
The Sentry: January Recap
Kapalua, Maui, Hawai‘i – The Sentry marks the season-opening event of the 2025 FedExCup Season, as this is the second year of the PGA TOUR’s return to a calendar-year schedule. The PGA TOUR’s Opening Drive at The Sentry and Sony Open in Hawaii welcomes players looking to get to strong start in the race for the FedExCup as everyone starts with zero FedExCup points, while The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open are the first two events of the California swing. With their recent victories, Hideki Matsuyama, Nick Taylor, Sepp Straka, and Harris English are among the first players to qualify for The Sentry 2026.
The Sentry, the season’s first of eight Signature Events, boasts a field comprised of winners from the 2024 regular season and those who finished in the top 50 of the 2024 FedExCup standings. Hideki Matsuyama bested the best in golf as he earned his 11th career TOUR victory at The Sentry, defeating Collin Morikawa by two strokes. The Japan native posted a 35-under 257 for the week, which marked the lowest score in relation to par in a 72-hole event on TOUR since the start of the 1983 season. The victory qualified Matsuyama for his sixth consecutive trip, and ninth overall, to Maui and The Plantation Course at Kapalua.
At the second event of the TOUR’s Opening Drive, Canadian Nick Taylor picked up his fifth career TOUR title following a playoff victory over Nico Echavarria at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The 36-year-old became the 11th international player (12th win) to win the event and the fifth player in the last six years to come from behind to win in the final round. With the title, Taylor qualified for his fifth appearance at The Sentry, where his best finish is T29 in 2021.
In his fifth appearance at The American Express, Sepp Straka defeated Justin Thomas by two strokes to earn his third career TOUR title. The Austrian became the seventh different international winner of the event and the second 54-hole leader to go on to win this season (Matsuyama/The Sentry). The victory qualified the 31-year-old for his fourth trip to The Sentry where he finished T21/2023, T12/2024, and T15/2025 in three previous starts.
The Sentry 2021 champion, Harris English returned to the winner’s circle at the Farmers Insurance Open where he defeated Sam Stevens by one stroke to earn his fifth career TOUR title. The victory marked his first win since the 2021 Travelers Championship, a span of 1,308 days. The 35-year-old’s win qualified him for his fifth trip to Maui and The Sentry where he finished T11/2014, T30/2022, and T14/2024 in addition to his victory in 2021.
As the PGA TOUR’s season-opening event, The Sentry features one of the most accomplished fields in golf contested at one of the most unique settings on the PGA TOUR. For more information, fans are encouraged to follow The Sentry on Facebook, X and Instagram.