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Sentry TOC ‘excited’ for expanded field

Qualification change only for next year

Justin Thomas tees off on the Kapalua Plantation Course’s first hole during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 5. The field for next year’s event, set for Jan. 7-10, will be open to the top 30 finishers in the FedEx Cup standings. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

The Sentry Tournament of Champions has been based on a winners-only-entry format since it was first played in 1953. It has been PGA Tour winners exclusively in its 22-year history at the Kapalua Plantation Course.

The 23rd edition of the field here will look a little different when the event rolls around Jan. 7-10, 2021.

To make up for 10 events that have already been canceled on tour this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the PGA Tour last week announced that players who don’t win in 2020 but do qualify for the Tour Championship will be part of the eligible field for the Sentry.

“We’re just really excited about 2021, kicking the calendar year off here at Kapalua with a unique situation,” tournament executive director Alex Urban said Monday. “Obviously this year presented challenges for everyone, us included, and I think that this as a solution is going to take some challenging times and turn it into a huge positive for us.”

The top-30 finishers in the FedEx Cup playoffs qualify for the Tour Championship, which is now set for Sept. 4-7 in Atlanta.

Fan-favorite Rickie Fowler, shown during this year’s Sentry pro-am, would’ve been eligible for the 2019 Tournament of Champions under the special qualifying criteria being used for next year’s event — Fowler qualified for the 2018 Tour Championship but did not win during that calendar year.

Research by Rachel Noble, the coordinator of communications for PGA Tour championship management, showed that from 2015-19 an average of about 10 players who were in the Tour Championship did not win in that calendar year.

“I think it’s going to be very positive for our field, it’s going to make for a really fantastic 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions,” Urban said. “It’s so nice to have something like this to look forward to.”

Several players ranked high in the World Golf Ranking would have made the field here if this entry method were in play.

Players who have not qualified for the Sentry event over the last five years who would have under this format include Patrick Cantlay (2018) and Patrick Reed (2017), who are currently tied for seventh in the world ranking.

No. 9 Webb Simpson (2017, 2019), No. 11 Tommy Fleetwood (2018, 2019), No. 13 Bryson DeChambeau (2019), No. 17 Matt Kuchar (2015, 2016, 2017), No. 18 Gary Woodland (2016), No. 19 Louis Oosthuizen (2015, 2019) and No. 21 Hideki Matsuyama (2015, 2018, 2019) are also among the would-be qualifiers under the one-time format.

Crowd favorites including No. 27 Rickie Fowler (2018) and No. 50 Jason Day (2017) would also have made Sentry fields under this format.

Urban said under this format, the field could turn out to be the best ever at Kapalua.

“That’s the hope,” he said. “What we really wanted to do was make sure that this is a tournament that’s really important to PGA Tour players. They talk about it when they win throughout the entire year. And with there being some tournaments that have been canceled and all that stuff, we wanted to figure out a way, and the players wanted to figure out a way (to bolster the field).”

The players committee was part of the decision process to modify the stringent rules of qualifying for the event.

“At the end of the day, this tournament is a reward for players for winning on the PGA Tour,” Urban said. “Winning is remarkably difficult, as you know. And so with less tournaments we wanted to make sure that the players still have ample opportunity to qualify for this place because they love it so much.

“So I think the decision here was what’s the best way to really call out the guys that have the best 2020 and I think that the Tour Championship field is the best way of doing that.”

Urban said that Maui golf fans will have the chance to see one of the best limited-field events ever assembled.

“I think it will be really great for our community here, for our fans,” Urban said. “It’s going to be a great way for us to make sure that we can maximize what we do for the community here. We’ve got some upcoming news, we’ll announce our charitable number from 2020 (today) and all that fun stuff.

“It starts with the tournament itself and I think making this commitment to the health of it here in 2021 is going to just lead to its long-term success.”

Urban stressed it is a one-time modification to the entry rules. The 2022 event will be back to winners only from the 2021 calendar year.

“It is just one of those things, you don’t want to extrapolate,” he said. “This is such a unique year for everyone in all sports that we wanted to come up with something that really took care of us through this, but didn’t change the footprint and fabric of this event.

“We love the unique nature of the field here. That’s what makes us the Tournament of Champions.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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Sentry Tournament of Champions

A list of players who qualified for the Tour Championship without a victory in the calendar year — these players would’ve been eligible for the Sentry Tournament of Champions under the

format being used in 2021.

2015 (11)–Sangmoon Bae, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey, Harris English, Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb.

2016 (11)–Paul Casey, Roberto Castro, Kevin Chappell, Emiliano Grillo, J.B. Holmes, Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Sean O’Hair, Gary Woodland.

2017 (8)–Paul Casey, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland.

2018 (7)–Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Kyle Stanley.

2019 (14)–Abraham Ancer, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood, Lucas Glover, Charles Howell III, Sungjae Im, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker.

Source: Rachel Noble, PGA Tour

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