KAPALUA — Simply being in the field for the Sentry Tournament of Champions means a lot. Being on the Kapalua Plantation Course appears to be a charm for veterans Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.

The tournament begins today when Brendon Todd and Lanto Griffin tee off at 10 a.m. Defending champion Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, the 2017 winner here, are in the final group teeing off at 12:40 p.m.

Schauffele, who came from five strokes back beginning the final round to win by one with a course-record-tying 62 last year, said it is easy to have a good attitude here.

“Pretty happy, it’s a nice view,” Schauffele said with a smile. “I was riding in a cart today in the pro-am — that’s a big bonus for a smile. I sat there with my caddie and I told him, ‘Every time I’m up there on the mountain and I look back, it’s pretty special.’

“It’s a nice reward coming back here and it makes you want to work a little bit harder.”

Johnson, the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, has won this event twice — in 2013 and 2018 — and has recorded seven straight top-10 finishes on the Plantation Course.

He has earned $3.68 million and is a cumulative 139-under par here in nine appearances. His 268 to win here two years ago is tied for the fourth-best four-round total in 21 events here.

“I’ve been here for, what, this is the 10th or 11th time I’ve played here,” Johnson said. “It’s a place I always enjoy coming. When you do get a win on the tour, you’re excited to get to come back here to Maui.”

Johnson said he likes the changes to the course after its $10 million, nine-month renovation project that was completed in November.

“Obviously the changes with the golf course, it’s going to be a little different this year. I think they made really good changes,” Johnson said. “I think it’s going to play difficult just because the greens are so new. They’re really firm, so it’s hard to get the ball close to the hole. It’s a great way to start off the year.”

Fowler has been in the top six each of the three times he has played here — in 2013, 2016 and 2018. He noted that the early start date may have been a deterrent to some of the players who chose not to enter.

“Yeah, obviously it’s always nice to start your year here at Kapalua and Maui,” Fowler said. “Unfortunately it’s really close to New Year’s this year, so I don’t think anyone really made it to the New Year’s of Hawaii. We probably all celebrated East Coast. But no, it’s always good to be back here.”

He said the changes to the course will get better as the years go on.

“The course is good. It’s a little softer than normal. The fairways aren’t running a whole lot,” he said. “Seems like No. 18, the ball doesn’t really chase down there a whole lot. And then as far as the greens, I feel like for the most part they just took a lot of the slopes or kind of tiers that were there and defined them a little bit more, so new or better pin placements, areas where the ball will stay a little bit better, so like I said, those areas are a little bit better defined.

“But yeah, looking forward to it. I think it’s only going to get better. Obviously it’s brand new, being that it’s the first year to go around it. But yeah, greens are rolling good, so that’s always a good thing.”

He feels the par-73, 7,596-yard monster layout is now tougher to score well on.

“I do think it’ll play a little harder,” Fowler said. “I think the course is a bit more playable, but with those sections being the way they are and the greens being firm, I think it’s going to be hard to get the ball close a lot of times. There will be certain pin placements and certain holes where you’ll be able to get it close, but it’s not really just point-and-shoot.”

Fowler, who played in golf’s Olympic return at the 2016 Rio Games, is currently ranked 23rd in the world and 12th among Americans. A country can send no more than four golfers to the Olympics — the cut-off for selection for this summer’s Tokyo Games determined by the Official World Golf Rankings is June 22.

“On course, multiple wins, knock off a major. Those would be the primary,” Fowler said when asked about his goals for 2020. “Do that, I feel like a lot of other things will fall into place, and that would obviously help me move up the world rankings and have a chance for the Olympics, get points to be there for the Ryder Cup.

“Obviously making birdies and playing well answers a lot of questions.”

Griffin, a first-time winner on the PGA Tour at 31 years old, is celebrating a childhood dream-come-true this week. He recalls playing the course on a video game as a child growing up in Virginia.

“Yeah, this is a golf course, Kapalua, growing up — Tiger Woods, I remember playing it on Tiger Woods a lot, and just the stage, being right around New Year’s, the first of the year,” Griffin said. “In Virginia the weather was cold, school was off. I feel like this is a tournament I’ve watched probably maybe other than the Masters, maybe the most.

“To be here and see how wide the fairways are in person and the views, every hole, the views are mind-boggling. It’s been really cool to be on-site and be part of this tournament.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

Today’s First-Round Tee Times

At Kapalua Plantation Course

10 a.m.–Brendon Todd, Lanto Griffin

10:10–Jim Herman, Tyler Duncan

10:20–Sebastian Munoz, Martin Trainer

10:30–Adam Long, Matthew Wolff

10:40–Joaquin Niemann, Graeme McDowell

10:50–Cameron Champ, Dylan Fritelli

11 a.m.–Max Homa, Kevin Na

11:10–Nate Lashley, Collin Morikawa

11:20–Keith Mitchell, J.B. Holmes

11:30–Ryan Palmer, Sung Kang

11:40–Dustin Johnson, J.T. Poston

11:50–Patrick Cantlay, Corey Conners

Noon–Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler

12:10 p.m.–Jon Rahm, Gary Woodland

12:20–Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed

12:30–Paul Casey, Chez Reavie

12:40–Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas