The First Look: Sentry Tournament of Champions

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan wrote this letter to all employees and players this week and approved it for public distribution. This past weekend, I – like many of you, I’m sure – spent a lot of time trying to understand and process the civil unrest that has engulfed many cities across the United States, following the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend. And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I am not giving up. I’ve often heard that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. What can I say? What should I do? I’m certain many of you are asking those same questions. In the midst of that confusion, as usually happens, the PGA TOUR family steps up to shine a light of perspective and compassion. First, I had several meaningful and emotional conversations this weekend with colleagues and friends in the African-American community, who – once again – showed me that sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK. And I learned that two of our PGA TOUR YOU groups – CORE and HONOR — took it upon themselves to work over the weekend on a unified message … reminding all of us at the TOUR of our shared values, offering help for those who may need it and providing perspective on how to be there for each other as we navigate this incredibly complex and painful issue, together. What I was left with was this: make no mistake about it – someone you know and care about is hurting right now, even if they haven’t told you that directly (and, of course, our work-from-home, socially distant way of living right now is not helping the cause). And if anyone at the TOUR is hurting, we should all hurt. That’s how a family works. To that end, please also spend a few minutes on THIS ARTICLE that expresses an important and powerful viewpoint from the African-American community, not only in relation to the recent tragic headlines, but also the fear and sadness created by the inequality and racism that still presides in the 21st century. Too often we just move on when we are not directly influenced by the news of the day. Yes, we have all been impacted by the global pandemic, but we should also be painfully aware and impacted by the dividing lines in our country. We might not know exactly what to do right now, but we shouldn’t be deterred. We should communicate and learn. We should talk to our family, friends and colleagues in an open and compassionate way. We should grow as individuals and as an organization. And, most importantly, we should demand better. Jay Monahan

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Gary Woodland won the 119th U.S. Open by three strokes over Brooks Koepka at Pebble Beach on Sunday to capture his first major championship.

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Island hopping continues in Hawaii as the TOUR shifts from the newly redone Plantation Course on bucolic Maui to the hustle and bustle of the classic Seth Raynor Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on Oahu. The traffic on the course, and island, increases this week as 144 players comprise the first full-field event of calendar 2020. The top 60 and ties will play the weekend for a piece of a $6.6 million prize purse with the winner taking home $1.188 million plus 500 FedExCup points. Waialae CC stretches only 7,044 yards (Par-70) and has hosted the event since 1965, so course form plays a massive angle. Bermuda greens and tight driving targets usually provide the challenge but this week, the trade winds will also keep scoring at a premium. The classic layout has only crowned two debut winners this century and only two more under the age of 30 since 1999 so experience, in the wind and on the course, matters this week. With gusty conditions in the forecast, experience and ball-striking receives extra emphasis. Of the 144 players entered, 23 knocked the rust off last week in Maui. Over the last 21 events, 15 champions played the week prior in the winner’s-only event. Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) are the only two to win both Hawaii events back-to-back to kick off the year. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks Recent Winners 2019: Matt Kuchar (-22, 258) Became the third winner since 2012 to also win the previous year at Mayakoba. … Just the second player 40 or older to win this century. … Played the previous week on Maui. … Top nine in EVERY major statistical category other than Strokes-Gained: Around-the-Green. … Led the field in GIR and Ball-Striking. … Won in his 14th attempt. Notables: Only four over-par rounds posted from the top 28 players in benign conditions. … Andrew Putnam (2nd) and Brian Gay (T22) both gained over 10 strokes on the greens. … Corey Conners closed 64-64 for T3 after qualifying on Monday. … Noted wind player Marc Leishman cashed T3. … Top 28 were 10 under or better. @GolfOdds has set this year’s winning total for 270.5. #Windy. 2018: Patton Kizzire (-17, 263) The 2017 Mayakoba champion defeated James Hahn on the second playoff hole to win in his second visit to Waialae CC. … Joined the previous four winners by finishing in the top five in Strokes-Gained: Putting. … Third-consecutive winner who did NOT finish in the top 55 in driving accuracy. … T1 Par-3 scoring. Notables: James Hahn fired 62 in Round 4 to force a playoff. … Tom Hoge led by one after 54 holes and missed the playoff by a shot. … Brian Harman led by three after 36 holes (64-63) before cashing T4. … Webb Simpson’s furious finish (63-65) secured T4. … 10 under was good for T25 and there were only five over-par rounds from those 31 golfers. 2017: Justin Thomas (-27, 253) Completed the Maui-Honolulu double as he set the course record (59; Round 1) and the tournament record to win by seven shots. … Set the TOUR record for best 36-hole score (123) and tied the 54-hole mark (188). … Led by seven after 54 holes over Zach Johnson. … Top four in all Strokes-Gained categories minus Around-the-Green. … Won in his third attempt. Notables: Kevin Kisner posted 60 in Round 3 and eventually cashed T4. … Johnson signed for 61 in Round 2 and played in the final group (T6). … Chez Reavie closed the proceedings with 61 to hit T8. … The top 44 players were 10 under or lower. Key stat leaders With gusty conditions in the forecast and a winning total expected around 10 under, this week is going to look different to previous editions at Waialae. Getting the ball in the hole is going to trump scoring for me this week. Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-20 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.  * -  previous top-10 finish here since 2015 Strokes-Gained: Putting  4  Graeme McDowell (first appearance)  5  *Andrew Putnam  7  *Patton Kizzire  9  Vaughn Taylor 11 *Webb Simpson 12 *Brandt Snedeker 14 *Pat Perez 19 Peter Malnati 20 *Kevin Kisner 22 Patrick Rodgers 23 Sam Burns Strokes-Gained: Approach-the-Green  2  *Justin Thomas  3  Emiliano Grillo  5  Hideki Matsuyama  9  *Corey Conners 13 *Chez Reavie 14 *Webb Simpson 15 Talor Gooch 17 *Matt Kuchar 18 *Russell Knox 19 Keegan Bradley 24 Nate Lashley 25 Joaquin Niemann 28 *Marc Leishman Bogey Avoidance  2  *Webb Simpson  4  *Charles Howell III  6  *Matt Kuchar  7  *Scott Piercy 10 Vaughn Taylor 13 Matt Jones 14 Sungjae Im 16 *Justin Thomas 17 Bud Cauley 22 *Rory Sabbatini 25 Patrick Reed Mahalo Justin Thomas: T16 or better in four of five starts the last five years. … Also owns 61 from debut event in 2015. … Scoring average is 66.56 and is 51 under his last three trips. Charles Howell III: Leading money winner at the event and he’s never won! …  18 visits, 18 paychecks. … Hit the top 10 in five of his last 10 starts and 10 overall. … 23 rounds in the red and counting and 61 of 68 career rounds 70 or better. Matt Kuchar: Last six have gone for WIN, T13, T3, T8, T5 and T5. Frequent Fliers Marc Leishman: Never missed in 10 trips. … Of 40 rounds, nine have gone for 65 or better. … Eight of 10 paydays T28 or better. Webb Simpson: Never missed in nine trips. … 11 of 35 rounds 66 or better. … T20 or better last five visits. Brian Gay: Cashed 16 of 19 career including 16 of his last 17. Wait, What? Brian Stuard: Made six of seven weekends with four top-10 paydays and 67.23 scoring average. … Top 10 last two years. Hudson Swafford: 67.32 scoring average in six tries; three top-10 paychecks including T3 last year. Jimmy Walker: Last repeat champion in 2015 hasn’t found his mojo in his last three visits. Caution. Pat Perez: Almost half of his 17 appearances have ended up in the top 25 with half of those in the top 10, but his last three (MC-81-T69) have been clunky.

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