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The Sentry Tournament of Champions 2021: Preview and picks to win

By Josh Chandler

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 13: Patrick Reed of The United States of America tees off on the 11th hole during Day 4 of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on December 13, 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 13: Patrick Reed of The United States of America tees off on the 11th hole during Day 4 of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on December 13, 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /
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The PGA returns for the first event of 2021 The Sentry Tournament of Champions

The Sentry Tournament of Champions welcomes the PGA Tour this week in the first official event of 2021. PGA pros will tee-off this week on the beautiful Plantation course along the slopes of the West Maui mountains at The Kapalua Resort in Hawaii.

Formerly an event for just Champions of the previous season, the field this week has been expanded to also include those that participated in last season’s Tour Championship. In total 47 players will compete this week at The Sentry Tournament of Champions.

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Kapalua will welcome eight of the world’s top ten this week with only Rory Mcllroy and Tyrrell Hatton not taking part.  The field includes previous winners of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Justin Thomas (2017, 2020), Xander Schauffele (2019), Dustin Johnson (2018), and Patrick Reed (2015).

Debutants  Abraham Ancer and Scottie Scheffler will be in search of their first PGA victory at The Tournament of Champions.

The Course at The Sentry Tournament of Champions

The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Hawaii is consistently rated as the number one course in Hawaii and was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The course opened back in 1991 before renovation taking place in 2019 and is one of the rare Par 73’s in golf.

Golfers will take on the 7,596-yard design this week that features drastic elevation changes and slopes throughout and some of the most spectacular views in all of golf. The fairways are wide as are the large Bermuda greens that rate out as some of the slowest on tour.

While shorter hitters can compete this week, those that crush it off the tee will surely have an advantage. Golfers who are dialed in with their irons and wedges should also do well this week.

Scoring can reach the high 30’s but if winds pick up the winning score could reach mid-teens instead as was evident in 2020 when Justin Thomas won in a playoff at 14 under par.

Be sure to check out Matthew Vincenzi’s excellent work for a deeper dive into the stats that matter this week at The Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Betting Favorites and Selections at The Sentry Tournament of Champions

The odd’s in this article can be found online at popular betting sites, for more information on the best sites and odd’s available locally to you check out The Action Network

It’s of no surprise to see Master’s Champion Dustin Johnson +650  open up as the favorite this week, the World number one is closely followed by Justin Thomas +700  a two-time winner of The Sentry Tournament of Champions, and Jon Rahm +800  who comes in with three top-ten finishes in his last five starts albeit with his last start coming at The Masters back in November.

It’s unlikely that a longshot winner comes through in an event like this that has been historically dominated by the best in the game as is evident by the previous five winners at The Sentry Tournament of Champions.

So instead I’ll start this week’s card with Patrick Reed +1800 who loves this place and last played more recently than most. Reed has three top-five finishes in his last five starts at the TOC and is coming off a stretch of golf that includes two top-five finishes in his previous four starts.

What better place for Tony Finau +2500 to add his second win than The Sentry Tournament of Champions right?. Finau was ninth in his debut at this event back in 2017 and he came close his last time out again posting another top ten finish in Mexico.

Tony is 4th in the field from tee to green over his past 24 rounds and also ranks inside the top five with his strokes gained approach numbers over the same time frame.  In addition, he was quoted as saying back in 2017 that this event ‘holds a dear place in my heart’ 

Colin Morikawa +2800 will be the final addition to the limited card this week. It had been a bit of a rough stretch of golf for the PGA Champion who until recently has struggled to find form.  Morikawa like Reed is another that played more recently than most and he produced a top ten finish at the DP World Tour Championship over in Dubai in his most recent start.

Morikawa was 7th on his debut at The Sentry Tournament of Champions last year and he rates inside the top ten amongst the field this week in both strokes gained tee to green and with his approach play.

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In addition, Colin is another who will be fond of this event, both having family local to the area and having played this course as a kid.

Betting Card at The Sentry Tournament of Champions

Patrick Reed +1800

Tony Finau +2500

Colin Morikawa +2800

Best of luck this week at The Sentry Tournament of Champions and if you are looking to play fantasy lineups this week Pro Golf Now has you covered there as well.

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