Sentry Tournament Of Champions

Well golf fans golf is finally back in full swing. From this point on there won’t be a Sunday without golf for the next 9 months and if that doesn’t excite you I don’t know what will. Although the fall portion of the season is super beneficial to the newcomers on tour, the spring provides so much action. The action picks right up this week with the first leg of the “Hawaii Swing” with The Sentry Tournament of Champions but before we dive into this week we’re going to make our year long predictions, player of the year picks and expectations for the second half of the 2022 season. 

Let’s start off with the Majors, at Augusta I’m picking Xander Schauffele. Augusta is a tricky one to pick because not only is the field incredibly strong, but the golf course throws a multitude of challenges and come Sunday afternoon it takes such a special player to seal the deal. Nevertheless, Xander is not only due for a major but Augusta sets up extremely well for him. After Xander won Gold last summer I truly believe that was the push he needed to really break through. Next on the list is the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. My winning pick goes to Justin Thomas. JT is not only one of the best ball strikers but he knows how to win majors and what it takes down the stretch. Next up is the U.S. Open at The Country Club of Brookline. Although it pains me to say this, I think Brooks Koepka will win yet another U.S. Open. Everything with Brooks seems like it’s all coming together. He’s tackling all of his injuries, he finally settled on a solid club contract and let’s be honest Brooks knows how to win Majors regardless. Lastly is the British Open and that goes to none other than my guy Jordan Spieth. This year’s British Open is also at St. Andrews which will be absolutely breathtaking as usual. Jordan is no stranger to winning a major and now that he’s gotten over his drought with last year’s win at the Texas Valero his confidence is high and he’s ready to win the big ones again. 

Next up is player of the year, this year I’m giving player of the year to Dustin Johnson. DJ had a very solid season tallying 1 win, 9 top tens and 20/21 cuts made. While this would be beyond impressive for anybody else on Tour for DJ this is an average year. I’m expecting DJ to add at least 2 wins to his resume this year, and no less than 10 top 10’s. I also believe DJ will yet again make a serious run at the FedEx Cup. The bottom line is he knows how to play well in the playoffs no matter the venue. On the flip side I think Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau won’t be able to repeat the same incredible seasons they had last year. I think each will have one win but Cantlay won’t come close to another 4 season win. Not to say he’s not capable but it’s extremely difficult to keep that kind of consistency, there’s only been one man to keep play like that going over a long period of time and it’s Tiger Woods. Although I would like to see Cantlay win a major, I think it’s going to be a little while before that happens. (Mike)

For my player of the year I am going to go out on a limb and pick Rory. I really think that this is the year he puts it together to flash that vintage Rory from a few seasons ago. I really liked the passion that I saw from Rory at the end of last year and I think that will carryover into this year. He definitely lost his game a little bit when he went chasing more distance and he would be the first to admit that, but I think now that he is more refined within himself and plain to his strengths it will lead to a lot of wins this year. Not only do I think he wins player of the year this year, I think he wins at least one major. Even though I want his major to be The Masters so badly, I just do not see that happening.

My bold prediction for the year is that someone outside of the top 75 wins a major this year. We have an incredible slate of Major Championship venues this year and someone will come from nowhere to become a major champion. Personally, the thing I am looking forward to most this year is the return to St Andrews. The Open is finally going to be back at the home of golf and it will no doubt be one of the better weeks of the season. It is hard to put into words the history that engulfs the course and there will be something special to add to all of the incredible moments we have  witnessed on The Old Course throughout time. It is also going to be incredibly special major since it will be the first time The Open returns to St Andrews since I was a student there and it will be very surreal to see such a big tournament played at a course that I used to call home. (Tyler)

Expectations are extremely high for this season, the courses are top notch and the players are some of the best we’ve ever seen and with all the changes in and around the tour we are geared up for an absolutely incredible back half of the 2021-2022 season. We get to kick the new year off in the great state of Hawaii with the Sentry Tournament of Champions. 

This is such a fun event not only because it’s in Hawaii but the golf course is one of the coolest courses I’ve ever seen. Kapalua Plantation Course is really just a cool golf course, it was built on the Island of Maui and the course carved through the natural land, through the mountains and hills of the island. This course also allows the players to play extremely aggressively. Due to the firmness and elevation changes it allows them to drive greens on Par 4’s and allows them to reach the 650+ yard par 5 18th hole in two shots. All and all it’s just a fun event to watch. In regards to the field, this week’s field consists of only the winners from the 2020-2021 season, so it’s star studded to say the least. However this week I’m going with Sam Burns. Burns has been on the rise the past year. He’s not only won big events but he’s closed them out in remarkable fashion. I’d expect him to have a very promising year and he’s going to start by making waves in Hawaii this week. This is also a no cut event this week so for 4 days the entire field will be playing. For many of the players this is a fun week to bring their family, and turn it into a nice vacation, however for Viktor Hovland that hasn’t been the case. 

In some non course related news Viktor has been waiting for his golf clubs to arrive in Maui for over a week. While Viktor was in Hawaii his clubs were stuck in Seattle for almost a week. To no surprise the clubs ultimately made it, with just one not so little problem. Some of his clubs were broken, including his driver. Any golfer who travels knows how stressful it is traveling with clubs. I for one am nervous from the time I drop my clubs off till the time I retrieve them from baggage claim. I now understand why Viktor drives to every event when he’s in the continental United States. Nevertheless I’m sure Viktor will be able to get his driver and other clubs reshafted in time for this week's event. After all of that it would be really cool if Viktor ended up winning this week which would move him to top 3 in the world rankings. Best of luck to all the guys this week, and wow it is great to be back in action again!! (Mike)