Preferred Lines Podcast · A Golf Betting Podcast

2026 Sony Open | Comprehensive Tournament Preview | Best Bets | Brooks Koepka Returns!!

·1 hr 10 min·2 clips

"Bryson is essentially the biggest free agent in all of sports right now," with LIV's future hanging on him.

1. The Preferred Lines Podcast previews the 2026 Sony Open at Waialae in Hawaii, opening with Brooks Koepka's return to the PGA Tour. 2. Hosts Joe Idoni and John Haselbauer relaunch the show under a new partnership with the Read the Line Network, and say they will also do a pre-match TGL show with Keith. 3. Their thesis is that the Koepka deal, with 15 required starts and no sponsor exemptions, is fair to the membership and shifts leverage away from LIV. 4. Idoni lists the terms: Koepka is eligible for any full-field event in 2026 including the Players Championship, must play his way into signature events, and is eligible for the Presidents Cup and TGL. 5. Haselbauer says fields will expand, possibly by three spots so Koepka is not a single, and argues that "it pays to be a first mover" after Koepka's early move to LIV. 6. They discuss Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau as the other players in the expedited reinstatement program with a February 2 deadline, favoring DeChambeau over Rahm because Rahm's contract has more years left. 7. Idoni speculates that early LIV contracts with repayment clauses are void, since players signed to 54 holes rather than 72, and that DeChambeau could demand the highest pay in sports. 8. The hosts look back at Sony Open moments, including Si Woo Kim's chip-in on 17, Hideki Matsuyama running down Russell Henley, Grayson Murray's playoff win over Keegan Bradley, and Nick Taylor's win last year despite "nothing special" form. 9. The course guide says the scoring average on the 18th is easy but the hole is hard under pressure, that nearly 70% of shots come from 125 to 200 yards, and that missing right beat missing left last year. 10. Golf bettors and PGA Tour followers seeking Sony Open handicapping and Koepka news will like this.

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