The Sentry 2024: Course and current form stats

• Large greens, wide fairways and firm, fast conditions

• Morikawa one of Kapalua's few standout performers

• Former champ Xander can shine again in Hawaii

Tournament and Course Notes

• For the first time in more than a decade, the new PGA Tour season begins in early January;

• Eagle-eyed golf fans will have noticed that the name has changed from 'The Sentry Tournament of Champions', to simply 'The Sentry'. This is because the field has been extended to include every player who finished inside the top 50 of the 2023 FedEx Cup standings - and not just the winners of last year's 45 PGA Tour events. With 10 of last year's tournament winners finishing outside this elite group of 50, it means that 60 golfers have qualified to tee-up at Kapalua in 2024;

• The Plantation Course at Kapalua Country Club will stage this event for the 26th time. Laid out close to the north-west coastline of the Hawaiian island of Maui, the Plantation Course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and opened in 1991;

• Coore and Crenshaw returned in 2019 to carry out a nine-month renovation project when all of the greens were rebuilt, while new bunkers were added on four holes. Putting surfaces are now TifEagle Bermuda, while the Celebration Bermuda on fairways has created faster, firmer conditions;

• 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 greens (which average over 8,700 square feet) are the biggest the players will have to cope with all season on the PGA Tour. And because of its big, undulating, windswept putting surfaces, players will need to be adept at scrambling, as well as avoiding the dreaded three putts.

Good Course Form

Collin Morikawa 12/113.00 is one of just two qualifiers to have posted top-10 finishes in each of their last four visits to Kapalua - the other is Rickie Fowler 28/129.00.

The 26-year-old Morikawa was runner-up 12 months ago, following finishes of 7th-7th-5th from his other trips to the Plantation Course.

The California-born pro ended his FedEx Cup campaign in 2022 with a victory at the Zozo Championship, which was his first PGA Tour title in over two years.

As for Fowler, his four successive top-10s cover a timespan of eight years. He last played here in 2020.

Xander Schauffele 14/115.00, a former champ at Kapalua, has also finished second in The Sentry but is only teeing-up competitively for the third time since the Tour Championship in late August.

One of those events was the Ryder Cup where he courted controversy alongside his friend and 'partner-in-crime' Patrick Cantlay.

Good Current Form

With many members of this week's field having competed sporadically since early September, current form is virtually impossible to judge.

Most of those who were reasonably busy during The Fall were lower-ranked golfers.

However, history shows that the eventual champion is usually one of golf's leading players at the time.

Of the tournament's last 12 winners, the only true outsider was Harris English who was ranked 29th when he triumphed in 2021.

And for the second Sentry in a row, the defending champion will not be teeing-up.

Jon Rahm follows Cameron Smith in being barred from playing having jumped ship to join the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.

Latest betting for the season opener at Kapalua

Kapalua Stroke Averages

Averages for the years 2018-23
Average .... (Rounds)
67.67: Sung Jae Im (12)
68.06: Collin Morikawa (16)
68.13: Harris English (8)
68.25: Scottie Scheffler (8)
68.63: Seamus Power (8)
68.75: Tony Finau (12)
68.86: Xander Schauffele (21)
68.88: Brian Harman (8)
68.92: Jordan Spieth (12)
68.95: Patrick Cantlay (20)
69.25: Sam Burns (8)
69.42: Max Homa (12)
69.50: Viktor Hovland (12)
69.50: Si Woo Kim (8)
69.56: Hideki Matsuyama (16)
70.00: Rickie Fowler (8)
70.13: JT Poston (8)
70.50: Russell Henley (8)
70.50: Mackenzie Hughes (8)
70.63: Corey Conners (8)
71.13: Brendon Todd (8)
71.75: Keegan Bradley (8)
Min. No. of Rounds = 8
Only those entered this week are included in table

Latest betting for this year's Masters Tournament

Note: Data sheets contain all qualifiers (although some invitees may not choose to tee-up at Kapalua)

Note: Rory McIlroy is the only qualifier not taking part this week.