Sentry Tournament of Champions Winner’s Circle: August

Top 30 players who qualify for the TOUR Championship earn exemptions beginning 2023

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 28: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waits behind the FedEx Cup during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 28, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii – With their recent victories, Tom Kim and Will Zalatoris became the most recent players to qualify for the Maui event while Patrick Cantlay earned his second victory of the calendar year at the BMW Championship and Rory McIlroy won the TOUR Championship for his second title of the year and became the first player to win the FedExCup three times.

Beginning in 2023, the Sentry Tournament of Champions field will also include the top 30 players from the FedExCup Playoffs Points List who qualify for the TOUR Championship. Scott Stallings, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Sahith Theegala, Adam Scott, and Aaron Wise will be exempt for the 2023 tournament as a result of the new criteria. The 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions returns to The Plantation Course at Kapalua, January 4-8.

Wyndham Championship

Kim earned his first PGA TOUR title at the Wyndham Championship and joined the TOUR as a full-time member and qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs. At age 20, Kim is the second-youngest winner on TOUR since World War II (youngest: Jordan Spieth/2013 John Deere Classic) and the first player born in the 2000s to win on TOUR. The South Korean joined the TOUR as a Special Temporary Member after The Open Championship and is the first Special Temporary Member to win on TOUR since Collin Morikawa at the 2019 Barracuda Championship. The victory qualified Kim for his first trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions at The Plantation Course at Kapalua.

FedEx St. Jude Championship

Zalatoris defeated Sepp Straka on the third sudden-death playoff hole to earn his first career TOUR victory in his 56th TOUR start. The 25-year-old became the second player to win a FedExCup Playoffs event in his first Playoffs appearance (Xander Schauffele/2017 TOUR Championship) and the first player in the FedExCup era to make the FedEx St. Jude Championship his maiden TOUR win. The reigning Arnold Palmer Award winner for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year was not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs in 2020-21. Zalatoris joined the PGA TOUR as a Special Temporary Member and collected enough non-member FedExCup points to earn full-time membership for the 2021-22 season. With the victory, the Dallas resident qualified for his first trip to Maui and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

BMW Championship

Cantlay became the first player to successfully defend a FedExCup Playoffs event, winning the BMW Championship by one stroke over Scott Stallings. The victory marked the 30-year-old’s eighth PGA TOUR victory in his 140th start and the first time he successfully defended a title on TOUR. The California native picked up his TOUR-leading 11th top-10 finish of the season, which marks his most in a single season on TOUR. Cantlay previously qualified for his fifth trip to Maui by virtue of his victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, partnering with Xander Schauffele. Cantlay holds two top-five finishes in four appearances at The Planation Course at Kapalua (2018/T15; 2020/4; 2021/T13; 2022/4).

TOUR Championship

McIlroy won the TOUR Championship defeating Scottie Scheffler and Sungjae Im by one stroke to earn his 22nd TOUR title and third FedExCup. The Northern Irishman began the final round six strokes off the lead, marking the largest final-round comeback in TOUR Championship history and McIlroy’s 12th come-from-behind win on TOUR. The 33-year-old became the first player to win the FedExCup three times and moved to T28 on the all-time PGA TOUR wins list, tied with Jim Barnes, Johnny Farrell and Raymond Floyd. McIlroy previously qualified for his second trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions by virtue of his victory at the RBC Canadian Open in June (T4/2019).

Kicking off the 2023 portion of the season, the Sentry Tournament of Champions will feature a purse of $15 million and one of the most elite fields in golf. 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.