NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
Welcome back golf fans! The 2023 PGA Tour kicks back in following the short holiday and Christmas break week with the Sentry Tournament of Champions with Jon Rahm coming in as the lone favorite at an event where he has finished second twice.
As always, the event returns to its traditional home of the Plantation Course in Hawaii. The big difference between this year and in past Tournament of Champions is that there is no defending winner! Last year’s tournament was won by Cameron Smith, but he has left the PGA TOUR in favor of the no-cut, limited closed field, exhibition LIV tour.
Also, the defending winner from the year before is Harris English and he’s not playing the ToC this time around due to his limited schedule last season due to surgery. That brings us to Justin Thomas as the most recent winner of the ToC to be in the field this week and he’s also one of the favoirtes. Thomas took home the title in 2020 for the second time with his first victory here coming in 2017. Thomas cracks the favorites list this week along with Rahm and some other names.
Here are the favorites to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions outright:
Jon Rahm +600
Scottie Scheffler +900
Patrick Cantlay +1000
Justin Thomas +1000
As is normal with this tournament, the field is limited to a select field of players that won tournaments last season with some additional names added in. It is also the first FedEx points playing event in several weeks. Also, the purse has almost doubled this year, going from $8.5 million to over $15 million. That puts some presuure on the field, as they have to shake off the holiday stretch, which featured mostly non-point paying tournaments.
2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview
Where: Kapalua, Hawaii
Course: Kapalua Resort, Plantation Course
Par: 73
Length: 7,596
When: January 5-8, 2023
Purse: $15.2 million
TV Coverage: NBC/Peacock/Golf Channel
The Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii is the only Par 73 on the PGA Tour and it is the only course with 7 holes that are longer than 500 yards. It also has amazing elevation changes and incredible scenic views. It transitions from a seaside course to a more traditional set of links between holes.
The course also features plenty of room on many of the fairways, manageable landing zones, plus player-friendly second and third cuts. The latest improvements came in 2020 when some bunkers were reworked and the greens were switched to TifEagle Bermuda. This is a course where players can show off some skill sets and go wide open on many of their tee shots.
2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions Predictions
Justin Thomas +1000
It’s hard to look past Justin Thomas as he is the only player in the field with multiple wins on this course. That’s a plus when you’re playing in a field of guys who mostly won tournaments last season – or came close! Thomas prevailed here in 2017 and 2020. He has also finished in the 3rd spot here twice. Thomas is ranked 8th in the world on the OWGR list and finished 5th at the Hero World Challenge. Thomas also teamed with Jordan Spieth at The Match to grab a win over Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Xander Schauffele +1100
Xander Schauffele seems to love this venue! He won here back in 2019 then almost won again in 2020, but lost in a playoff. Then he finished T5 in 2021. Schauffele is coming into this season with three wins last season and a handful of close ones. He looked great at the ZOZO where he finished T9 by finishing on Sunday with a 65. He carded 69 on both Friday and Saturday while opening the event with a 67. Schauffele can make good use of his scrambling skills and putter on this course.
Max Homa +3000
Max Homa could be the surprise player to beat this week. He finished off last year strong after taking some time off after the birth of his first child. Plus, he has had some great rounds at Kapalua, as he finished T15 here last year. Homa has already logged a win this season with his victory at the Fortinet. That was his 5th on the PGA TOUR. Including the Presidnts Cup, he has gone 1st, 1st, T20, T23, 17th and T4 so far this season.
Others: Nothing against Jon Rahm (+600) and Scottie Scheffler (+900), but I’m going for more value this week. I’ve picked them a few times before the break and they both seemed a bit rusty. I’ll rethink that opinion after a tournament or two. That brings me to Tony Finau (+1400) who had a solid run to end last season. However, he struggles to break T15 here. Also, there is Sungjae Im (+2000) who finished T5 here in 2021.
PGA Stats Every Bettor Needs to Know
2023 Tournament of Champions Betting Lines
Jon Rahm +600
Scottie Scheffler +900
Patrick Cantlay +1000
Justin Thomas +1000
Xander Schauffele +1100
Tony Finau +1400
Matt Fitzpatrick +1800
Collin Morikawa +1800
Viktor Hovland +2000
Sungjae Im +2000
Cameron Young +2000
Tom Kim +2500
Sam Burns +2800
Will Zalatoris +2800
Jordan Spieth +2800
Max Homa +3000
Hideki Matsuyama +3300
Aaron Wise +3300
Adam Scott +3500
Corey Conners +4000
Russell Henley +4000
Seamus Power +4000
Billy Horschel +4000
Keegan Bradley +4000
Brian Harman +4000
Sahith Theegala +5000
Tom Hoge +5500
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +6600
JT Poston +9000
JJ Spaun +9000
Adam Svensson +9000
Mackenzie Hughes +9000
Scott Stallings +9000
Sepp Straka +10000
Trey Mullinax +12500
Luke List +15000
Chez Reavie +30000
Chad Ramey +40000
Ryan Brehm +70000
