KAPALUA — The day that golf fans around the world have been anticipating has arrived.

The PGA Tour’s new, spiffy look begins today with the first round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Kapalua Plantation Course.

Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas have both been here before — Thomas is a two-time champion and is making his eighth appearance at the TOC, while Scheffler made it here in 2021 in as a non-winner in the expanded field due to the pandemic.

Both players say the vibe, the aura of the event, has been raised with it being the first of the PGA Tour’s “designated” events — the purse has nearly doubled from last year, to $15 million, and 17 of the top 20 players in the world are here.

“It’s a lot of fun. I think having so many guys that are playing well and they’re top of the world rankings and it’s fun to have everybody here together,” said Scheffler, who is No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “It definitely makes things more exciting when it’s a good field. Being here, it’s a lot of fun. Like I said, it’s a great place to start the year.”

Scheffler will tee off at 12:15 p.m. paired with Will Zalatoris. He got here in 2021 as a non-winner who finished in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup playoffs — a stipulation that was to fill out the field due to COVID then, but has now been added to the permanent qualification criteria for this year and beyond.

After winning four times — including the Masters — last year, Scheffler climbed to No. 1 in the world before Rory McIlroy passed him in October.

“Two years ago it was my wife and I’s first tournament being married, and she never really traveled with me before, and so this was her first tournament” Scheffler said. “And I was a rookie on tour, or it was just after my rookie year. I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just trying to win one golf tournament.

“So it’s a little bit weird coming back now having accomplished a few different things and it’s really cool to look back and kind of see what we were like then to now and it’s exciting to be here this week.”

As a designated event, the Sentry is a lock to get the top players on the Tour’s Player Impact Program to be here.

While Scheffler said that this event always gets the world’s top players — there are eight of the top 10 in the rankings here this year — Thomas said being the first designated event is something that lifts the status of the TOC.

“Yeah, I think with the designated event feel, it’s a little bit, I mean, I don’t know. I think this one still always gets a pretty good field,” Scheffler said. “I think maybe the COVID year was a little different just because there was nobody really around. So it’s definitely good being back and seeing the fans and kind of having corporate stuff out again and a little bit more activity around the tournament.”

A few minutes after Scheffler’s news conference, Thomas took his seat to speak about a golf course that he loves. The 2017 and 2020 champion will tee off at 12:45 p.m. today in the final pairing with Xander Schauffele.

“I did not know it was that many times. That is a nice feeling,” Thomas said when he was reminded this is his eighth trip here. “Yeah, I love this place. It’s always a goal of mine every year to want to start the year in Kapalua. I think it’s a fun, it’s a relaxing, laid-back week.

“The course is very receiving. It’s got big fairways, some big greens. It’s not like you’re coming here and grinding out a couple 73s or 74s. It’s a good opportunity to get the competitive juices flowing and try to get in contention to win a tournament like I’ve been fortunate to do a couple times here. And, yeah, I always enjoy coming back.”

Thomas said the feeling of accomplishment in being here is always high, but he anticipates things could get very interesting this week with this impressive field.

“I would say that makes it a little bit different,” Thomas said. “But, yeah, I think it’s a great start to even better things to come and I know I’m excited. I think once the tournament gets going and maybe come the weekend guys trying to win a golf tournament. And, like you said, 17 of the top 20 in the world, I mean, that’s a big deal. So I think it’s going to be a very, very exciting great week.”

Thomas didn’t hesitate to say that this event’s status has risen in the world of golf with the changes announced in August by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in response to the challenge of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.

“It’s definitely more prestigious than it was a year ago,” Thomas said. “I think just due to the few amount of players, it’s not possible to be at the same level of a Players or a Genesis or a Bay Hill or whatever, Memorial, whatever it is. But I mean, there’s 17 of the top 20 in the world here. I mean, there’s not very many tournaments the last five years other than the majors and The Players that can say that.”

Thomas said that ascension has been a natural thing for the Sentry TOC.

“The tournament deserves all that respect,” he said. “It’s so unique because you do have some unbelievable players in the past, whether they choose to not come or it’s just they haven’t qualified, maybe they didn’t win, but they could still be ranked sixth in the world, and due to the qualifications process in the past that you don’t get to play Kapalua.

“And yeah, I think it’s great for this event. It’s very deserving. I think everybody that comes here for the first time understands why — or maybe I’m the only one that talks this great about it because I love this place, but why everybody talks so great about it, because it is a special event.”

Scheffler is a bit sullen about the fractured state of golf between the PGA Tour and LIV.

Defending Sentry champion Cam Smith is not here after firing a PGA Tour-record 34-under 259 last year — Smith moved to LIV after winning the British Open.

“In the world of golf, I think it’s definitely a little sad what’s happening. It’s kind of weird this week,” Scheffler said. “I get to my locker, and my locker’s next to Cam Smith’s locker, because he’s a past champ here, and he’s not here. So it’s a little strange, but golf will move on.

“I think this stuff just takes time. Things will heal and we’ll see what happens. All that stuff is not really for me. I can only show up and just try and play good golf, and I’m not going to LIV anytime soon and so it’s not of a concern for me at the moment.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.