Strong Kapalua field even without Tiger, Phil

Three players who would have been among the betting favorites—Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose of England—decided not to make the trip to Kapalua Resort on Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but 34 of the 37 champions from the last year are in a strong field for the winners-only event that starts today.

Woods is the only one of the three who has won on the sprawling Plantation Course https://golfatkapalua.com/plantation_course, which often seems to favor the big hitters, and he out-dueled Ernie Els of South Africa in a playoff that turned into something of a long-drive championship in 2000.

There is potential for that to happen again, especially if defending champion Dustin Johnson gets paired with his buddy Brooks Koepka (pictured), the reigning U.S. Open and PGA champion, or Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland or Justin Thomas or Jon Rahm of Spain.

Bombers don’t always win on the Plantation Course, but since the driving areas are so wide, it encourages the big hitters to swing from the heels on almost every hole.

Three players who would have been among the betting favorites—Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose of England—decided not to make the trip to Kapalua Resort on Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but 34 of the 37 champions from the last year are in a strong field for the winners-only event that starts today.

Woods is the only one of the three who has won on the sprawling Plantation Course, which often seems to favor the big hitters, and he out-dueled Ernie Els of South Africa in a playoff that turned into something of a long-drive championship in 2000.

There is potential for that to happen again, especially if defending champion Dustin Johnson gets paired with his buddy Brooks Koepka (pictured), the reigning U.S. Open and PGA champion, or Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland or Justin Thomas or Jon Rahm of Spain.

Bombers don’t always win on the Plantation Course, but since the driving areas are so wide, it encourages the big hitters to swing from the heels on almost every hole.

BEST BETS

1. Dustin Johnson, United States – DJ has won at least once in each of his 11 PGA Tour seasons, including twice at Kapalua, by a whopping eight strokes last year and by four in 2013. Johnson, who claimed three titles last year, is making his ninth start in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and has finished out of the top 10 only twice on the Plantation Course.
2. Brooks Koepka, United States – After winning two majors last year and the U.S. Open the year before, Koepka opens 2019 as the No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings. He showed that his game travels well by winning the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in October in South Korea, and his best result in two appearances at Kapalua was a tie for third in 2016, when he shot 63 in round three.
3. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland – Surprisingly, Rory is making his first appearance at Kapalua, but he should find the Plantation Course suits his power and iron game. After a sub-par 2017, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year, finished second in the Open Championship, the BMW PGA Championship and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
4. Justin Thomas, United States – One of several players in the field trying to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, Thomas is making his fourth appearance in the TOC and won the tournament two years ago by three strokes. He captured the Honda Classic and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last year and has claimed seven PGA Tour titles in the last two seasons.
5. Jon Rahm, Spain – Perhaps the best of the rising young guns at age 24, Rahm has claimed six titles in his first two full pro seasons, including the CareerBuilder Challenge, the Open de Espana and the Hero World Challenge in 2018. The Spaniard, who played at Arizona State teed it up in the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the first time last year and finished second to runaway winner Dustin Johnson.
6. Jason Day, Australia – The Aussie is making his fifth appearance at Kapalua and the only time he finished out of the top 10 came when he tied for 12th two years ago, and his best result was a tie for third in 2015, when he closed with a 62. After missing the winners-only tournament last year by failing to win in 2016-17, he captured the Farmers Insurance Open and Wells Fargo Championship last season.
7. Patrick Reed, United States – Coming off a season in which he claimed his first major title at the Masters to punch his ticket to Kapalua, Reed is another player back on the Plantation Course that he loves. He beat Jimmy Walker with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win at Kapalua in 2016, finished second behind Jordan Spieth the next year and tied for sixth last year.
8. Francesco Molinari, Italy – After winning his first major title by two strokes last July in the Open Championship at Carnoustie, Molinari will make his second appearance on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, having tied for 15th in 2011. He also won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Quicken Loans National in a career season in 2018 at the age of 36.
9. Bryson DeChambeau, United States – Bringing his esoteric brand of golf to Kapalua for only the second time, DeChambeau figures to better the 26th place finish he had a year ago, when he failed to shoot 70 on the Plantation Course. After that, he showed he is the real deal by winning the Memorial, the Northern Trust, the Dell Technologies Championship and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
10. Bubba Watson, United States – Despite having the necessary power and all the other shots, Bubba has never finished better than a tie for fourth in 2013 over his six appearances on the Plantation Course. However, the 40-year Watson put together a comeback year in by winning the Genesis Open, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Travelers Championship last year.

SLEEPERS

1. Cameron Champ, United States – The 23-year-old Champ showed as a rookie that he is one of the longest hitters in the game, and he won the Sanderson Farms Championship.
2. Xander Schauffele, United States – With three wins in the last two seasons, Schauffele won’t be a sleeper much longer. He tied for 22nd in his first start at Kapalua last year.
3. Aaron Wise, United States – The 2016 NCAA champion at Oregon, Wise captured the AT&T Byron Nelson last year as a rookie to qualify for the tournament at Kapalua.
4. Kevin Tway, United States – Son of 1986 PGA Champion Bob Tway, the younger Tway earned his first PGA Tour victory at the age of 30 in the Safeway Open in October.
5. Charles Howell III, United States – It’s strange to be a sleeper at 39, but Howell earned his first PGA Tour victory since 2007 and third overall in a playoff at the RSM Classic.