KAPALUA, Maui >> When the Mercedes Championships and the Sony Open in Hawaii were selected to be the two opening tournaments on the PGA Tour in 1999, the idea was the winners-only event on Maui would send some of the big names in golf to play on Oahu in the first full-field event the following week.
And while there have been some sponsorship changes over the years on Maui with Sentry Insurance the current title holder, the Sony Open has benefited from this marriage between the two tour events, with this year being no exception. Of the 34 players competing here on Maui, 23 are scheduled to tee it up next week as well, including past Sony Open champ Justin Thomas, who is ranked No. 4 in the world.
He is the only top-10 golfer in the field competing at Waialae Country Club next week. Of the 11 golfers skipping the Sony Open, five are in the top 20 of the world. They are No. 3 Jon Rahm, No. 5 Dustin Johnson, No. 7 Patrick Cantlay, No. 9 Xander Schauffele and No. 17 Gary Woodland.
That’s not to say the Sony Open is bereft of talented golfers, far from it. Joining Thomas among the top 25 in the world are No. 11 Webb Simpson, No. 12 Patrick Reed, No. 21 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 24 Matt Kuchar, who is the defending champion at the Sony Open.
He is among 10 past Sony Open winners in the field. The other nine are Patton Kizzire (2018), Thomas (2017), Fabian Gomez (2016), Jimmy Walker (2015, 2014), Russell Henley (2013), Ryan Palmer (2010), Zach Johnson (2009), Vijay Singh (2005) and Jerry Kelly (2002). Singh and Kelly will take part in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai two weeks from now on the Big Island in the first event on the senior circuit.
Sentry Insurance in for long haul
Earlier this week, Sentry Insurance announced it had reached a 10-year agreement to be the title sponsor for the Tournament of Champions through the 2029-30 PGA Tour campaign.
It brought a smile of relief to Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing, who has been instrumental in keeping this winners-only event on Maui through the years.
“Remember how I said I was worried about this event’s viability in the future,” Rolfing said Friday. “I’m not worried about it anymore. These young kids appreciate what this tournament means. Guys aren’t going to skip it in the future like we’ve seen in the past.”
Two of the game’s best through the years, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, have been like Tom Brady in the Pro Bowl. Woods’ last appearance here was in 2005 and Mickelson hasn’t graced the grounds since 2001, much to the chagrin of local golf fans and the tour itself. But that problem appears to have been solved with this new generation of golfers, even with the event landing so close to New Year’s Day.
Next year, this tournament runs Jan. 7-10. The Sentry deal matches the longest sponsorship on tour.
Inside the numbers
Schauffele talked about keeping things under control in weather like this, but what makes that attitude even more impressive is that he is the only bogey-free player after 36 holes. The defending champion is trying to be the first person to go back-to-back here since Geoff Ogilvy turned that trick in 2009-10.
Reed is just one shot back in part because he has already made 278 feet, 4 inches in putts, the most in his career after 36 holes. As for the hardest hole for the day, that honor belonged to Nos. 2 and 11 (3.324 scoring average). The two par-3s yielded a combined two birdies, 43 pars, 22 bogeys and one double. The easiest hole for the second straight day with a scoring average of 4.176 was the par-5 fifth. Even with a new pot bunker in the middle of the fairway, the 34 golfers in the field managed two eagles, 25 birdies, six pars and one bogey.
