Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview 2019

Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview 2019

Dates: December 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020
Where: The Plantation Course at Kapalua
Par/Yards: 73/7,596
2019 champion: Xander Schauffele
Purse: $6,700,000/$1,340,000
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play (no cut)
Field: 34

Things to Know

• Xander Schauffele returns to defend his title; entered the final round in 2019 trailing by five shots before tying the tournament record with a final-round 62
• FedExCup leader Brendon Todd qualified for the event for the first time since 2015 and seeks his third victory of the season
• Two-time winner Dustin Johnson is making his first start of the 2019-20 season
• 15 players in the field are making their tournament debuts, second-most since the inaugural year and most since 2003 (19)
• Eight members of the victorious United States Presidents Cup team are in the field
• In 12 of the previous 13 seasons in the FedExCup era, the winner of the event has gone on to qualify for the TOUR Championship

Field Notes

• Seven of the top 10 in the FedExCup standings, including No. 1 Brendon Todd, No. 2 Sebastián Muñoz and No. 3 Lanto Griffin
• 13 of the 30 players that qualified for the 2019 TOUR Championship
• 13 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including three of the top five: Jon Rahm (No. 3), Justin Thomas (No. 4) and Dustin Johnson (No. 5)
• Eight of the 10 winners during the 2019-20 season: Joaquin Niemann (A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier), Sebastián Muñoz (Sanderson Farms Championship), Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (Kevin Na), Lanto Griffin (Houston Open), Cameron Champ (Safeway Open), Justin Thomas (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES), Brendon Todd (Bermuda Championship, Mayakoba Golf Classic), Tyler Duncan (The RSM Classic)
• Four past champions: Dustin Johnson (2013, 2018), Patrick Reed (2015), Justin Thomas (2017), Xander Schauffele (2019)
• 15 first-timer winners: Corey Conners, Tyler Duncan, Dylan Frittelli, Lanto Griffin, Max Homa, Sung Kang, Nate Lashley, Adam Long, Keith Mitchell, Collin Morikawa, Sebastián Muñoz, Joaquin Niemann, J.T. Poston, Martin Trainer, Matthew Wolff

FedExCup and the Sentry Tournament of Champions

• The Sentry Tournament of Champions is the 12^th event of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season
• The winner has advanced to the TOUR Championship 12 of 13 years of the FedExCup era (only Daniel Chopra in 2008 did not)
• Each of the last three winners (Justin Thomas/2017, Dustin Johnson/2018, Xander Schauffele/2019) went on to finish in the top five in the FedExCup standings
• 2017 champion Justin Thomas went on to win the 2017 FedExCup

Current FedExCup standings

The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program and be well-positioned entering the FedExCup Playoffs

Position	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Points Behind	Starts	Projected Bonus
1	Brendon Todd	957	2	3	—	8	$2 million
2	Sebastian Munoz	817	1	3	140	7	$1.5 million
3	Lanto Griffin	740	1	1	217	8	$1.2 million
4	Rory McIlroy	713	1	2	244	2	$1.1 million
5	Justin Thomas	662	1	2	295	3	$1 million
6	Kevin Na	603	1	1	354	5	$850,000
7	Sungjae Im	599	—	2	358	6	$700,000
8	Joaquin Niemann	587	1	1	370	6	$600,000
9	Cameron Champ	581	1	1	376	5	$550,000
10	Hideki Matsuyama	566	—	2	391	5	$500,000

A look back at the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions

• Xander Schauffele entered the final round five shots back of Gary Woodland; after opening with a bogey, Schauffele recorded two eagles and nine birdies over the last 17 holes to tie the course record of 11-under 62 and edge out Woodland by one shot for his second consecutive victory (won the 2018 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions)
• Marked his fourth career PGA TOUR victory and fourth time coming from behind for the win
• Schauffele went on to a career-best second-place finish in the FedExCup following his victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions
• Woodland held the 36-hole lead (3 shots) and 54-hole lead (3 shots) but failed to convert into victory

Player Notes

• 2013 and 2018 winner Dustin Johnson is making his season debut and has recorded seven consecutive top-10s at the event
• Jon Rahm, the top-ranked player in the field in the Official World Golf Ranking (No. 3), has finished in the top 10 in each of his first two appearances at the event (2^nd/2018, T8/2019)
• Justin Thomas has a win (2017) and a third-place result (2019) in four starts at the event; Thomas enters No. 5 in the FedExCup
• Tyler Duncan is in search of his second consecutive win after winning The RSM Classic for his first career victory
• Kevin Na, who qualified with his victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, is set to make his first start in the event since 2012; Na withdrew minutes before his tee time in 2019 due to a finger injury
• Rickie Fowler has never finished outside of the top six in three career appearances at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (T6/2013, 5^th/2016, T4/2018)

Tournament records and history

• 18-hole score: 62 (K.J. Choi/R3/2003, Graeme McDowell/R4/2011, Chris Kirk/R4/2015, Jason Day/R4/2015, Xander Schauffele/R4/2019)
• 72-hole score: 261 (Ernie Els/2003)
• Largest margin of victory: 13 (Gene Littler/1955)
• Largest margin of victory at The Plantation Course: 9 (David Duval/1999)
• Playoffs: 14 (most recent: Patrick Reed def. Jimmy Walker in 2015)
• Holes-in-one: 4 (Bob Tway/R2/1990, Jodie Mudd/R3/1991, Lucas Glover/R3/2006, Patton Kizzire/R1/2019)
• Most victories: 5 (Jack Nicklaus/1963, 1964, 1971, 1973, 1977)
• Most consecutive victories: 3 (Stuart Appleby/2004, 2005, 2006)
• Youngest winner: Tiger Woods, 21 years, 13 days (1997)
• Last player to win back-to-back: Geoff Ogilvy, 2009, 2010

via PGA TOUR