Sentry Tournament of Champions: Course and current form stats

• Kapalua prize money almost double that of 2022

• 17 of world's top-20 ranked golfers teeing-up

• Look out for Rahm to make strong start to year

The PGA Tour reconvenes this week in Hawaii when the Sentry Tournament of Champions takes place at Kapalua Country Club for the 25th time.

The wide open fairways of Kapalua's Plantation Course provide the ideal location for last year's leading pros to open their 2023 campaign.

This year's tournament will witness a structural change to qualification, by using a system that was first employed in 2021 - the year following the Covid pandemic.

To boost field size, following the effects of the Covid lockdown which had restricted the number of PGA Tour events being staged during 2020, organisers not only invited tournament winners - as is tradition - but also non-winners who had qualified for the previous season's Tour Championship.

And, in 2023, this format has been reinstated as permanent, which means the total number of golfers teeing-up on Thursday will be 39.

Ten non-winners qualified via the Tour Championship/FedEx top-30 route, although it should be noted that reigning champion Cameron Smith will not be taking part as the Australian joined the new Saudi-backed circuit last year.

In addition to winning at Kapalua, Smith also won the Players Championship and The Open at St Andrews, so his absence will be greatly felt in Hawaii.

In a bid to deter golfers from joining this new organisation, the PGA Tour announced last year that a number of tournaments will enjoy a significant increase in prize money during 2023.

One of these events is the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which sees its total prize pot rise dramatically from $8.2m to $15m.

As a result of this new elevated status, 17 of the world's top-20 ranked golfers will be taking part this coming week.

Course Characteristics

The Plantation Course at Kapalua made its PGA Tour debut in 1999.

Laid out close to the north-west coastline on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the Plantation Course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and opened in 1991.

The pair returned in 2019 to carry out a nine-month renovation when all of the greens were rebuilt, while new bunkers were added on four holes.

It is the only PGA Tour course with seven holes longer than 500 yards, and has a total par of 73 - which is also unusually high among tournament venues.

This island location has wide fairways, large greens and not a single water hazard.

The Plantation Course putting surfaces are the biggest the players will have to cope with all season on the PGA Tour and, when combined with generous fairways, it is not surprising to find that tournament pros hit a high percentage of Greens in Regulation.

Driving Accuracy stats also yield a higher percentage than normal, although golfers will face plenty of long putts over 72 holes.

However, because of its big, undulating, windswept putting surfaces, players will need to be adept at scrambling, as well as avoiding the dreaded three putts.

Latest betting for this week's Sentry Tournament of Champions

Stroke Averages

Kapalua Averages (2015-22)
Average .... (Rounds)
68.25: Jordan Spieth (16)
68.50: Jon Rahm (20)
68.50: Collin Morikawa (12)
68.79: Justin Thomas (28)
68.80: Xander Schauffele (20)
69.06: Patrick Cantlay (16)
69.10: Hideki Matsuyama (20)
69.33: Tony Finau (12)
70.35: Billy Horschel (20)
Min. No. of Rounds = 12
Only those entered this week are included in table

PGA Tour Consistency Table

Most Times Within Eight Shots of Champion (Since June 1st, 2022)
Total .... (Starts)
8: Patrick Cantlay (10)
7: Sahith Theegala (16)
6: Tony Finau (11)
6: Tom Hoge (15)
6: Sung Jae Im (12)
6: Joo Hyung Kim (11)
6: Xander Schauffele (9)
5: Brian Harman (13)
Only those entered this week are included in table

Four To Watch

Jon Rahm: The Spaniard ended 2022 strongly with seven top-10s from his most recent eight outings. He won twice on the DP World Tour during autumn, taking his total number of victories for the year to three. Is a two-time runner-up at Kapalua where he averages 68.50 from his 20 rounds. Watch him go in 2023.

Xander Schauffele: A former champion at Kapalua. He won twice on the PGA Tour during 2022 and ended the year No 6 in the world.

Adam Scott: An outsider this week, but has played well since mid-August. The 42-year-old made his Kapalua debut as long ago as 2004.

Justin Thomas: Usually plays well over the Plantation Course where he has stood on the podium four times since 2017 - and includes a couple of victories.

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