Happy New Year!

After a decade of wraparound scheduling, the PGA TOUR returns to a calendar-year schedule this week with a strong field at The Sentry in Maui.

The Sentry boasts a 59-player field comprised of all PGA TOUR winners in 2023 and the top 50 finishers in the FedExCup.

It is the first Signature Event of 2024 and marks the start of Opening Drive, a two-week kick-off to the season. The TOUR’s two Hawaii events, The Sentry and next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, represent the starting point for most players’ seasons and highlight the cadence of Signature and Full-Field events that will define the 2024 season. Players are refreshed and ready to shine, and they’ll need to bring their best from the start because of the season’s condensed time frame.

Like the other seven Signature Events, The Sentry will award 700 points to the winner and feature a $20 million purse.

The Sentry also is the first of 36 Regular Season tournaments for 2024.

Time to get to work.

FIELD NOTES: FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler highlight the 59-man field. Scheffler, the reigning PLAYERS champ, is coming off a victory at last month’s Hero World Challenge… Ludvig Åberg returns to action after winning the final event of last season, The RSM Classic. The No. 1 player in PGA TOUR University’s Class of 2023 shot 61-61 over the final two rounds to set or tie several PGA TOUR scoring records… Other first-time TOUR winners from last season who will be in Maui include Nico Echavarria, Kurt Kitayama, Taylor Moore, Matt Wallace, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy (who teamed to win the two-man Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Wyndham Clark, Vincent Norrman, Akshay Bhatia, Lee Hodges and Sahith Theegala… Twenty-one of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will compete… With 59 golfers set to tee it up, this is the largest field in tournament history (breaking the mark of 42 set in 2021).

STORYLINES

1. Signature Event era begins

The new Signature Event era kicks off with the world’s best in Maui, where someone will walk away with 700 FedExCup points and a leg up in the race for the FedExCup. Hovland looks to start his campaign the same way he finished at the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, winning both and taking home the FedExCup, while plenty of other top-ranked stars have their designs on the season-long trophy. This is Hovland’s first official start since the TOUR Championship, giving him the chance to be just the fourth player in the last 15 years to win three consecutive starts.

2. A special start to 2024

While many in the field are superstars who are no strangers to The Sentry, this week features a few new faces in addition to two of the feel-good stories of last season. There are a dozen first-time winners (including 20-somethings Bhatia and Åberg), plus fall winners Erik van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas. Van Rooyen shot a back-nine 28 to win the World Wide Technology Championship in honor of his dying friend, while this week marks a long-awaited return to Maui for Villegas, who won the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, his first TOUR triumph since 2014.

3. Maui fires will be top of mind

More than five months have passed since the devastating fires in nearby Lahaina, and The Sentry remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the community that has graciously hosted the PGA TOUR for the last 26 years. Amidst the tragedy, the spirit of Maui remains strong and its people resilient, and The Sentry is honored to use its platform to ensure continued awareness, community service, fundraising and economic impact for the Valley Isle. The TOUR is joining The Sentry and Sentry Insurance in continued relief efforts. To help, visit PGATOUR.com/Support-Maui. This website features several local charities in West Maui helping fire survivors begin to recover and rebuild alongside the community.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 700 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, par 73, 7,596 yards. This marks the 26th consecutive year Kapalua will host the PGA TOUR. The Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw design underwent a significant restoration in 2019.

72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Cameron Smith (2022)

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Jon Rahm (3rd round, 2022), Justin Thomas (3rd round, 2022), Matt Jones (4th round, 2022)

LAST TIME: Rahm was seven shots back but shot a final-round 63 – going 6 under for his final seven holes – to earn a two-shot victory over Collin Morikawa. Rahm was nine back at one point. Morikawa had the third-round lead but bogeys on Nos. 14-16 were his undoing as he tied the TOUR record for losing the largest 54-hole lead (six shots). With a 9-under 64, Tom Hoge tied for third alongside Max Homa, while Tom Kim and J.J. Spaun finished at 22 under and tied for fifth.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4-6 p.m. (NBC), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel).

PGA TOUR Live:

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+

The PGA TOUR LIVE service is the TOUR’s OTT network for providing expanded live coverage of our tournaments.

• Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

Radio: Thursday-Friday, 4–10 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 3–8 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)
Note: The weekend TV windows could change based on NFL windows.