Erik van Rooyen, Branden Grace and MJ Daffue will be the three South Africans in action at this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii.

The second PGA Tour event of the year will tee off at the Waiʻalae Country Club in Honolulu on Thursday, with the trio kickstarting South African participation in the 2021 Tour.

Van Rooyen and Grace last competed at the DP World Tour Championship in December where they secured respective finishes of T14 and T8.

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After competing in the European Tour’s ‘Summer Swing’ in South Africa at the end of last year, Daffue secured qualification for the Sony Open during Monday’s qualifiers.

The competition, though, looks set to be dominated by the battle between Collin Morikawa and Joaquin Niemann, who both performed really well at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Niemann missed out on victory by losing to Harris English in a playoff in Maui, while Morikawa remained in contention throughout the weekend, settling for a T7.

The two appear to be the favourites heading into start of play on Thursday, hoping to take the title from Australian Cameron Smith.

Smith came out on top last year after a playoff victory, while Major champions Adam Scott, Zach Johnson and Sergio Garcia will also be some of the recognised players in the field.