Sentry Tournament of Champions Fantasy Golf Power Rankings: Odds, Picks Among Top Contenders

Our weekly fantasy golf power rankings for the Sentry Tournament of Champions look at the golfers near the top of the odds lists and pinpoint who to target in your pools this week.

For many, the PGA Tour season still starts with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and without doubt, this is the strongest field we’ve seen since the Tour Championship in August. 

There are 17 of the top-20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) teeing it at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, HI, and Rory McIlory is the only winner from last season passing on the event. 

This year’s field has also been bolstered by 10 non-winners who finished in the top-30 in the FedEx Cup standings last year, including Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Corey Conners, Adam Scott and Sahith Theegala. 

The Plantation Course features wide fairways and large greens, and while it’s a lengthy 7,596-yard track, it also plays to a Par 73 to mitigate the extra distance. Wind gusts off the ocean are the primary defense, and as witnessed last year, the significant elevation changes aren’t enough to protect it in ideal scoring conditions. 

Cameron Smith set the 72-hole record with a minus-34 (258) in the 2022 event, and Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Matt Jones all fired a single-round 61 to set a new 18-hole record.

Weather forecasts aren’t calling for prohibitive winds as of Tuesday, so ensuring to target players capable of going low will be paramount in pools this week. Additionally, I’m also looking for distance off the tee and ball strikers with high-end approach statistics.

Check out our top picks to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Sentry Tournament of Champions Odds

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Sentry Tournament of Champions Fantasy Golf Power Rankings

10. Viktor Hovland

At first glance, this track should set up well for Hovland, but he’s posted 30th- and 31st-place finishes the past two years. What’s more concerning is he finished third in the field in SG: approach with plus-scoring conditions and still couldn’t contend during the 2022 edition. Hovland is coming off an unofficial win at the Hero World Challenge, and playing Plantation for a third time could lead to a career-best showing. I’m viewing the Norwegian as a low-floor, high-ceiling target. 

9. Will Zalatoris

You might strike gold with Zalatoris. He hasn’t played since withdrawing from the BMW Championship in August because of a back injury, but assuming he’s fully healthy, this course sets up perfectly for the ball-striking wiz. Zalatoris topped the PGA Tour in both strokes gained: approach and SG: tee-to-green while also finishing 10th in scoring average last year. I don’t think he’s going to be a popular pick among punters and poolies, either.

8. Sam Burns

The well-rounded American won three times and carded another 11 top-25 finishes in 24 events last year. Burns also checked out statistically with ranks of 12th in SG: total and 14th in scoring average. He finished 19th in Kapalua last season despite ranking 29th in the field in SG: approach. I’m expecting better iron play this year, which should position him for a better finish.

7. Xander Schauffele

I bet you’ll find Schauffele higher on most power rankings. He won here in 2019, and then followed the victory up with solo-second and solo-fifth results. Add a 12th-place finish in 2022, and the Plantation Course clearly fits his eye. Additionally, good luck finding a statistical shortcoming in his game. I’m just not anticipating him winning his third tournament in seven events.

6. Scottie Scheffler

It’s difficult to poke holes in Scheffler’s game. He’s long and accurate off the tee and enters with three consecutive top-10 finishes this fall – if you include his solo second in the “unofficial” Hero World Challenge, of course. Finishing fourth in both scoring average and SG: approach last year bode well, too. This will be his second trip to the Plantation Course after carding a 13th-place finish in the 2021 tournament.

Check out our look at the best odds for the 2023 Masters and the WM Phoenix Open odds.

5. Cameron Young

I’m bullish on Young because of his improved iron play and approach game. He finished 91st in SG: approach as a rookie, but Young ranks 15th in this field in true strokes gained on approaches across his past 26 measured rounds. He’s been knocking on victory's door for over a year, and his length off the tee positions him to be rewarded in Kapalua. 

4. Patrick Cantlay

This will be Cantlay’s fifth trip to the Plantation Course, and he has a pair of solo fourths on his resume, including in the 2022 edition. The eight-time PGA Tour winner finished sixth in scoring average last season, and he posted a T-2 result in his lone fall start at the Shriners Children’s Open in October. It gave him seven top-10 finishes across his past eight events – that’s the consistency I’m looking for.

3. Jon Rahm

The warranted betting favorite has five consecutive top-10 finishes at the Plantation Course, including second-place results in his 2018 debut and in last year’s event. Rahm led the 2022 Sentry field in SG: tee-to-green, and the rest of his statistical profile also checks out. 

2. Tony Finau

While Finau has topped out with a ninth-place finish in the 2017 Sentry, he enters this year’s event in the best form of his career with three wins across his past seven tournaments. The Plantation Course should also set up perfectly for him. Finau paces this field in SG: total and SG: putting across his past 28 measured rounds, and he finished the 2021-22 campaign 12th in SG: approach. Winning a fourth event in such a short period of time is definitely unlikely, but I’m confident the best is still ahead of the 33-year-old American. 

1. Justin Thomas

A two-time winner of this event, Thomas also has four consecutive top-five results in Kapalua. He finished the 2021-22 season eighth in SG: approach, third in SG: tee-to-green and seventh in scoring average. Additionally, I think there’s potential Thomas flies slightly under the radar despite his success and familiarity at the Plantation Course, and his nearly perfect statistical fit.

Sentry Tournament of Champions Power Rankings made 1/3/2023 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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