The First Look: The Sentry

The PGA TOUR’s Opening Drive begins at The Sentry, boasting an impressive field of TOUR winners – including plenty of first-timers – and those who finished inside the top 50 in the FedExCup standings in 2024.

It’s also the first Signature Event of the season, with seven more to come as the calendar chugs along.

The Plantation Course at Kapalua once again plays host to the season’s start.

Here’s everything else you need to know as 2025 kicks off.

Time to get to work.

FIELD NOTES: In total, there are 31 PGA TOUR tournament winners in The Sentry field (including 15 first-time winners) and 29 players who finished inside the top 50 in the 2024 FedExCup standings… Xander Schauffele, who won two majors in 2024 and won this event in 2019, headlines. Schauffele had a tremendously consistent season, with 15 top-10s in 22 events including four top-fives in a row to end his FedExCup campaign. Schauffele has notched four top 10s in seven starts at Kapalua, including one in 2024… Viktor Hovland is set to tee it up despite posting an X-ray of what appeared to be a broken pinky toe on social media just after the Christmas holiday. Hovland finished T22 in Hawaii in 2024… Chris Kirk is the defending champion. He’s looking to become the first person to go back-to-back at The Sentry since Geoff Ogilvy in 2009-10. Kirk made it to the TOUR Championship in 2024 after adding two more top 10s to his resume last season – the RBC Heritage and the BMW Championship… Justin Thomas returns to a golf course he’s had an awful lot of success at after missing out in 2024. Thomas had six top 10s last season, finished third at the Hero World Challenge (and became a first-time dad), and is a two-time winner of The Sentry. He’s recorded five top-five results at Kapalua in his career, including a run of four straight… The Sentry field features up-and-coming first-time TOUR winners like Austin Eckroat, Chris Gotterup and 2024 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Nick Dunlap… Matt McCarty is also set to make his debut at The Sentry. McCarty captured Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors after winning three times and earning a Three-Victory Promotion to the TOUR. He quickly parlayed that into a TOUR title, winning the Black Desert Championship in the FedExCup Fall in just his third-ever TOUR start… Those who qualified for The Sentry but are not teeing it up are: Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy and reigning FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler, who cut his hand while preparing Christmas dinner and required surgery. Scheffler’s next scheduled tournament is The American Express.

HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYERS IN THE FIELD

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The Sentry marks the first Signature Event of the 2025 season… As part of the Aon Next 10, players ranked Nos. 51-60 through the FedExCup Fall earned their way into two early season 2025 Signature Events – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. Those players, after The RSM Classic, are as follows: Maverick McNealy (No. 51), Mackenzie Hughes (No. 52), Patrick Rodgers (No. 53), Nico Echavarria (No. 54), Harris English (No. 55), Seamus Power (No. 56), Ben Griffin (No. 57), Kevin Yu (No. 58), Tom Kim (No. 59) and Nick Taylor (No. 60)… Yu was the only golfer to move from outside the top 60 in the FedExCup Fall inside the magic number after The RSM Classic, moving from No. 61 to No. 58… The first stretch of the Aon Swing 5 for 2025 will begin at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES: This is the first event of the 2025 PGA TOUR season, and once again a special bonus is on offer for those who finish in the top 10 in the season-long standings. The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 emphasizes player performance by rewarding the top players in the FedExCup standings at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season.

Scottie Scheffler captured the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 in 2024, the second time in three seasons he finished No. 1.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 700 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, par 73, 7,596 yards. This marks the 27th consecutive year Kapalua will host the PGA TOUR. The Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw design underwent a significant restoration in 2019.

72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Cameron Smith (2022)

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Jon Rahm (third round, 2022), Justin Thomas (third round, 2022), Matt Jones (final round, 2022), Justin Rose (final round, 2024)

LAST TIME: Chris Kirk put up a sizzling Sunday 65 and held off a hard-charging Sahith Theegala, who fired his own final round 10-under 63, to capture the 2024 season-opener by one shot. The final round at Kapalua produced the lowest scoring average since 1983, so it was always set to be a Sunday shootout in Hawaii. Kirk, who had capped a long journey back from stepping away from golf in 2019 due to alcoholism and depression by winning the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in 2023, kickstarted his year in a magical way in Hawaii.

Jordan Spieth, looking for his first win on TOUR since 2022, finished third – two back of Kirk – while Byeong Hun An finished fourth. There was a five-way tie for fifth, including Scottie Scheffler.

How to follow (all times ET)

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 6-10 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday-Sunday: 4-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)

PGA TOUR LIVE:

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+

• Main feed: Primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course.
• Marquee group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group.
• Featured groups: Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups.
• Featured holes: Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes.

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio:

• Thursday-Friday: 4-10 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 3-8 p.m.