While the 2022-2023 season may have officially begun back in September, the unofficial kickoff to the PGA TOUR season starts this week in Hawaii for the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Taking place at the Plantation Course at Kapalua from Jan. 4-8, the event now includes the top 30 players from the final FedExCup standings who qualified for the previous year’s TOUR Championship, in addition to the previous calendar year’s winners. With a purse of $15-million USD, some of the PGA TOUR’s biggest stars will look to get their calendar year started off nicely with a big-money victory.

The Contenders:

With 39 players in the field, you’ve got to think that everyone who tees it up will be a contender. However, there are a couple names to circle for the week at Kapalua, including three Canadians: Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson. World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler will look to claim the Sentry TOC crown, as will Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland—all of whom are ranked inside the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

The Venue:

At the Plantation Course at Kapalua, everything is on a grand scale. The fairways are wide, the ocean and mountain views are dramatic, the back-tee yardage is long, and the scores are shockingly low. Designed by the famed duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on the land which was once used as pineapple fields, the Plantation Course plays to a par-73 and measures nearly 7,700 yards. With impressive elevation changes seemingly off every tee, mega-wide fairways and the trade winds, expect to see Kapalua yield the longest drives and lowest scoring on the PGA TOUR this year.