The PGA Tour tees off to start the 2022 calendar year in Hawaii at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The tournament is held on the island of Maui and is restricted to only players who won a tournament on tour the previous calendar year. Dating back to 1953, the tournament used to be the opening event for the season before the PGA introduced a wrap-around season that began in the fall. Here’s our Golf Betting analysis for the upcoming event so you can bet against the PGA Tour odds.
Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview | PGA Tour Betting
Overview
Harris English won the event last year, defeating Joaquin Niemann in a playoff to secure his second PGA Tour victory. English fired a 25-under for the tournament, six shots shy of Ernie Els’ tournament-best 31-under shot in 2003. Since the PGA season was cut short due to COVID, English was in the tournament due to his status in the top 30 for the Tour Championship.
The winner of the tournament receives $1.34 million of the $6.3 million purse and 500 FedEx Cup points. There is no cut for the event due to the reduced number of participants in the field.
The tournament begins on Thursday, January 5th, and concludes on Sunday, January 9th. It is the first of two tournaments held in Hawaii over a two-week span.
Kapalua Resort – Plantation Course
The resort is in Kapalua, Hawaii on the island of Maui and features two golf courses, The Plantation and The Bay, on its property. The four-day tournament is held on the Plantation course, which opened in 1991, that plays as a par-73 and spans approximately 7,596 yards.
Plantation was the first course designed by the duo of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore to open, and the two have gone on to become two of the most sought-after golf course architects in the sport. The pair teamed up again for an extensive renovation in 2019.
The course plays like a traditional links venue with wide fairways and large elevation changes. It is the only course on the tour that plays as a par-73 and offers players panoramic views of both ocean and mountains.
The Field
A total of 40 players have qualified for the tournament this season and a handful have committed to play the event as of early December. Many of the players eligible won’t miss this event given a guaranteed four days of golf, a payout, FedEx Cup points, and a week in Hawaii.
The players that have already committed to play in the event include Cam Davis (Rocket Mortgage Classic), Garrick Higgo (Palmetto Championship at Congaree), Lucas Herbert (Butterfield Bermuda Championship), K. H. Lee (AT&T Bryon Nelson), Seamus Power (Barbasol Championship), Erik Van Rooyen (Barracuda Championship), Abraham Ancer (WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational), Joel Dahmen (Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship), and Talor Gooch (RSM Classic).
A total of ten first-time winners have qualified for the event. Notable players that have qualified but have yet to commit to the tournament include Collin Morikawa (WGC-Workday Championship at Concession, the Open), Bryson DeChambeau (Arnold Palmer Invitational), Brooks Koepka (Waste Management Phoenix Open), Justin Thomas (THE PLAYERS), Jordan Spieth (Valero Texas Open), Hideki Matsuyama (The Masters), Rory McIlroy (Wells Fargo Championship), Phil Mickelson (PGA Championship), Jon Rahm (U.S. Open), Xander Schaffele (Olympic Gold), and Tony Finau (The Northern Trust).