We’re back! Sure, the 2020-21 season has already started, but the super-season starts rolling with the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions. The annual tournament is a reward for winning in the previous season, with the field including all champions from 2020 tournaments. Because the tournament is held in Hawaii, golf fans get a rare gift: primetime golf.
The Tournament of Champions was started in 1953, being played in Las Vegas and California until 1999, when the tournament was moved to Hawaii. Justin Thomas is the defending champion, finishing at 14-under par, earning himself another invitation to the tournament in the first attempt of the year. The PGA Tour record in score to par is 31-under par, achieved by Ernie Els in the 2003 edition of this tournament.
Now, before I go on a rant about the NFL adding a playoff game on Sunday night this year, thus making me the weirdo in my home once again, let’s get into what we should expect from the Aloha State.
Television Coverage
As I mentioned before, this week’s tournament is in Hawaii, giving us primetime golf. Unfortunately, there is no NBC Sports Gold featured groups this week, so we have to wait until coverage begins on television. Here is the television schedule for the week:
Thursday, Round One
Golf Channel: 6:00 PM-10:00 PM EST.
Friday, Round Two
Golf Channel: 6:00 PM-10:00 PM EST.
Saturday, Round Three
Golf Channel: 6:00 PM-10:00 PM EST.
Sunday, Round Four
NBC: 4:00 PM-6:00 PM EST.
Golf Channel: 6:00 PM-8:00 PM EST.
2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions Field
The field this week includes 42 professionals. Some of the players are established winners, while others achieved their first win during the 2020 season.
Here are the favorites for this week (odds courtesy of Bet MGM)
Dustin Johnson (+600)
Already with a top five finish and a Masters win since the start of the 2020-21 season, Johnson enters this week as the clear favorite. Johnson has won this event twice, in 2013 and 2018, and is looking to become the sixth three-time winner in the event’s history. With Johnson’s power and high winds expected, don’t be surprised to see Johnson go low and be in contention on Sunday.
Justin Thomas (+700)
Like Johnson, Justin Thomas is looking to become a three-time champion in the event’s history. Thomas won the second of his two trophies at this event in 2020 after shooting 14-under par and defeating Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele in a playoff. With three top 20 finishes in the 2020-21 season, look for Thomas to go low again and be within reach of repeating at this event for the first time since Stuart Appleby won in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Jon Rahm (+750)
The 26-year-old Spaniard captured two trophies in 2020, one of them in a playoff versus Dustin Johnson. Rahm finished runner-up in 2018, a mere eight strokes behind Johnson. Rahm looks to start off 2021 with a strong showing after finishing top five in his last two starts on tour.
Bryson DeChambeau (+1000)
Bryson DeChambeau enters the Aloha State with a top 10 finish and a win at the 2020 U.S. Open. DeChambeau used the break in the season during quarantine to add tons of muscle and power. The only question remaining is his accuracy. Did he find a way to improve his accuracy without sacrificing distance or will he only be able to drive it 390 in order to find the fairway? There’s only one way to find out.
Xander Schauffele (+1000)
The 2019 champion looks to join Johnson and Thomas, among others, in elite company as two-champions of this event. Schauffele has four starts this season, finishing in the top 20 each time, including two top five finishes. After a strong finish to 2020, Schauffele looks to bring his consistent play to the new year in hopes of going one for one in tournament starts.
The Course
A rarity on the PGA Tour, the Plantation Course at Kapalua is a Par-73. With four par-fives, three par-threes, and the rest par-fours, expect another score in the double-digits to win this tournament.
Included with the par-fours are hole one, seven, and seventeen that are 520 yards, 522 yards, and 550 yards in length, respectively. Depending on the wind direction, these holes can play much longer or much shorter, as they are also all downhill holes.
The closing hole is a downhill par-five that is 677 yards. As with almost every hole on the course, this can reachable for the longer hitters and a layup hole for the shorter hitters.
Weather
Players, and fans, should expect nice weather on the weekend with heavy winds in three of the four days. With temperatures in the 70s and a low chance of rain, players will need to be precise with their distances to keep balls on the greens.
Storylines for the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions
Early Ticket to the 2022 Tournament of Champions
The winner of this tournament earns an automatic qualification to the 2022 edition, making this season a little less stressful for some. Will we see a winner we expect i.e. Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, or someone with a near-empty shelf i.e. Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin?
Will We See Another Multi-Time Winner?
Past Champions in the field include Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson, and the 2020 champion Justin Thomas. Johnson and Thomas, the favorites, have a chance to become the sixth three-time winner of the event. Can the favorites find a way to win this year’s event or will we have an unexpected winner capturing his first win early in 2021?
Will Dustin Johnson Continue His Hot Streak?
Dustin Johnson had a dominant 2020, winning three times on tour and a major championship. He’s already won this tournament twice. Can he make it a third time and continue his annual winning streak this early in the year?
Can Bryson’s Power Match His Accuracy?
Will 2021 be the year of Bryson? With a win at the U.S. Open and a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Bryson’s 2020 season showed that the work he put in during quarantine paid off. Will he be able to find the fairway this week? If so, don’t be surprised if he’s raising the trophy on Sunday night.
Picks and Predictions
Winner: Jon Rahm (+750)
I like Rahm’s chances this week. Obviously Vegas does as well if he has the third best odds, but you can still get some value on picking him to win. I expect his strong finish to 2020 to translate to a win at the beginning of 2021, especially if his putter is hot. Already with the biggest win of his career so far at the Memorial last summer, don’t be surprised to see Rahm win a major this year and maybe even the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award.
Winning Score: 21-Under Par
Justin Thomas won the 2020 event at 14-under par. Prior to that, the last time the winning score was worse than 20-under par was 2016. With a field of power and accuracy, paired with strong winds most of the week, I expect the 20-under par mark to be passed once again this week.
