The Sentry Betting Picks, Predictions And Odds

The 2025 PGA Tour season gets underway in beautiful Hawaii for the second year running and it's a solid start with a strong field assembled for The Sentry.

First played in 1953 and formerly known as the Sentry Tournament of Champions, it's now a Signature Event on the PGA Tour and alongside winners from the 2024 PGA Tour, including the Fall Series, the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings also qualify.

Defending champion Chris Kirk was a surprise winner last year as previously a huge name had taken home the trophy in recent times, with even 2021 winner Harris English going on to play in that year's Ryder Cup.

Jon Rahm won in 2023 before winning The Masters and 2022 champion Cameron Smith went on to win The Open that year - even two-time champion Justin Thomas' first success in 2017 led to his first PGA Championship victory.

So it can be a springboard for glory and that's what a host of big names will again be looking for - despite some absentees as Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood are not playing and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler can't play after injuring his hand over Christmas.

So Xander Schauffele, also a previous winner here, heads the betting market fresh off his double Major season, with fellow Americans Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay all in behind him.

With a lot of the top stars having had an extended break though, ring rust could be a factor so could we get another surprise winner? Some of the Golf Monthly team have made their picks...

The Sentry Course Guide: Kapalua

The Plantation Course at Kapalua on the stunning island of Maui is one of the more recognizable on ther PGA Tour, with beautiful scenary, huge elevation changes and plenty of birdies.

Opened in 1991 and designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, unusually it's a par 73, the only one on the PGA Tour schedule, and measures in at 7596 yards with the standard four par-5s but only three par-3s.

The Pacific Ocean winds plays a big part in things but it's usually an ultra low-scoring affair well into the mid-20s under par and then some.

Twice in the last decade the winning score has been 30 under par or better, with just once being worse than 20 under, so players need to have a hot putter and sink every birdie chance they get.

The Sentry Previous Winners

The Sentry Betting Odds

Outright winner odds from BetMGM.

• Xander Schauffele (+550)
• Justin Thomas (+900)
• Collin Morikawa (+1000)
• Patrick Cantlay (+1400)
• Ludvig Aberg (+1600)
• Sam Burns (+1600)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+1800)
• Sungjae Im (+1800)
• Viktor Hovland (+2500)
• Sahith Theegala (+2800)
• Akshay Bhatia (+2800)
• Tony Finau (+3300)
• Jason Day (+4000)
• Keegan Bradley (+4500)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (+5000)
• Max Homa (+5000)
• Chris Kirk (+7000)

The Sentry Betting Picks

Elliott Heath

Favorite: Justin Thomas (+900)

I picked Thomas at last month’s Hero World Challenge and he came close to getting the W had it not been for another rampant Scottie Scheffler display. The World No.1 is not at Kapalua this week due to injury so Thomas is among the favorites, evidence of how he has managed to turn around his form that has resulted in a T2 and a 3rd place in his last two starts. The two-time Major winner has won here twice and has another victory in Hawaii so should be in the running again.

Outsider: Akshay Bhatia (+2800)

The talented American looks to be on an upward trajectory and could be one of this year’s breakout players. Bhatia was 4th in his last start in the Bahamas after a T2 in the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan to cap off the best season of his career that included a win and two runners-up finishes. He was a modest T14 here last year and can go much better this week if he continues to wield his broomstick putter with success.

Paul Higham

Favorite: Collin Morikawa (+1000)

Course form is a big factor here with the same names cropping up as winners and runners-up in bunches - Rahm, Schauffele, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth all feature. Morikawa finished second in 2023 but really should've won as he could only shoot one under on Sunday when Rahm came storming through with a 10-under round of 63 winning him the title. Morikawa was fourth on the PGA Tour in Putting Average last year, which is a key metric of recent winners at Kapalua and most striking of all is his course form, as he's never finished lower than seventh in five appearances, going 5-2-5-7-7. Those stats also indicate that he likes to start the year strong so I don't think his long layoff will hurt his chances.

Outsider: Sahith Theegala (+2800)

I'm hoping Theegala can do a Rahm and win the event a year after finishing second - after the American shot a brilliant 63 on Sunday last year but just missed out by a shot to Kirk. That's a promising effort on just his second appearance and as mentioned course form is a great factor here. He can be a birdie machine when he gets on a roll and you wouldn't rule out another flying finish this time being good enough to capture the title. His putting overall last year wasn't as good as he'd like, but he led with the flat stick at the Hero World Challenge so that's a good marker heading here.

Barry Plummer

Favorite: Collin Morikawa

Morikawa has an unbelievable record at Kapalua, finishing in the top-7 on each of his five visits to the event. He was runner-up here a couple of years ago, and has excellent form on some strongly correlating courses. With a 2nd place finish at the Genesis, 3rd at the Farmers and two top-5s at The Masters in his career, the correlation points towards an eventual win at The Sentry and I believe that could be this year after a solid end to the 2024 season.

Outsider: Max Homa

Homa had a turbulent year on the PGA Tour last season, and rarely found his best stuff, but a strong effort on the DP World Tour before Christmas has peaked my interest. He has a great record here, including a 3rd place finish, and his correlating course form further adds to his appeal. A win and a runner-up at the Genesis, a win at the Farmers and a 3rd place finish at Augusta suggest he has all the skills to win here, and after recording the longest ever PGA Tour drive in history at this event 12 months ago I can see him putting in a powerful charge for the title.

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Thursday 2nd January - Round One:

• US (ET): 6pm–10 p.m. (Golf Channel)

• Canada (ET): 5:30pm–10pm (TSN+)

• UK (GMT): 6pm–3am (Sky Sports Golf), 11pm–3am (Sky Sports Main Event)

• Australia (AEDT): 4:30am–10:00am (Friday) (Fox Sports / Kayo)

Friday 3rd January - Round Two:

• US (ET): 6pm–10pm (Golf Channel)

• Canada (ET): 6pm–10pm (TSN+)

• UK (GMT): 6pm–3am (Sky Sports Golf), 11pm–3am (Sky Sports Main Event)

• Australia (AEDT): 4:30am - 10:00am (Saturday) (Fox Sports / Kayo)

Saturday 4th January - Round Four:

• US (ET): 4pm–6pm (NBC), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)

• Canada (ET): 4pm–11pm (TSN+)

• UK (GMT): 6pm–1am (Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports+)

• Australia (AEDT): 5am–8am (Sunday) (Fox Sports / Kayo)

Sunday 5th January - Round Four:

• US (ET): 4pm–6pm (NBC), 6pm–8pm. (Golf Channel)

• Canada (ET): 4pm–8pm (TSN+)

• UK (GMT): 6pm–1am (Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports+)

• Australia (AEDT): 5am–8am (Monday) (Fox Sports / Kayo)