For those fortunate enough to trek up and down the fairways of the wind-swept Plantation Course at the Sentry Tournament of Champions over the weekend, welcome to flat land.

The 18-hole layout of the Waialae Country Club couldn’t be more different than its island neighbor — and it’s a lot more crowded, too. The winners-only field of 34 that began the calendar year of the PGA Tour expands to 144 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in the first full-field event since the fall.

The expanse of the Maui golf course could handle any drive you threw out there, but that’s not the case at the cramped conditions of Waialae. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson showed why he enjoys the Ben Crenshaw-designed layout on the side of a volcano as guys smacked 400-yard drives at an alarming rate. You need to go long on Maui. That’s not a requirement here.

This old course prefers you land the ball in the proper spot and then hit your next shot to the correct side of the green. It’s more about precision and less about power. One of the favorites this week is defending champion Justin Thomas, who found his game on Maui three rounds too late to challenge Johnson, who won by eight.

Thomas opened “rusty for sure” with three rounds in the 70s before closing with a 6-under 67 on Sunday. It was an eight-shot improvement from Saturday’s 75 and gives Thomas a lift as he plays for the second consecutive week without his regular caddie, who is out for a month.

Thomas created a little excitement when he asked former Phil Mickelson caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay if he’d step out of his new Golf Channel job and be a looper once more. He said yes, prompting Thomas to tell this tale.

“I was with Jordan (Spieth) and we were with him when I guess Jordan asked him when’s the last time you caddied there (Waialae) and he said it was 1992 (with Scott Simpson) and that was before either of us were born,” Thomas said. “So, I would say the course has changed a little bit since then, but it’s such an easy course to learn, it’s all right in front of you, so it will be good. I’m just excited to get back there and play.”

He should be.

All Thomas did last year was shoot a 59 on Thursday en route to setting the 72-hole tour scoring record at 253. It broke by one shot a 14-year-old mark set by Tommy Armour III at the Texas Open. Past Sony Open champion Russell Henley is tied for third at 256. He set the then low mark at Waialae in 2013.

So, this course can be had if the winds remain low. But, if the prevailing trades blow, that changes everything. Thomas should face some stiff competition from Spieth, a good friend who is ranked No. 2 in the world. Thomas slipped a spot to No. 4 as Jon Rahm’s second-place finish to Johnson on Maui moved him closer to Spieth.

The Dallas resident, who won on Maui in 2016, wasn’t as much a factor last week as he would have liked. Opening with a ho-hum 75 on Thursday had a lot to do with that. Spieth came back with a 66 on Friday and a 69 on Sunday to finish alone in ninth. The only two guys in front of him at last year’s Sony were Thomas and Justin Rose.

Back-to-back Sony Open winner Jimmy Walker is also in the house. Like Thomas and Spieth, he has won a major and could be a factor even though he is listed at 100 to 1 by Vegas oddsmakers. Spieth is the favorite at 5-1, according to the wise guys. Thomas is 7-1 and first- and second-round leader at last week’s TOC Marc Leishman comes in third at 15-1.

Had Leishman not gone off the rails on Saturday he might have given Johnson a go. The Aussie was 12 under after 36 holes when a 76 came a calling on Saturday that left him out of the picture. He rallied with a nifty 67 on Sunday to tie for seventh, so he figures to be around over the weekend as well.

It all begins on Thursday with Spieth going off at 8 a.m. and Thomas listed at 12:40 p.m.