Collin Morikawa, J.T. Poston collect first PGA TOUR victories, qualify for the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions

Brooks Koepka captures first World Golf Championships title for his second victory of the calendar year

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii – Winning on the PGA TOUR is the only way to qualify for the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Courtesy of their recent maiden TOUR victories, Collin Morikawa and J.T. Poston became the latest players to qualify for the winners-only event, while Brooks Koepka picked up his second victory of the calendar year. The champions-only event returns to Maui and The Plantation Course at Kapalua from January 1-5, 2020.

Wyndham Championship

In his third start at the Wyndham Championship, J.T. Poston captured his first career PGA TOUR victory when he closed with an eight-under 62 to finish at 22-under 258 and defeat Webb Simpson by one stroke at Sedgefield Country Club. He became the first player since 1974 to win a stroke-play event without a bogey. The 26-year-old began the final round three strokes behind 54-hole leader Byeong Hun An. Poston made an eagle and was five under on the front nine, while An turned in three under and tied with Poston. The North Carolina native birdied the par-5th 15 to get to 22-under and take the lead for good. The victory qualified Poston for his first trip to Maui and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Barracuda Championship

In just his sixth professional start and eighth overall on the PGA TOUR, Collin Morikawa collected his first career PGA TOUR win at the Barracuda Championship when he birdied four of his last five holes at Montreux Golf and Country Club where the event employed the Modified Stableford scoring format. The 22-year-old recorded his third consecutive top-five finish on TOUR, while recording his 13th consecutive round under par this season. With the win, Morikawa secured the opportunity to make his first trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui and had this to say about it: “It’s amazing… I played when I was really small, remember sitting on the wall, looking over [No.] 18. So, I’ve been there a lot of times. That place means a lot. It’s going to be very, very special to be back out there.”

World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational

2018 PGA TOUR Player of the Year, Brooks Koepka posted a bogey-free 65 to become the season’s first three-time winner with a victory at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Beginning the final round at TPC Southwind one stroke off Rory McIlroy’s lead, Koepka made five birdies and no bogeys to claim his first World Golf Championships title and seventh PGA TOUR career victory. The 29-year-old became the fifth player to win a WGC event and a major in the same season (Tiger Woods, Geoff Ogilvy, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson). Koepka previously qualified for the Sentry Tournament of Champions with his victory at the PGA Championship earlier this calendar year.

Currently, 34 players have qualified for the Sentry Tournament of Champions courtesy of their PGA TOUR victories this calendar year, including 12 first timers. Nine of the top-10 in the FedExCup standings – Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and Jon Rahm – are all qualified after recording victories on the PGA TOUR this calendar year.

Kapalua Plantation Course Update

Work continues on Kapalua’s Plantation Course refinement project. As of mid-May, six greens have been planted with TifEagle Bermudagrass and 10 greens have been final shaped. All bunkers throughout the course have been rough shaped, with the bunkers on holes 1 through 9 and hole 18 completed. A new professional tee has been added to hole 10, while the tee box complex on hole 15 is being rebuilt. To date, 63 acres of Celebration Bermudagrass has been planted on fairways. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by November and being led by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw; Troon’s Design, Development and Agronomy team; as well as long-time Maui resident and GOLF Channel personality Mark Rolfing. For more information, visit golfatkapalua.com.

The first PGA TOUR event of the calendar year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions is the only event on the schedule that features all winners from the previous calendar year. Tickets for the 2020 event are on sale now at sentrytournamentofchampions.com. Fans are reminded that each year, youth 18 and younger are admitted free of charge to the tournament when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

For more information about the Sentry Tournament of Champions, please visit sentrytournamentofchampions.com. Fans are encouraged to follow Sentry Tournament of Champions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.