The 2023 portion of the 2022-23 PGA Tour schedule tees off on Thursday as the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions gets underway. The first tee time is set for 2:30 p.m. ET, so it's an afternoon start for most of the mainland. The top players from last season will battle each other as they take on the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. To earn an invitation players must have won a PGA Tour event last season or have finished in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings. A $15 million purse is on the line in this elevated event, which will have 39 golfers in the field.
The 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds from Caesars Sportsbook list Jon Rahm as the favorite at 8-1. Other top Sentry TOC contenders include Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, who are all listed at 10-1. Patrick Cantlay is the only other golfer lower than 18-1 as he is going off at 12-1. 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
One surprise for this week at Kapalua: McDonald is fading Matthew Fitzpatrick, who is listed at 18-1 in the Caesars PGA odds. The 28-year old English golfer has only made two PGA Tour appearances thus far during the 2022-23 schedule. He didn't crack the top 10 in either, finishing T-13 at both the CJ Cup and the Hero World Challenge. This will also be his first event at the Plantation Course and McDonald doesn't see his playing style matching up well in this spot. "He is known as a player who can tough it out with the best in the game, but the low-scoring conditions here will hinder his chances," McDonald told SportsLine.
On the other hand, the expert looks forward to seeing if Rahm can match his performance from last year. The Spaniard shot 66 in three rounds and 61 in the third to share the course record. His driving prowess is a huge advantage in Maui, as he ranked fifth in distance (319 yards) and was No. 1 in total driving last season. Add that to his strong iron play (third in greens in regulation) and putting (28th in strokes gained), and Rahm can score really low. He has two victories while finishing in the top 10 in all five DP World Tour events since the Tour Championship. 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
