Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview 2020

Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview 2020
  • Dates: January 4-10, 2021
  • Where: The Plantation Course at Kapalua
  • Par/Yards: 73/7,596
  • 2020 champion: Justin Thomas
  • Purse: $6,700,000/$1,340,000
  • FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
  • Format: 72-hole stroke play (no cut)
  • Field: 42

Things to Know

  • FedExCup leader, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and defending champion Justin Thomas headline field that includes four of the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking and 14 of the top 15 in the FedExCup standings
  • As a result of changes to the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, players who finished in the top 30 of the 2019-20 FedExCup standings are eligible (in addition to tournament winners in the 2020 calendar year)
  • 42-player field marks the largest in tournament history
  • Johnson and Thomas seek third win at the event, which would tie Stuart Appleby for most wins since the tournament moved to The Plantation Course at Kapalua
  • Thomas won the event in a playoff in 2020 over two other past champions, Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele

About Sentry

Sentry is a mutual insurance company based in Wisconsin. Founded in 1904, it currently is one of the nation’s largest mutual insurance companies, with 2017 assets of  nearly $16 billion.

Field Notes

  • 20 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, including 14 of the top 15 (all of the top 15 but No. 9 Matthew Wolff)
  • 28 of the 30 players that qualified for the 2020 TOUR Championship
  • 29 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including four of the top five: Dustin Johnson (1), Jon Rahm (2), Justin Thomas (3), Bryson DeChambeau (5)
  • All 12 winners during the 2020-21 season
  • Three FedExCup champions: Billy Horschel (2014), Justin Thomas (2017), Dustin Johnson (2020)
  • Five past champions: Sergio Garcia (2002), Patrick Reed (2015), Dustin Johnson (2013, 2018), Xander Schauffele (2019), Justin Thomas (2017, 2020)
  • Seven players making tournament debut: Abraham Ancer, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz, Scottie Scheffler, Richy Werenski
  • 42 of the 45 eligible players (all but Tyrrell Hatton, Jim Herman and Rory McIlroy)

FedExCup and the Sentry Tournament of Champions

  • 13th event of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season
  • In 13 of the previous 14 seasons of the FedExCup era, the winner of the event has gone on to qualify for the TOUR Championship (only Daniel Chopra in 2008 did not)
  • Each of the last four winners (Justin Thomas/2017, Dustin Johnson/2018, Xander Schauffele/2019, Thomas/2020) went on to finish in the top five in the FedExCup standings
  • Justin Thomas (2017) is the only player to win the event and go on to win the FedExCup in the same season

A look at Justin Thomas’ victory at the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions

PosPlayerR1R2R3R4Total
P1Justin Thomas67736969278 (-14)*
P2Patrick Reed72667466278 (-14)
P2Xander Schauffele69687170278 (-14)
4Patrick Cantlay69717368281 (-11)
*won in a playoff with a birdie-4 on the third extra hole (No. 18)

  • Playoff consisted of three past champions of the event, with Thomas defeating Patrick Reed with a birdie on the third playoff hole (par-5 18th); Xander Schauffele was eliminated on the first extra hole
  • Thomas picked up his 12th PGA TOUR win, joining Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20) as the only players since 1960 to accumulate 12 or more wins before the age of 27
  • Joined Stuart Appleby (3), Geoff Ogilvy (2) and Dustin Johnson (2) as multiple winners of the Sentry Tournament of Champions since the event moved to The Plantation Course at Kapalua in 1999

Current FedExCup standings (players in bold are in the field)

Pos.PlayerPointsWinsTop-10sStarts
1Dustin Johnson950133
2Bryson DeChambeau698123
3Viktor Hovland682115
4Stewart Cink671126
5Patrick Cantlay660125
6Carlos Ortiz614127
7Jason Kokrak596116
8Justin Thomas594035
9Matthew Wolff585025
10Sergio Garcia548116

Top Player Notes

Dustin Johnson

  • 2013 and 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions winner
    • Owns eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the event
    • Holds the top spot in the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Ranking
    • Reigning FedExCup champion
    • Making first start on TOUR since winning the Masters Tournament in November

Jon Rahm

  • Has finished in the top 10 in each of his three appearances at the event (2nd/2018, T8/2019, 10th/2020)
    • Best result during the 2020-21 season: T2/ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD
    • Earned first career multi-win season on TOUR in 2019-20, finishing a career-best No. 4 in the FedExCup
    • No. 22 in the FedExCup standings and No. 2 in the OWGR

Justin Thomas

  • Looking to become first player to successfully defend title at the event since Geoff Ogilvy in 2010
    • One career successful title defense on TOUR (2016 CIMB Classic)
    • Has finished T12 or better in each of his last six starts, dating back to a T2 at the 2020 TOUR Championship
    • No. 8 in the FedExCup standings and No. 3 in the OWGR

Additional Player Notes

  • 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau will make his third start at the event (26th/2018, 7th/2019)
  • Patrick Reed has one victory (2015) and two runner-up finishes (2016, 2020) in six starts at the event
  • 2019 champion Xander Schauffele lost in a playoff in 2020 after holding the outright second- and third-round leads; with playoff losses at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2019-20, became the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 to finish runner-up in a title defense twice in a single season
  • Sergio Garcia, who won the event in his debut appearance in 2002, will make his first start since 2006 (7th)
  • A runner-up finish in 2007 is the best finish in six tournament starts for Adam Scott; returns for the first time since finishing T6 in 2014
  • Stewart Cink returns to Maui for the first time since finishing ninth in 2010; best finish in five starts is T5 in 2005

Field by Eligibility Categories

Tournament winners in the 2020 calendar year (26)

  • Berger, Daniel
  • Cantlay, Patrick
  • Cink, Stewart
  • DeChambeau, Bryson
  • Garcia, Sergio
  • Gay, Brian
  • Hovland, Viktor
  • Im, Sungjae
  • Johnson, Dustin
  • Kokrak, Jason
  • Laird, Martin
  • Landry, Andrew
  • Leishman, Marc
  • Morikawa, Collin
  • Ortiz, Carlos
  • Rahm, Jon
  • Reed, Patrick
  • Scott, Adam
  • Simpson, Webb
  • Smith, Cameron
  • Streb, Robert
  • Swafford, Hudson
  • Taylor, Nick
  • Thomas, Justin
  • Thompson, Michael
  • Werenski, Richy

Top 30 in 2019-20 FedExCup standings (16)

  • Ancer, Abraham
  • Champ, Cameron
  • English, Harris
  • Finau, Tony
  • Griffin, Lanto
  • Horschel, Billy
  • Hughes, Mackenzie
  • Kisner, Kevin
  • Matsuyama, Hideki
  • Muñoz, Sebastián
  • Na, Kevin
  • Niemann, Joaquin
  • Palmer, Ryan
  • Schauffele, Xander
  • Scheffler, Scottie
  • Todd, Brendon

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)
  • Best come-from-behind victory: 7 (Gary Player/1978)
  • Playoffs: 15 (most recent: Justin Thomas def. Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele in 2020)
  • 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)
  • Last player to win back-to-back: Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2010)
  • Youngest winner: Tiger Woods, 21 years, 13 d

The Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview is via PGA TOUR

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