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The Sentry Tournament of Champions has been played at the Plantation Course on Kapalua since 1999 so we’ve got plenty of idea what skills are required and who might thrive. Or have we? The par 73, originally designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, has witnessed significant changes since the 2019 edition and Justin Thomas, who won the event in 2017 and was third last year, has warned we should expect a very different examination. "It's definitely more difficult,” he said after an early practice round. “It's a lot longer, and the firm greens are always going to make a course more difficult. "I just think it's going to take a couple of years for the greens to kind of get back. I mean, when they're new, they're always going to be really firm. "I hit 5-iron into 3 today and 5-iron into 4, and I mean, I've hit wedge and wedge into those two holes for however many years now. That's a lot different. "The ball usually would just kind of stay wherever it landed in the past, and now you're really going to have to pay attention to where you're landing it and how much roll-out you're going to get into the wind versus downwind. "Most of the time you're trying to take a lot of spin off the ball, whereas now you're trying to put a lot of spin on the ball. "It's definitely going to be different. I have no idea what the scores are going to be like, but I can't imagine the scores being that low." Other factors to consider? Firstly the trade winds have always varied from breezy to blustery to downright difficult, often during the same afternoon. Secondly the course features lots of par-5s and short par-4s that can be attacked. Thirdly the track is very undulating and some players just can’t cope with elevation changes and, perhaps even more crucially, a mixture of downhill, uphill and sidehill lies. Angles to consider 1/ Putting Average The last four winners (Xander Schauffele in 2019, Dustin Johnson in 2018, Justin Thomas in 2017 and Jordan Spieth in 2018) have ranked top two for Putting Average. 2/ Course form Generally speaking course rookies struggle – Daniel Chopra in 2008 was the last first timer to triumph. Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy and Dustin Johnson are multiple course winners. 3/ The Deere Run link TPC Deere Run is in middle America and is a parkland track. Plantation is by the sea – plumb in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Not much in common, right? Except that Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth are multiple winners at the former and winners in the latter. Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson have won at both. So has Jonathan Byrd. Ryan Moore and Brian Harman have won at Deere Run and finished third here. Both are undulating tracks – it might explain the connection (others might argue coincidence). Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Dustin Johnson He boasts length from the tee box (third for Driving Distance in the field) and he can also drain the putts (seventh in the field for Putt Average). He’s a two-time winner on the course and hasn’t finished outside the top ten in his last seven starts there. Only one of his 37 laps of the course has been over-par and 26 have been sub-70. “I like it a lot,” he said of the new look. “It’s definitely harder, a lot more difficult.” Gary Woodland He was 24th on debut in 2012, 13th two years later but a much more impressive second last year. In fact he led by three shots after rounds two and three before being overtaken by a charging Schauffele. Last seen (individually) missing out on success in the Hero World Challenge after dominating for a long period – at another seaside and blustery venue. Dylan Frittelli The South African enters the fray courtesy of his victory in the John Deere Classic last July. It might be pushing it, but he is also a winner on a tropical island, on a blustery course, albeit in the Mauritius Open in the Indian Ocean. Far from the worst at being aggressive either, ranking 46th on Tour for Going for the Green in 2019. Tips: 0-3; -6.00pts 2pt win Dustin Johnson at 17/2 (SportingBet) 7th 1pt e.w. Gary Woodland at 16/1 (Betfred, Skybet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5) 7th 1pt e.w. Dylan Frittelli at 66/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5) 31st
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