Well here it is folks, the first golf tournament of 2023 is all set up to be a cracker as we look forward to the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course, Kapalua, Resort, Hawaii.
I want to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year & all the best for 2023.
It was yet another fantastic 2022 for my golf predictions with us beating the 2021 total of 14 outright winners. We just made it by one when picking Antoine Rozner to win the final tournament in 2022 at the Mauritius Open to make it 15 outright winners for the year!
With too many Each Ways to mention on top of that, let’s get off to the best start ever in 2023 and single out another winner for you all to enjoy. On that note let’s get back to the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
With 8 of the Worlds Top 10 golfers in attendance this week, it would have been 9 but Rory McIlroy decided to withdraw, it’s got all the makings for some fireworks with the Top 30 in the Fed Ex points race, the talent on show at this event is as good as it gets.
The smaller-than-usual field of 39 will be teeing off at the Plantation Course for a share of the $15M prize purse with the winner collecting the Sentry Tournament of Champions title and a winner’s cheque for $2.7M.
This stunning Plantation Course will be playing 7,596 yards long this week, it’s the only par 73 layout on the PGA Tour and has amazing views over the Pacific Ocean on almost every hole. If the wind doesn’t blow too much, expect a birdie fest with plenty of low scorecards.
Last year’s winner Cameron Smith will not be in attendance to defend his crown which is such a shame really for this talented young golfer, his winning scorecard read 258 on -34.
The weather is forecast to be just as one would expect in Hawaii, sunny, pleasant and hot throughout with breezes scheduled to peak at around 16mph.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf & Sky Sports Main event with live coverage starting at 7.30 pm on Thursday evening.
So let’s crack on with our first PGA betting selections for 2023 in Hawaii.
Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview
Tony Finau 14/1 EW Paddy Power 1-6 places
For my first and main pick in 2023, I’m going to advise Tony Finau 14/1 EW Paddy Power 1-6 places.
The 33-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah and the 12th best-ranked player on the planet scooped a hattrick of victories in 2022 and also hit the bar or pin as the case may be on another few occasions throughout the year. The gentle giants’ most recent W came at the Houston Open towards the end of the season & that victory can be backed up with both the Rocket Mortgage Classic and also the 3M Open.
Finau was also runner-up at the RBC Canadian Open and the Mexico Open. In total throughout 2022 Finau had eleven Top 20 finishes with nine of those inside the Top 10.
On the stats front the American has a whole host of figures to boast from last season; 5th SG Off The Tee,5th SG Around the Green,3rd SG Tee To Green, 3rd Lowest Round 2nd SG Putting, 1st Overall Putting Average, 1st Scrambling from the Fringe and finally 1st SG Total.
Do you notice a trend here, that’s all figures in the Top 5 with hundreds of golfers competing, it’s truly phenomenal stats from a truly talented player. I think this is going to be as good a year as any for Tony Finau and it’s all going to start this week at the first event on the 2023 golfing calendar when Tony Finau is crowned the Sentry Tournament of Champions Champ with many more to follow throughout the year, possibly even a major.
Scottie Scheffler 10/1 EW Ladbrokes
For my next best selection at Kapalua, I’m going to point you all in the direction of Scottie Scheffler 10/1 EW Ladbrokes.
You all know if you follow my tips that I said this time last year that Scottie was going to win his maiden title anytime soon and that many more would follow, well I’ll tell you one thing, the 26-year-old from Ridgewood, New Jersey certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, he landed three of our fifteen winners last year including The Masters at Augusta.
This form saw him rise to be the World No 1 for most of the season before Rory McIlroy stepped in and had his say. I can only envisage more of the same this year with these two battling it out for the Top spot with many more in the frame. It all started at the beginning of last year when Scheffler as advised won the Phoenix Open, he then went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC Technologies Matchplay in a matter of weeks before adorning the Green Jacket at The Masters in April when bagging his first Major.
He was also so unlucky when finishing runner-up at the US Open at The Country Club where he was beaten by one stroke from another of my main selections Matt Fitzpatrick. Another event Scheffler finished runner-up in 2022 was the Charles Schwab Challenge.
In the 23 events Scheffler entered last year, he finished inside the Top 20 on no less than 15 occasions with 11 of those inside the Top 10. I don’t really need to get involved with stats for Scheffler as his performances say it all but one that stands out is 1st Scrambling from the Fringe at 100%, it doesn’t get any better than that around the greens but it will get better for Scottie Scheffler in 2023 as he claims back his throne with another fantastic year ahead to be the king of kings once again. It could all begin this weekend at the Plantation Course with another W in the bag.
Matt Fitzpatrick 22/1 EW SpreadEx
For my final outright pick this week I’m going to single out Matt Fitzpatrick 22/1 EW SpreadEx. The 28yrs old from Sheffield and the only Englishman in this field is another who had a magical 2022 when bagging his first US maiden breakthrough victory in style when winning the US Open at The Country Club.
He hadn’t won a PGA event in the US until that amazing effort, what a way to break your PGA duck. The ever-likeable Fitzy will taste more success on the PGA Tour this year, off that I’m sure and he will bring all that success from the DP World Tour where he has seven titles already in the bag.
Fitzy still likes to mix it up playing on both tours which keeps everyone happy on both sides of the big pond but he has laid his mark in the US and now that he knows he can do it which was never in doubt, it’s onwards and upwards for Fitzy. With 17 Top 20 finishes in 2022 and a dozen of them inside the Top 10, he was hovering about on just about every leaderboard available. Runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship and runner-up also at the Italian Open are other notable performances worth a mention.
Now ranked inside the Top 10 best players in the world at No9, If Fitzpatrick can be just a little more consistent this year then the sky’s the limit for the Englishman. He could be the one they all have to beat this weekend in Hawaii and what a way to start the year with a statement of intent as he conquers America once again winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
My only job left now is to continue our success with the Match bet Naps but I’m going to be even more careful in 2023, especially with the SuperBanker Naps as I wasn’t happy that 5 from 15 were beaten last year, we had a 100% record until later on in the season where a few let us down but were still showing a tidy profit. This week I’m liking the look of my main selection Tony Finau to beat Viktor Hovland over 72 holes and I’ll make it my first SuperBanker Match bet for 2023 10/11 Bet365. Good luck everyone
Sentry Tournament of Champions Betting Tips
- Tony Finau 14/1 EW Paddy Power 1-6 places
- Scottie Scheffler 10/1 EW Ladbrokes
- Matt Fitzpatrick 22/1 EW SpreadEx
- Finau to beat Viktor Hovland over 72 holes 10/11 Bet365
The post Golf Betting Tips: Sentry Tournament of Champions Best Picks and Preview appeared first on MrFixitsTips.
