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Sentry Tournament of Champions Betting Preview

Golf Previews

After a month off, players from the PGA Tour are ready to tee it up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, beginning on Thursday. Usually, a tour win is required to enter this tournament, but the rules are adjusted due to COVID-19 and have allowed the top 30 players who qualified for the Tour Championship to play as well.

Date: Jan. 7 - 10, 2021
Course: Kapalua Plantation Course
Purse: $6.7 million

Betting Overview

Kapalua’s Plantation has seen various changes since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. They reseeded the entire course with Bermuda grass, enlarged eight greens, and made it so that there could be better pin placement.

Long-distance drivers still have an advantage, just like in the past. However, the addition of potentially faster fairways, somewhat difficult tee shots, and the changing of pin placements could favor shorter hitters as the rounds progress.

Past winners of this event have been some big names with some high scores. The following players have won in the last five years:

2020 - Justin Thomas (-14)
2019 - Xander Schauffele (-23)
2018 - Dustin Johnson (-24)
2017 - Justin Thomas (-22)
2016 - Jordan Spieth (-30)

Dunkel Index For This Event

The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 golfers that could win this event. The top 10 are:

1. Dustin Johnson 11.197

2. Jon Rahm -2.885

3. Xander Schauffele -4.116

4. Patrick Cantlay -4.334

5. Justin Thomas -4.978

6. Cameron Smith -4.992

7. Bryson DeChambeau -5.164

8. Patrick Reed -5.303

9. Viktor Hovland -7.607

10. Hideki Matsuyama -9.378

Potential Winning Picks

Dustin Johnson (11.197) won this event in 2013 and more recently in 2018. It would be difficult to count out the number one golfer in the world. Not only that, but this event typically has excellent golfers competing, so it is not like a cakewalk for a good golfer to steal from rookies here.

Justin Thomas (-4.978) is the defending champion who has won here twice in the last four years. He steps into this event having just won the PNC Challenge with his father.

Out of his last six official tournaments, he has a pair of runner-up finishes and placed no worse than a tie for 12th.

Patrick Reed (-5.303) offers a lot of value here, arguably being a very solid pick. He won here in 2015 and was runner-up in 2016.

He came very close to winning his second career victory last year, losing to none other than Thomas on the third playoff hole.

In his last four tournaments, Reed’s play has been great to watch. He has finished:

T-8 at the Tour Championship
T-10 at the Masters
T-13 at the US Open
T-14 at the Zozo Championship

Winner of This Event

For value, Reed is a great choice. However, Thomas is a very compelling argument to make too. With two victories in the last four years, being the defending champion, and with recent competitive play, he makes it very likely to perform well.

Pick: Justin Thomas (-4.978)

For more Dunkel Index picks, check out our picks page.