KAPALUA, Maui >> A little over two weeks ago they were playing down under.
Now nine members of those two Presidents Cup teams find themselves on the shores of west Maui preparing for today’s opening round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions; a winners-only PGA Tour event that features five of the top 10 golfers in the world playing on a course that looks the same from afar.
But upon closer inspection, isn’t.
The long overdue face lift of the aging Plantation Course that went from January to November is a classic case of nip and tuck, lengthen and redefine. They want to make the fairways fast and the greens receptive, but at the moment, have done just the opposite. The new greens are a little hard and the fairways a touch soft, something you would expect in the early stages of redevelopment.
Despite the changes at numerous locations along the 7,596-yard walk, the picturesque 18 holes are a perfect fit for flat-screened televisions. Talk all you want about Monterey and Augusta National, they would have a hard time matching the views and vistas provided by the Plantation. The only thing bluer than the horizon is the water beneath it. And as Mr. Scott once said to James T. Kirk in Star Trek IV, “Admiral, there be whales, here.”
And that’s part of the allure that drew 34 of the 42 eligible winners here from 2019, including past TOC champs Xander Schauffele (2019), Dustin Johnson (2018), Justin Thomas (2017) and Patrick Reed (2015). They will be joined by 15 first-time winners, who don’t know what they will be missing from a course that Ernie Els toured in a record 31-under par some 17 years ago.
As a general rule, players don’t like change. Take Johnson as an example. He has won here twice, including an eight-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Jon Rahm two years ago. He liked it just fine the way it was, but said the changes are good.
“Obviously, the changes with the golf course, it’s going to be a little different this year,” Johnson said after his practice round on Wednesday. “I think they made really good changes. I think it’s going to play difficult just because the greens are so new. They’re really firm, so it’s hard to get the ball close to the hole. It’s a great way to start the new year.”
Actually, a lot of tournaments have already been played and accounted for in the fall where FedEx Cup points were gathered in great quantities. Hawaii feels like the start of a new year. But there have been 11 events played already since September with two-time fall winner Brendon Todd leading the FedEx Cup chase with 957 points in eight appearances.
Sebastian Munoz is second (817). He has a win in seven appearances in the wrap-around calendar schedule. Lanto Griffin is third (740) with one victory in eight events. These newcomers to Maui are part of the youth movement gripping the PGA Tour these days. Thomas is fifth in the early going trailing Rory McIlroy, who is fourth.
He was one of the winners who opted to skip this event. The other seven were Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Shane Lowery, Francisco Molinari and Presidents Cup International team member C.T. Pan. He withdrew because of an illness.
Defending champ Schauffele reacted to a question about whether this is the happiest place in the world.
“It’s a nice view,” Schauffele said. “I sat there with my caddie and I told him, every time I’m up on that mountain you look back and you’re just like, this is pretty special. It’s kind of a nice reward coming back here, and it definitely makes you want to work a little bit harder.”
