Monday Finish: Thomas too good … again

Happy New Year! The 2022 portion of the PGA TOUR schedule kicks off in Hawaii at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and boasts an impressive field of winners from 2021. Harris English looks to defend his title at Kapalua, while 38 of the 39 PGA TOUR winners from the 2021 calendar year are teeing it up. FIELD NOTES: Phil Mickelson will peg it at the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the first time in 21 years … English looks to become the first person to successfully defend his title at the Sentry Tournament of Champions since Geoff Ogilvy in 2009 and 2010 … The golfer eligible to tee it up this week and not in the field is Rory McIlroy … Xander Schauffele didn’t win a TOUR event last year, but he’s in the field thanks to his gold-medal performance in Tokyo last summer. Schauffele won this event in 2019 … Other winners of the Sentry Tournament of Champions who are teeing it up again including Justin Thomas (2017, 2020 – won THE PLAYERS in 2021), Jordan Spieth (2016 – won the Valero Texas Open in 2021), and Patrick Reed (2015 – won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2021) … First-time TOUR winners who are making their maiden trips to the Sentry Tournament of Champions include Cameron Davis, Joel Dahmen, Talor Gooch, Lucas Herbert, Garrick Higgo, K.H. Lee, Seamus Power, and Erik van Rooyen… World No. 1 Jon Rahm is back in action for the first time since the Fortinet Championship. No. 2 Collin Morikawa is also teeing it up and has a chance to overtake Rahm for top spot in the world. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, par 73, 7,596 yards (yardage subject to change). The Plantation Course is one of two at Kapalua (The Bay Course being the other) and has long been home to the TOUR’s winners-only event. Opened in 1991, this was the debut design from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The duo did a hearty renovation in 2019. The course is the only on TOUR that plays to a par 73 and it features massive elevation changes, big fairways, and of course, wonderfully dramatic ocean views. STORYLINES: Mickelson, who won the 2021 PGA Championship at 50 years old, last played the winners-only event in 2001. He’s won it twice before (1994, 1998) when it was played at La Costa Resort and Spa in California … With 2022 underway, many stars have their eyes set on the Presidents Cup. There are plenty of International hopefuls teeing it up in Hawaii, including past team members Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Si Woo Kim, Sungjae Im, Branden Grace, and Abraham Ancer. The Internationals will be prime to takedown the American team, likely to include many from the victorious Ryder Cup squad from September … Only three times in the last 13 years has the winning score at the Sentry Tournament of Champions not been at least 20-under par (the average winning total is 22-under) … There were only 12 rounds over par in 2021… Players who are coming into Hawaii with some “off-season” momentum include Brooks Koepka (who took down Bryson DeChambeau in The Match), Viktor Hovland (who won the Hero World Challenge), and Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak (who won the QBE Shootout). 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Ernie Els (2003) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, K.J. Choi (3rd round, 2003), Graeme McDowell (4th round, 2011), Jason Day (4th round, 2015), Chris Kirk (4th round, 2015), Xander Schauffele (4th round, 2019). LAST TIME: Harris English could not have started his year any better. English, who captured the Sentry Tournament of Champions for his first victory on TOUR since 2013, would go on to win the Travelers Championship in June as well. He was also part of the victorious American Ryder Cup team. English’s win at Kapalua came in a playoff over Joaquin Niemann. The duo both finished at 25-under through 72 holes after Niemann fired a sizzing Sunday 9-under 64 (tied for the low round of the week). Although English missed a 10-foot eagle try on the 72nd hole that would have won him the tournament outright, Niemann struggled in the playoff and English’s 6-foot birdie was all he needed to take the title. Interestingly enough, the only reason English was in the field was because he made the TOUR Championship in 2020. Given the abbreviated schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sentry Tournament of Champions for 2021 expanded its field to include all those who made it to the TOUR’s season finale. Justin Thomas – looking to defend his title from 2020 – finished one shot out of the playoff. Ryan Palmer finished fourth alone, while Xander Schauffele and Sungjae Im finished tied for fifth. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 6-10 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4-6 p.m. ET (NBC), 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Saturday, 3:15 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups), 4 p.m.-8 p.m. (Featured Holes). PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ Radio: Thursday-Friday, 4–10 p.m. ET; Saturday, 5–10 p.m. ET; Sunday, 3–8 p.m. ET. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) Note: The weekend TV windows could change based on NFL windows.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Thursday morning was supposed to bring an early wake-up call for John Rollins here at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Just not at 5:30. It was also supposed to bring an 18-hole walk inside the ropes, but at Spyglass Hill Golf Club, not Pebble Beach Golf Links. Oh, and he was supposed to be a caddie, not a competitor. The fact that it was all turned upside-down and Rollins was hitting golf balls for the first time in more than a week and competing in a PGA TOUR tournament for the first time since last August was as improbable an occurrence as he has ever been part of. “Crazy. What a roller-coaster day,� said Rollins, who at 43 has played in just 24 PGA TOUR tournaments since losing his full exempt status following the 2014 season. But if you think that accepting the spot in the field at 5:30 a.m. – about three hours before his tee time, by the way – was an easy one, think again. Fact is, “I had to really think about it. I asked myself, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ Hunter (Mahan) is my friend and I was here to caddie for him, so I called him. Hunter (whose tee time was 10:01)  and his wife, Kandi were more than gracious. Hunter said, ‘There’s a reason you’re here, so go and enjoy.’ � Rollins laughed, because “I had done absolutely no prep work� back home in the Dallas area, but he took Mahan’s advice. He did enjoy himself and was overall pleased with his round of 1-over 73 at Pebble Beach – two bogeys and one lone birdie, at the par-4 11th. “I didn’t play terribly. Actually, I was OK, everything considered.� He played in just nine PGA TOUR tournaments last year and has made just eight cuts in limited appearances the last three seasons. So, there’s no wonder Rollins’ name was well down the list of alternates when he came here to caddie for Mahan. “I looked, just for the heck of it at the beginning of the week,� said Rollins, “but I was outside the top 20.� What he didn’t anticipate was the sequence of events. Most of those names ahead of him, for instance, were already committed to the Web.com Tour tournament in Panama or the PGA TOUR Champions Oasis Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., or confirmed they couldn’t fly to Pebble Beach in time. When Tommy Gainey had connecting flight problems and had to withdraw, Rollins’ name was called. “I looked at my phone and saw PGA TOUR headquarters and I thought, ‘What would the PGA TOUR be calling me at 5:30 for?� To find a caddie, Rollins got in touch with Daniel Chopra who provided the phone number of Kevin Hanssen, lead instructor at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. Hanssen worked with Rollins last fall here at Pebble Beach, so it provided to be a seamless fit. As for being thrust inside the ropes with little preparation, Rollins thought it proved one thing. “My heart is still in the game. I know that and I know the success I’ve had out here.�

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