The PGA Tour restarts this week with the circuit’s best doing battle over the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii. Dustin Johnson defends the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview, TV Times
An impressive field has travelled to Hawaii to contest the first PGA Tour event of 2019. Defending champ Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari are among those teeing it up in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. All 34 of the participants are tournament winners on the PGA Tour from last season.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua is a Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore design and it opened for play in 1991. It’s a relatively gentle layout although the wind can play a significant role here. If the breeze stays away, look for a winning total in the mid 20s under par. Last year, Dustin Johnson took the title with a winning score of 24-under and three years ago Jordan Spieth won at 30-under.
This event began life in 1953 as simply the “Tournament of Champions” and was won that year by Al Besselink. Since then the event, as you might expect, has produced some notable winners – Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have all tasted victory in the tournament.
Last year, Dustin Johnson put on an impressive display of power to win by eight shots from Jon Rahm of Spain.
The weather looks standard for this event with gusting winds forecast to test the players.
Venue: Plantation Course at Kapalua, Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii Date: Jan 3-6 Course stats: par 73, 7,452 yards Purse: $6,500,000 Defending champion: Dustin Johnson (-24)
How to watch the Sentry Tournament of Champions
TV Coverage: Thursday 3 - Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30pm Friday 4 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30pm Saturday 5 – Sky Sports Golf from 9pm Sunday 6 – Sky Sports Golf from 11pm
Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch the Sentry Tournament of Champions?
BUY NOW: Now TV Sky Sports Pass – £7.99 for a day, £12.99 for a week or £33.99 for a month
Players to watch:
Jon Rahm – He won the Hero Challenge in December and was runner up in this event last year.
Dustin Johnson – Tough to look past the defending champion who is looking for a third Sentry Tournament of Champions title.
Bryson DeChambeau – He won four times in 2018 and will look to strat 2019 strongly – Analytical game should be suited to Kapalua.
Key hole: 18th. The closing hole at Kapalua is a striking downhill par-5 measuring 663 yards. Despite its length, it’s reachable in two because of the slope and the prevailing wind. There are often some enormous drives on this one, over 400 yards.
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