Sentry Tournament of Champions Winner’s Circle: January

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii – Qualification for the Sentry Tournament of Champions is simple: win and you’re in. With their recent PGA TOUR victories, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Hudson Swafford, and Luke List are among the first players to qualify for the champions-only event, which kicks off the 2023 calendar year.

Sentry Tournament of Champions

Smith earned his fourth career PGA TOUR victory at the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions defeating World No. 1 Jon Rahm by one stroke. At 34-under, Smith set the PGA TOUR record (since 1950) for most strokes under par in a 72-hole event and joined Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, and Justin Thomas as the only players to win both TOUR stops in Hawaii. With the victory, the Aussie snapped a streak of 11 straight American winners of the event and qualified for his fourth trip to Maui.

Cameron Smith caps record-setting performance with win at Sentry

Sony Open in Hawaii

In his ninth start at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Matsuyama captured his eighth career TOUR victory, tying K.J. Choi for the most wins by a player from Asia. The Japan native began the final round two shots off the lead and went on to defeat Russell Henley with an eagle-3 on the first playoff hole (No. 18), marking his fifth come-from-behind win and first since the 2017 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. The victory qualified Matsuyama for his sixth trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions with his career-best finish a runner-up in 2017.

Hideki Matsuyama’s amazing 3-wood leads to winning eagle at the Sony Open

The American Express

Swafford became the ninth player with at least two victories at The American Express, winning in his 205th career TOUR start. In his ninth start at the event, and following a final-round back nine that included one eagle, five birdies and two bogeys, the 34-year-old defeated Tom Hoge by two strokes for his third career TOUR win, marking five years and one day after his 2017 American Express title. The Florida native qualified for his third visit to the Sentry Tournament of Champions where he finished T27/2018 and T35/2021 in his two previous starts.

Hudson Swafford wins at The American Express

Farmers Insurance Open

After finishing his round nearly two hours before regulation play ended, List defeated Will Zalatoris on the first hole of sudden death with a tap-in birdie at the par-5 18th to claim his first career TOUR victory in his 206th start. The 37-year-old birdied four of his first six holes and two of his last three to close with a 6-under 66 for the second consecutive year, becoming only the second player since 1999 to post multiple final-round scores of 66 or better in the event (Tiger Woods/3). The win marks his 23rd top-10 finish on TOUR and qualifies him for his first trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Luke List claims first win in playoff at Farmers

The first 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. For more information about the 2023 event, please visit SentryTournamentOfChampions.com. Fans are encouraged to follow Sentry Tournament of Champions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.