The Sentry Tournament of Champions: Morikawa to Make Amends

• This is the first event of the new 2024 season, which runs January to September

• The last two winners, Cam Smith and Jon Rahm, don’t compete after joining LIV

• World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite at +500

Sentry Tournament of Champions Odds

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Sentry Tournament of Champions Our Picks

• Collin Morikawa for the win at +1200 with BetMGM.

• Sepp Straka to beat Sahith Theegala over 72 holes at -130 DraftKings Sportsbook.

• Cam Davis for Top 10 at +425 with bet365.

The PGA TOUR returns to a calendar-year schedule in 2024, a somehow more satisfactory starting point to the season ahead which rounds off with the TOUR Championship in late August.

The new campaign gets underway with The Sentry in Maui, the first of 36 events in the regular season.

Once more, for the 26th time to be precise, the tournament is staged on The Plantation Course in the holiday island of Maui, a quirky layout compared to most PGA TOUR venues.

Huge elevation changes mean downhill drives can bound over 450 yards while the Bermuda putting surfaces on the par 73 (there are just three par 3s) are vast.

The fairways are super-wide too although misses from both off the tee or on approach can be heavily punished.

That said, this is a birdie-fest despite the course being toughened up in 2019 and each of the last three winners shot at least 25-under.

This event was previously known as the Tournament of Champions, a starting slot only guaranteed by winning a PGA TOUR trophy in the season just gone.

Winners from 2023 are now joined by any players who finished in the top 50 of the final 2023 FedEx Cup standings.

That means the field has been inflated to 59 although it doesn’t include defending champion Jon Rahm or 2022 winner Cameron Smith, who have both been lured to LIV. 

Last 5 Winners of The Sentry

The Plantation Course Notes

• The Plantation Course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

• It’s the only par 73 on the PGA Tour rota and can be stretched to 7,596 yards.

• The course has vast undulations, wide fairways and huge greens.

• The greens are TifEagle Bermuda and run at just 11 on the Stimpmeter.

• Winds of 20mph are expected on the first three days but could calm Sunday.

Favorites to win The Sentry

Scottie Scheffler (+500) at BetMGM

Scheffler did more fantastic things in 2023 but his year appeared to be petering out until he turned up at November’s Hero World Challenge in Albany and put another ‘W’ on the board after shooting 20-under to score by three. Improved putting was the key there and although he’s ‘only’ managed seventh (2023) and 13th (2021) in two appearances here, Scheffler will be hard to beat if he rolls it well on the greens again.   

Viktor Hovland (+800) at BetMGM

Hovland was the standout star in the second half of last year, winning the final two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs to land the huge jackpot on offer at East Lake. He followed that with a fifth and a second on the DP World Tour and also found time to help Europe win a Ryder Cup. He hasn’t quite found his mojo in this event though, posting finishes of 18-30-31 the last three years.    

Back Morikawa for the Win (+1200) at BetMGM

Collin Morikawa is one of four players priced at +1200 and with a couple of doubts surrounding the course form of Scheffler and Hovland, he’s the pick for victory.

The double Major champion was seventh on his first two visits here, improved to fifth in 2022 and looked for all the world that he’d hoist the silverware last year.

Morikawa led by six at the start of the final round and was seven clear at one point but he stumbled badly down the back nine, allowing Rahm to surge past.

Of course, the Spaniard isn’t here this year so Morikawa will be spared a repeat of that particular storyline.

In addition, the 2021 Open winner ended a victory drought of over two years by landing the PGA TOUR’s ZOZO Championship in Japan just over two months ago. 

That could prove a real turning point and, back on a course he clearly loves, Morikawa can right the wrongs of last year and get the win. 

Back him at +1200 with BetMGM. 

Straka to Sink Theegala (-130) at DraftKings

We enjoyed plenty of success with 72-hole match bets last season and hopefully that run can continue here by backing Sepp Straka to beat Sahith Theegala.

Straka had a memorable 2023. The Austrian won the John Deere Classic on a course, TPC Deere Run, that correlates well with this one due the many sloping lies.

He followed that by finishing joint runner-up in the Open Championship before making his Ryder Cup debut in Europe’s win over the United States in Rome.

Straka rounded it off with second place in a small but elite field at the Hero World Challenge on another course by the coast.  

Theegala was also a winner in 2023 after landing September’s Fortinet Championship in California but his form dipped a little after that.

Both men made their debuts in this event last year and Straka got the better of Theegala by six shots.

Back him to assert that superiority again this week at -130 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Davis to Land Top 10 (+425) at bet365

Cam Davis was a regular on leaderboards in late 2023 and closed out his PGA TOUR campaign by compiling five top 10s and a 12th in his final seven events.

He added a seventh at the Australian PGA Championship when returning home in November and looks in good shape to shine again at this venue.

Davis made his only appearance at The Plantation in 2022 when a pair of closing 66s secured a 10th place finish.

A big hitter with a deft touch around the greens, he’s well worth a play at +425 with bet365 to make the top 10 again. 

How to Watch The Sentry

• Tournament: The Sentry

• Location: The Plantation Course, Kapalua, Maui, HI

• Date: Thursday, January 4 - Sunday, January 7

• How to watch: Thursday - Friday 6 p.m. - 10 p.m ET (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. (NBC), 6 p.m - 8 p.m. (Golf Channel). And all four days on Sky Sports.