Tourney and Course Overview

The 2021 calendar year of golf kicks off this week with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, HI. This inaugural Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design offers breathtaking ocean views at every turn, very wide fairways, and large elevation changes. Large wind gusts are normally a staple at this event, so expect to see some ticker tape drives from the larger hitters this week. The course lays out as a Par 73 at nearly 7,600 yards and based off past years’ results, look for the winning score to be in the -15 range.

A field of 26 winners from the 2019-2020 season, along with 16 additional qualifiers from the TOUR Championship, round out this field of 42 golfers vying for the title in this no-cut format. Next week the Sony Open will offer a full field of golfers enjoying the latter of the Hawaii swing events.

The Picks

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Given the field is small and some of these guys might be out there on an extended holiday vacation, the plan is to take a few nibbles this week before firing a full card of bets next week at the Sony.

Let’s start with a Top 10 bet on Kevin Kisner (+350). Kiz played some of his best golf to end 2020, losing out in a playoff at the RSM to Robert Streb. He is a shorter hitter on a long course, but I expect him to take advantage of his superb iron play and putter this week en route to a solid finish inside the top 10.

The first outright where the price is right is Patrick Cantlay (+2000). He won the ZOZO in California in late October and then backed it up with a solid top-20 performance at Augusta and has been off ever since. He turned out consistent top 20’s throughout the season, but his normally trustworthy iron play held him back from higher finishes. That changed at the ZOZO, and I am banking on him continuing that here as one of the guy’s truly treating this as a business trip to Kapalua.

Another outright that I am playing is Patrick Reed (+1600). Reed punched his ticket event with his win last season at the WGC Mexico, so perhaps a trip off of mainland U.S. soil will suit him here as well. Reed quietly ended 2020 with four straight top-15 finishes fueled by some superb driving off the tee, so look for him to take advantage of a sizzling driver here and propel him to the winner’s circle on Sunday evening.

My Card

Kevin Kisner Top 10 (+350)

Patrick Cantlay Outright (+2000)

Patrick Reed Outright (+1600)