A happy New Year in the golf world begins with the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The PGA Tour has made adjustments to the eligibility criteria due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting last year’s season. The limited field event has been expanded, and 42 players are ready to start the year in Hawaii. Here are Sentry Tournament of Champions odds with a look at the field, stats and course information.
Sentry Tournament of Champions odds
The three most recent winners of the event will likely be the leaders on the odds board as Justin Thomas (-14), Xander Schauffele (-23) and Dustin Johnson (-24) return.
View Sentry Tournament of Champions odds for all golfers at DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook and BetMGM.
A glance at the field
The field of 42 players is bigger this year because the PGA Tour extended invitations to 16 players who were not 2020 winners, but made the 2020 Tour Championship.
Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy decided not to play and Jim Herman was ruled out with COVID-19.
The field includes 8 of the top-9 and 14 of the top 20 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). It also includes 28 of the top 30 from the 2019-20 FedExCup standings with 2020 Tour Championship and Masters winner Dustin Johnson serving as the headliner.
2020 PGA Tour Tournament Winners
- Daniel Berger (13)
- Patrick Cantlay (9)
- Stewart Cink
- Bryson DeChambeau (5)
- Sergio Garcia
- Brian Gay
- Viktor Hovland (14)
- Sungjae Im (18)
- Dustin Johnson (1)
- Jason Kokrak
- Martin Laird
- Andrew Landry
- Marc Leishman
- Collin Morikawa (7)
- Carlos Ortiz
- Jon Rahm (2)
- Patrick Reed (11)
- Adam Scott
- Webb Simpson (6)
- Cameron Smith
- Robert Streb
- Hudson Swafford
- Nick Taylor
- Justin Thomas (3)
- Michael Thompson
- Richy Werenski
- Xander Schauffele (8)
- Tony Finau (19)
- Hideki Matsuyama (20)
- Scottie Scheffler
- Abraham Ancer
- Harris English
- Mackenzie Hughes
- Sebastian Muñoz
- Lanto Griffin
- Brendon Todd
- Billy Horschel
- Kevin Kisner
- Cameron Champ
- Joaquin Niemann
- Ryan Palmer
- Kevin Na
Golfers who have had past success in the Tournament of Champions include:
- Justin Thomas won in 2020 and 2017 and finished third in 2019
- Xander Schauffele won in 2019 and finished T2 in 2020
- Dustin Johnson won in 2018 and 2013 and has five other top 10 finishes since 2014
- Patrick Reed won in 2015 and has three top 10’s since including a pair of runner-up finishes
- Jon Rahm has three top 10 finishes the last three years including runner-up in 2018
- Hideki Matsuyama has three top 5 finishes in three starts with his last in 2018
- Webb Simpson has three top 10 finishes in four starts since 2012
- Marc Leishman has two top 10 finishes in the last three years
- Players finishing top 10 in their debut last year include: Joaquin Niemann (T5), Collin Morikawa (T7)
No first time starter has won the event since 2008, and these players will be making their debut at Kapalua.
- Abraham Ancer
- Viktor Hovland
- Sungjae Im
- Jason Kokrak
- Carlos Ortiz
- Scottie Scheffler
- Richy Werenski
Course and tournament info
- Course: Plantation Course at Kapalua
- Location: Kapalua, Maui, HI
- Date: Jan. 7-10, 2021
- Par: 73 / Yardage 7,596
- Purse: $6.7 Million / Winner $1.34 Million
- Fairways/Rough: Celebration bermudagrass
- Greens: TifEagle bermudagrass
- TV: Golf Channel
- Twitter: @Sentry_TOC
- Defending Champion: Justin Thomas
The Plantation Course reopened in November 2019 following a nine month renovation. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw renovated the course and were the original architects when it opened in 1991. Kapalua has been the home of this event since 1999.
The signature hole is No. 18 – a 680-yard, par 5 that is extremely long, scenic and spectacular – representative of all the holes.
Toughest holes
- No. 17 – Par 4 at 552 yards. 2020 Scoring average 4.12 with 10.5% birdies and 15.3% bogeys.
- No. 1 – Par 4 at 522 yards. Scoring average of 4.12 with 7% birdies and 17% bogeys
- Hole No. 2 – Par 3 at hole 222 yards. Scoring average 3.12 with 9.8% birdies and 19.3% bogeys.
Easiest hole
- No. 5 – Par 5 at 505 yards. Scoring average 4.41 with 58.8% birdies
Course knowledge has been vital, as the Plantation Course is quite unique to other courses on the PGA Tour. Players will have to handle dramatic elevation changes and sidehill lies while factoring in the wind conditions. The course is a bit different now with all greens rebuilt and more pin placement options on the huge putting surfaces (avg. 8700 sq feet). There are 93 sand bunkers and no water hazards.
The aim of the renovation was to make the course firmer, faster, and more mentally demanding while minimizing the bomb it options so many players had been accustomed to. Approach play is now more important at this course. Last year’s 14-under winning score was nine and 10 shots more than the previous two winning scores.
Key stats
Significant Stokes Gained stats for last year’s top 10 finishers at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, according to Fantasy National:
- SG: Approach
- SG: Putting
- SG: Ball Striking
- SG: Short Game
- SG: Off the Tee
Players with the top Approach stats (last 12 rounds):
- Justin Thomas, Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama
Players with the top Ball Striking stats::
- Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyma, Dustin Johnson
Players with the top Putting stats:
- Dustin Johnson, Kevin Kisner, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed
Dustin Johnson is also No. 1 in SG: Short Game, Off the Tee and SG: Total.
