The Sentry 2024: Course & Field Breakdown, Odds, + Key Stats

The 2024 PGA Tour calendar season begins this week with The Sentry at Kapalua's Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii. Known as the premier golf course in the Hawaiian islands, the Plantation Course has hosted the tournament every year since 1999 after being moved from Las Vegas.

The Sentry has dropped 'Tournament of Champions' from its name this year, as the field now consists of 2023 PGA Tour winners AND the top 50 from last season's FedExCup standings. As a result, 59 players will be teeing it up in Maui this week, the most in tournament history.

An elite group of players are competing for the $20 million purse, as The Sentry is the first of eight Signature Events on the 2024 schedule. Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, and Ludvig Aberg highlight the 59-player field. Rory McIlroy is the only eligible player not competing this week.

THE FIELD/ODDS

Scottie Scheffler (+500), Viktor Hovland (+800), Collin Morikawa (+1200), Max Homa (+1200), Patrick Cantlay (+1200), Xander Schauffele (+1200), and Ludvig Aberg (+1400) enter the week as the betting favorites, according to BetRivers Sportsbook.

Jordan Spieth (+2000), Tom Kim (+2500), Tyrrell Hatton (+2500), Tommy Fleetwood (+2500), Tony Finau (+2800), Matthew Fitzpatrick (+2800), Russell Henley (+3300), Sungjae Im (+3300), and Sam Burns (+3300) are the rest of the players listed below 30/1 odds.

Rickie Fowler (+4000), Hideki Matsuyama (+4000), Brian Harman (+4000), Wyndham Clark (+5000), Cameron Young (+5000), Sepp Straka (+5000), Keegan Bradley (+5000), Jason Day (+5000), Corey Conners (+5000), Denny McCarthy (+6600), Eric Cole (+6600), and Justin Rose (+6600) fill up the middle tier of the betting board.

Sahith Theegala (+7000), Andrew Putnam (+8000), Cameron Davis (+8000), Byeong Hun An (+8000), Chris Kirk (+10000), Luke List (+10000), Brendon Todd (+10000), Adam Svensson (+10000), Harris English (+10000), J.T. Poston (+10000), Adam Hadwin (+10000), Taylor Moore (+10000), Adam Schenk (+12500), Lucas Glover (+12500), Si Woo Kim (+12500), Akshay Bhatia (+12500), Mackenzie Hughes (+12500), Vincent Norrman (+12500), and Nick Taylor (+12500), are the rest of the players in the field listed under 150/1.

PAST WINNERS

2023: Jon Rahm (-27)

2022: Cameron Smith (-34)

2021: Harris English (-25)

2020: Justin Thomas (-14)

2019: Xander Schauffele (-23)

KEY STATS

Driving Distance

SG: Approach

SG: Putting (Bermuda)

Putts Per GIR

Birdie or Better Gained

SG: Par-5s

Proximity 75-100/100-125 Yards

THE COURSE

The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort is impeccable, with captivating views of the Pacific Ocean and picturesque scenery on all 18 holes. Opening in 1991, the course was designed by Bill Coore and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw. That duo was also responsible for the significant course renovations in 2019, which led to the only par-73 track on the PGA Tour.

While the Plantation Course stretches nearly 7,600 yards, this tournament often ends up as a scoring frenzy due to the elevation, massive fairways (59 yards wide on average), and receptive Bermuda green complexes that are the easiest to hit on Tour. The primary (and only) course defense is the coastal wind, which hasn't played much of a factor in limiting the scoring over the years. Four of the past five winners have reached at least 23-under, and Cameron Smith set the tournament record at 34-under in 2022.

With the unique 36/37 split on the scorecard and par-73 layout, the Plantation Course is famous for having 11 par-4s, four par-5s, and just three par-3s. The course also features the most elevation changes on the PGA Tour, leading to plenty of uneven lies and blind shots.

Among the 11 par-4s on the course, eight are shorter than 425 yards. A solid chunk of the scoring will come from those eight holes, as players often will be left with just a wedge into the greens.

The three par-3s on the course cover various yardages, with the 219-yard 3rd hole, the 199-yard 8th hole, and 161-yard 11th hole. The 3rd hole is the only one of the three to play over par historically.

The four par-5s on the course also serve as must-convert scoring opportunities for the field. Only the historic No. 18 (677 yards) gets up over 600 yards, and even that hole can be reachable in two shots for some players due to the immense elevation change.

All in all, with the winds not expected to be detrimental throughout the tournament, the winning score will likely come around 25-under. It's worth noting that Smith and Harris English each led the field in SG: Putting en route to their victories here the last two years. With humungous Bermuda green complexes, it's tricky to land approach shots close to the hole. Making lots of 20-foot birdie putts is a prerequisite to winning this week.

Fun fact: 13 of the last 15 winners of The Sentry played competitively during the month of December.