The first of the PGA Tour’s elevated events takes place this week, and the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui boasts a stacked field. The tournament tees off Thursday on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, and 39 top PGA Tour golfers will be vying for the $2.7 million winner’s share. Previous winners in the field include Justin Thomas (2017, 2020), Xander Schauffele (2019) and Jordan Spieth (2016), and 2022 runner-up Jon Rahm comes in as the favorite. Rahm finished one stroke behind Cameron Smith, who shot a tour-record 34 under par. Smith moved to LIV Golf and is ineligible to defend his title, while world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are the only other top-20 players who won’t compete.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Rahm as the 13-2 favorite – followed closely by Scheffler (9-1), Xander Schauffele (19-2) and Patrick Cantlay (10-1) – in its latest 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds. More than a dozen golfers are listed at 20-1 or shorter in the Sentry Tournament of Champions field. They include Tony Finau (14-1), Sungjae Im (16-1), Viktor Hovland (18-1) and Collin Morikawa (18-1), while Spieth is at 22-1. Before locking in any 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions picks, be sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour.
McDonald takes a measured approach to his outright selections and is having a profitable 2022-23 season in every category. He nailed the Houston Open, backing Tony Finau to win at 25-1, and is up more than 16 units on his plays overall. That’s a profit of more than $1,600 for $100 bettors. The expert also has been on the money on his matchup plays and cashed in huge on Brendan Steele (80-1) as the first-round leader at the Zozo Championship.
The expert finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on his outright plays, having hit Cameron Smith (22-1) at the Tournament of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship. Anyone who follows McDonald’s advice has been cashing in.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions field and locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.
Top 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions expert picks
In a surprise move, McDonald is fading U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1), who is one of the best at grinding out victories. Unfortunately, that won’t be required this week on a Kapalua course that won’t put up much fight. The Englishman didn’t shoot better than 64 all of last season, and his best score among his eight worldwide victories is 17 under. The average winning score over the past decade in Maui is 23 under. This is also the 28-year-old’s tournament debut, and it typically takes a couple of rounds to get used to the rolling terrain on this course.
Meanwhile, McDonald knows Rahm will be out to finish the job he couldn’t close out last year. The Spaniard was one of three players to shoot a course-record 61 and shared the lead with Smith entering Sunday. Rahm shot 66, but the Australian did him one better. Given the roll he is on, with two victories and five straight top-10 finishes in Europe, Rahm should go low again. The 28-year-old is excellent off the tee (first in total driving in 2021-22) and to the green (third in GIR), so Kapalua should remain an easy stroll for him. He was 17th in par breakers last season. You can see who else to back at Kapalua here.
How to make 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions golf picks
McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. His outright plays include a golfer who has excelled on similar courses but just doesn’t have the victories to show for it. If he pulls off the victory at Kapalua, anyone who backs him would cash in at more than 20-1. You can find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald’s Sentry Tournament of Champions picks, predictions, and best bets at SportsLine.
So which 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions picks should you target? Which talented golfer could pull off a surprise victory in this loaded Tournament of Champions field for a payoff of more than 20-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top prop picks for Sentry Tournament of Champions 2023, all from the expert who is up more than $1,600 on his PGA Tour picks this season, and find out.
2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds, field, top contenders
See full Sentry Tournament of Champions 2023 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Jon Rahm +800
Scottie Scheffler +1000
Xander Schauffele +1000
Justin Thomas +1000
Patrick Cantlay +1200
Viktor Hovland +1800
Tony Finau +1800
Joo-hyung (Tom) Kim +1800
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1800
Sungjae Im +1800
Collin Morikawa +1800
Jordan Spieth +2000
Cam Young +2000
Max Homa +2800
Sam Burns +2800
Will Zalatoris +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Sahith Theegala +3300
Billy Horschel +4000
Seamus Power +4500
Aaron Wise +4500
Corey Conners +4500
K.H. Lee +5000
Keegan Bradley +5000
Russell Henley +5000
Sepp Straka +5500
Tom Hoge +6000
Adam Scott +6000
Brian Harman +6000
Mackenzie Hughes +7000
Luke List +7500
Trey Mullinax +8000
J.T. Poston +8500
Adam Svensson +8500
J J Spaun +9000
Scott Stallings +10000
Chez Reavie +12500
Chad Ramey +12500
Ryan Brehm +20000