Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview 2020

As is the case every year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions hosted at the Plantation Course of Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii is a spectacle of the golfing community. This PGA Tour winners-only event is fielded by some of the best in professional golfers from the 2019 season including Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, and the defending 2019 Champion—Xander Schauffele.

While this field is a “winners-only” bracket, there are a few names to watch out for Sunday afternoon.

Dustin Johnson: Johnson, a Sentry Tournament of Champions winner in 2018, returns in the 2020 season despite having knee surgery on his left knee in September. While this PGA Tour Lifetime Membership holder may need a few adrenaline shots prior to next Thursday, do not count him out as one of the potential candidates for a great beginning to a 2020 season.

Tiger Woods: How can you have a tournament of champions, with a qualifier of winning a tour event the previous season, and not mention Tiger Woods? You can’t. Tiger unfortunately left win number 83 walk away at his self-hosted Hero World Challenge this past month in the Bahamas. What would make that better? An 83^rd win in Maui. Look for Tiger to be laser focused this week eager to bring home his highly desired golf history record.

Rory McIlroy: Coming off one of his best years as a professional golfer, the Northern Irish native will be looking to secure his PGA Tour Lifetime Membership accolade with two wins this season—one of which may come this early January. With only two victories left to get to the magical 20, McIlroy seems eager and motivated to have another breakout 2020 season. As a long hitter, McIlroy will certainly have an advantage with the high winds of the Pacific on the 7,518-yard course. The only thing setting McIlroy apart from yet another PGA victory will be determined on how hot his TaylorMade Spider X putter will be.

Matthew Wolff: In only his third professional start of his career, this Oklahoma State graduate phenom secured a spot in the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions after securing first place at the 2019 3M Open with a 26-foot putt. Finishing 21 under par at the 3M, this PGA Tour rookie got a taste of sitting at the table with the big boys—and he liked it. While he has one of the most unique swings on Tour, he is extremely confident, consistent, and an absolute contender to play with the best of the game. Plus, how savage would it be if a rookie who has one PGA Tour win came the Sentry Tournament of Champions and outscored some of the best in the game? I wouldn’t mind seeing that mic-drop.

Xander Schauffele: An obvious name to put on this list, Schauffele is always a name to be mentioned at every tournament he commits to playing. Schauffele has been in the top ten in FedEx points the last two years, and is the defending champion of this Maui-hosted event in 2019. While not a super long hitter relative to his playing mates, Schauffele makes his strokes back with superior iron play and a great short game. A winner in every aspect of the term, look for Xander Schauffele to come back defending his belt and winning a back-to-back Sentry Tournament of Champions title.