New Equipment Spotted and a Few Notable Names Missing from the Sentry TOC

The Sentry Tournament of Champions is the first event of the 2020 PGA Tour season (January 1-5). While it certainly won’t evoke the same response as the 2020 Masters (particularly with Tiger defending his latest Major win), the Sentry TOC is perfectly timed to help us all escape from the dreary gray and cold winter weather most of us are suffering from with the views of the beautiful, island green of Hawaii’s Plantation Course at Kapalua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Golfatkapalua (@golfatkapalua) on Nov 21, 2019 at 12:02am PST

But speaking of Tiger brings to mind something else. Despite 41 players qualifying, only 34 will be teeing off. Missing from the field will be noteworthy names like Tiger Woods (#6), No. 1 World Ranked Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy (#2), Justin Rose (#8), Golficity favorite Francesco Molinari (#18), Shane Lowry (#19) and Phil Mickelson (#70).

While golf fans around the world might be moaning about Tiger’s absence, it’s worth noting that he hasn’t played in this event since 2005. Which, sadly, might be a trend he may want to continue if he’s interested in not overextending himself and bringing his A-game to Augusta.

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean that the Sentry won’t be an event worth tuning into. Indeed, 5 of the Top-10 will be fighting for the first win of the season. Specifically, Jon Rahm (#3), Justin Thomas (#4), Dustin Johnson (#5), Patrick Cantlay (#7) and defending champion Xander Schauffele (#9). Helping add some additional flair to the Hawaiian landscape will be guys like Cameron Champ, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, Matthew Wolff and Gary Woodland.

And if the field wasn’t enough, it’ll be very interesting to see how TaylorMade staffers get off the tee at Kapalua. Why? Because TM’s newest driver, the SIM, is finally being put into play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dustin Johnson (@djohnsonpga) on Dec 29, 2019 at 10:41am PST

DJ, in particular, was spotted yesterday with the SIM during a practice round and it certainly appears to be packing a punch.

While confirmed details surrounding the SIM, which, according to the USGA Conforming List, appears to be available in three different models—the SIM, SIM MAX, and SIM MAX-D (Draw)—seem to be hard to come by, it’ll be very interesting to see how Rahm, DJ and Wolff handle more than 7,500 yards of windy Hawaiian coastline.