Sentry Tournament of Champions 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

WITH the turkey and mince pies barely digested the PGA Tour returns to action with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Maui, Hawaii.

This is an event designed to bring together all the winners from last season but many of the game’s biggest stars have regularly chosen to give it a miss. In an attempt to attract a few more of them to Hawaii it is now designated as a Signature Event.

• Past Champions
• The Course
• How To Watch
• Prize Money
• Form Guide
• Picks & Tips

Twelve months ago Chris Kirk won the title in some style.

The 38-year-old American birdied the 15th and 17th holes to finish the final round eight under par. Kirk led going into the final round and hit six birdies in his first 11 holes before fending off a late surge from compatriot Sahith Theegala on the back nine.

The win was the sixth of his career and first since the 2023 Honda Classic.

Prior to that victory at the Honda he had not won on the PGA Tour for eight years, having taken a leave of absence in 2019 to address mental health and addiction issues.

"It's 100% the reason why I'm able to do what I do," Kirk said. "I've said that a lot, but my PGA Tour career would have been over a while ago, had I not gotten sober."

In Hawaii, Kirk made just one bogey all week to claim the $3.6m first prize at the Plantation Course in Kapalua.

Tied with Theegala for the lead at the 17th, Kirk produced a stunning shot to set up a birdie, going on to finish the week on 29 under 263.

"I'm very proud. Very, very proud of that shot, that I was able to make the right call - talk about a tough shot to commit to," said Kirk, who is ranked 52 in the world.

Jordan Spieth hit an eight under 65 on Sunday to finish third at 27 while South Korea's An Byeong-Hun finished fourth.

It is fair to say that few pundits would have predicted some of the players in the field this week.

They include Nick Dunlap, Jake Knapp, Matthieu Pavon, Brice Garnett, Austin Eckroat, Stephan Jaeger, Peter Malnati, Chris Gotterup, England’s Harry Hall and Aaron Rai, Matt McCarty, Kevin Yu, Nico Echavarria, Rafa Campos and Maverick McNealy.

I confidently predict that some of these individuals will never win again on the PGA Tour but Dunlap, Echavarria, McCarty and McNealy will fully expect to taste success again.

Naturally enough, this is a restricted field but it would have been a lot bigger were it not for the fact that a certain Scottie Scheffler claimed seven titles, as well as the Olympic gold and the Hero World Challenge.

His performance in winning the Hero should be a serious concern for Scheffler’s rivals. He did not hit a shot in anger between finishing the Presidents Cup and arriving in the Bahamas for Tiger’s tournament but simply picked up where he had left off. He had warned his rivals that he was not at home with his feet up and was working hard on his game. And he returned having adopted the claw grip with his putter.

There remains a perception that the world number one is a poor putter but nobody wins NINE times in 12 months unless they can putt. The good news for his rivals is that Scheffler is not playing this week as he is recovering from a wrist injury. And Rory McIlroy has also opted to give the tournament a miss.

But two-time major champion Xander Schauffele will tee it up and will surely start the week as favourite.

I am expecting big things in 2025 from Dunlap. He stunned the world of golf by winning the American Express as an amateur. He immediately turned professional and, unsurprisingly, began to struggle as he came under the microscope. But he bounced back by winning the Barracuda Championship - it was that victory that got him into the field this week.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

It will also be fascinating to see how Pavon and Robert MacIntyre kick on in 2025. Pavon gained his PGA Tour card through his performances on the DP World Tour in 2023 and nobody could have predicted that he would go on to win the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a success that set him up for the best year of his career.

MacIntyre also won his card through his form on the DP World Tour and struggled to come to terms with life in America. That all changed when he won the Canadian Open and, weeks later, claimed an emotional victory at the Scottish Open, jointly sanctioned by the DP World and PGA Tours. He is now firmly established in the world’s top 20 and had made it clear that he is only interested in climbing the rankings. The Scot is a terrific ball striker, is now full of confidence and possesses one of the best putting strokes on the planet. I fully expect to see him enjoying plenty more success this year.

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2016 by Jordan Spieth, in 2017 and 2020 by Justin Thomas, in 2018 by Dustin Johnson, in 2019 by Xander Schauffele, in 2021 by Harris English, in 2022 by Cameron Smith, in 2023 by Jon Rahm and last year by Chris Kirk.

The Course

Designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, the Plantation course offers dramatic ocean views from virtually every hole. It is a par 73 measuring 7,596 yards but it has wide fairways and generous greens so look out for some spectacular scoring.

Form Guide

With Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy missing, Open and US PGA champion Xander Schauffele will start the week as favourite. As a former winner here, he will be looking forward to getting his year off to a winning start.

How To Watch

Thursday, January 2-Sunday, January 5, Sky Sports Golf, 6pm

Prize Money

The total prize fund is $20m with a whopping $3.6m going to the winner.

Top Tips & Picks

To Win

Xander Schauffele. Has every shot in the book

Each way:

Robert MacIntyre. Living the dream

Each way:

Nick Dunlap. Looking to kick on

Five To Follow

Xander Schauffele. Full of confidence

Robert MacIntyre. Belongs at this level

Nick Dunlap.  Mercurial talent

Maverick McNealy. A winner at last

Akshay Bhatia. Many moving parts but hugely gifted