly after becoming the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS Championship: no one has ever gone back-to-back at TPC Sawgrass. The strongest field in golf and the penal Stadium Course make it tough to win the event more than once. Kim’s game is trending in the right direction after enlisting two of the game’s top coaches, though. He began working with Josh Gregory in February and Andrew Getson a month later.  They helped Kim have success at two other Pete Dye courses, Harbour Town Golf Links and Austin Country Club. Now Kim’s focus is on Dye’s groundbreaking design in northeast Florida. “I’ve noticed a lot of champions that come back don’t play well,â€� Kim, 22, said. “I would like to change that.â€� Gregory, who also coaches Masters champion Patrick Reed, has focused on Kim’s short game and serves as his “performance coachâ€�, helping him devise training regimens that bring out his best. Getson, the coach of 2007 PLAYERS champion Phil Mickelson, has helped Kim with his full swing. “After winning THE PLAYERS last year, I think I set a high expectation for myself, which kind of hindered me for the rest of the season and into this year,â€� said Kim, who also won the 2017 Wyndham Championship. The self-imposed pressure showed in his early-season results. He was 27 over par in his first 12 rounds of 2017-18. Even with a third-place finish in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, he was 59th in the FedExCup after missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Things started to turn around in his next start. Kim made the Round of 16 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and finished T24 at the Masters. Then he was runner-up at the RBC Heritage. Since Bay Hill, Kim has leapt 31 positions in the FedExCup. Getson, who prefers to keep his instruction simple, said most of their work has focused on Kim’s posture at address. “He was twisted up like a pretzel,â€� Getson said. “His weight was a little on his left side, his shoulders were a little open. We got him into a more athletic position.â€� When Kim was misaligned, he used his hands to take the club back. The club got inside too quickly and his weight stayed on his left side. That caused his club to get too steep on the downswing. Getting into the proper address position has helped him rotate properly throughout the swing. They’ve also worked to keep his chin up so that it doesn’t inhibit his shoulder turn. Now Kim is taking the clubhead back on the proper path and shifting to his right side. “Once he gets set up correctly, he turns beautifully,â€� Getson said. “He’s extremely talented. When I ask him to do something, he does it within two swings.â€� Kim ranks 23rd in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (+0.59) after ranking second (+1.36) in that statistic at last year’s PLAYERS. The short game also was key to Kim’s PLAYERS win. He was third in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (+1.23) at TPC Sawgrass; he ranks 32nd (+0.29) in that statistic this season. Gregory has improved Kim’s putting and helped him develop a wider array of short-game shots. They’ve done it through technical changes and drills. Kim made only one bogey in THE PLAYERS’ last two rounds despite hitting just 19 of 36 greens in regulation. He needed just 49 putts in the final two rounds. This season, Kim ranks 201st in Strokes Gained: Putting despite a recent improvement. He lost strokes in the first six events where the statistic was measured, from The RSM Classic to the Genesis Open. Kim has gained strokes in three of his last five stroke-play starts. His putter cost him down the stretch at the RBC Heritage, but he still gained strokes on the greens that week. He was second-worst on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting when he arrived at Harbour Town. The problem? Kim’s was lifting his left shoulder through impact. “He’d lift that shoulder and that would keep the face open,â€� Gregory said. Gregory also changed Kim’s swing on short-game shots. “His face was too shut on the backswing and he was cutting across the ball. Now the face is more open and he feels like he’s hitting a bit more of a draw,â€� Gregory said. “The swing is a little more rounded. We’re trying to give him more shots around the green, especially some higher, softer ones.â€� Gregory also designs drills that make it easier for his players to take their improvements onto the course. For example, Gregory will have Kim hit three chip shots to the same flag. Each shot must have a different trajectory, though. “You need three short-game shots: the low, drawing, running shot, the medium spinner and the high, soft shot,â€� Gregory said. “They’re all done with the same swing. It’s just about changing the clubface.â€� Kim also will chip or putt to one hole but move 10 feet farther back each time. “The more you can randomize practice, the easier it is to transfer to the course,â€� Gregory said. He also has Kim place five balls around a hole on the putting green. Instead of placing the balls in a circle, Gregory will put each ball at a different distance ranging from 4-12 feet. This forces Kim to hit putts with different breaks from different distances. Kim was leaving too many of his putts from 8-15 feet short and on the low side. That was the problem down the stretch at RBC Heritage, where he missed several short putts to fall into a playoff with Satoshi Kodaira. Now Kim can combine these physical improvements with what Getson considers his strongest attribute. “His mind is his biggest asset. He’s not scared,â€� Getson said. “He’s not scared to stand there and hit the shot he needs to hit. TPC Sawgrass requires you to produce the right shot at the right time, and he can do that.â€� Kim has put in the work. Now it’s time to see if he can make history.

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