NBA Hot and Cold – 1/4/22
January 4, 2022
Packers Increase as Public Favorite for Super Bowl Futures
January 5, 2022
The PGA Tour kicks off the New Year with the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui. It is a limited field event with only winners from last year invited to play. A total of 38 of the 39 winners of a PGA Tour event from last year are in the field with only Rory McIlroy not playing. Also in the field is Xander Schauffele, as he gained eligibility because of his win in the Olympics last summer. There are a number of winners of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in the field. Last year’s winner Harris English is joined by Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. No player has won back-to-back Sentry titles since 2010. Eight first-time PGA Tour winners qualified for this event.
Venue: This event takes place at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. It is a par 73 course that measures 7,596 yards. The course opened in 1992 and was redesigned in 2019. It is the only course on the PGA Tour that is a par 73. It features big fairways, a lot of elevation changes and great ocean views.
Last Year: Harris English won on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2013 by winning this event a year ago. It was a great win for English who had to get past Joaquin Niemann in a playoff. English and Niemann both finished at 25-under par with Niemann shooting 9-under on Sunday. Niemann had trouble in the playoff and Niemann needed just a 6-foot birdie putt to win the title. English made it into this event only because he made the TOUR Championship in 2020. The 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions expanded the field because of COVID and English took full advantage, winning the event. Justin Thomas finished one shot out of a playoff.
TV Coverage: NBC and Golf Channel
Sentry Tournament of Champions Odds
Thomas, Justin +800
Rahm, Jon +800
DeChambeau, Bryson +1000
Morikawa, Collin +1000
Cantlay, Patrick +1100
Hovland, Viktor +1100
Schauffele, Xander +1200
Burns, Sam +1600
Smith, Cameron +1800
Berger, Daniel +1800
Matsuyama, Hideki +1800
Sungjae Im +2000
Spieth, Jordan +2000
Ancer, Abraham +2200
Finau, Tony +2200
Reed, Patrick +2500
Koepka, Brooks +2800
Kokrak, Jason +2800
Gooch, Talor +3300
Leishman, Marc +3300
English, Harris +3300
Na, Kevin +4500
Horschel, Billy +5000
Power, Seamus +6600
Homa, Max +8000
Dahmen, Joel +8000
Si Woo Kim +8000
Champ, Cameron +8000
van Rooyen, Erik +9000
Herbert, Lucas +10000
Grace, Branden +12500
Kisner, Kevin +12500
Lee Kyoung-hoon +12500
Mickelson, Phil +12500
Higgo, Garrick +12500
Davis, Cameron +12500
Jones, Matt +15000
Cink, Stewart +15000
Glover, Lucas +15000
Favorites
Jon Rahm +800
Rahm is the No. 1 player in the world and capable of winning on any course at any time. I am not big on taking favorites unless they are clear standouts and this field is loaded. I’ll pass on Rahm at this price.
Justin Thomas +800
Thomas is listed as the co-favorite along with Rahm. You can make a better case for taking Thomas, as he has done really well on this course. He is a two-time winner of this event and he finished third last year. I am not thrilled with the price on Thomas at +800, but he is still worth considering.
Value Picks
Xander Schauffele +1200
Could Schauffele be the second straight player to win this event even though he didn’t get a PGA Tour win the previous season? Harris English got in last year because of the COVID additions and this time it is Schauffele getting in thanks to his win at the Olympics. Schauffele won this event in 2018 and he finished in a tie for 2nd in 2019. He shot a course record-tying 62 in the final round in 2018. He looked good last year finishing in a tie for 5th in this event. His length plays really well on this course and he should be in contention.
Sam Burns +1600
Burns won twice on the PGA Tour last season and there is no reason he can’t start out 2022 with another victory. Burns avoids making mistakes and his scoring always seems to have him on the leaderboard.
Check out the latest Sentry Tournament of Champions odds at SugarHouse Sportsbook.
