PGA First Look: SBS Tournament of Champions
The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.
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Course Preview
After nearly a month without golf, the wait is over. The PGA Tour heads to Hawaii this week for the SBS Tournament of Champions. The sponsor for the event changed this season, but the event will be held at the same course. If you are looking for course history, just look at the past results of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. As the name suggests, you had to have won on tour in 2016 to be invited to this event. We have a pretty decent field compared to some of the fall events, but Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, and Charl Schwartzel have all withdrawn. Hey, if you don’t want to go play golf in Hawaii for large sums of money, you are the ones missing out.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua is a rare Par 73 that measures 7,452 yards. It features five par fives, so we obviously need to target golfers that are good scores on par fives. The course seems like it would suit a bomber, but that hasn’t been the case over the years. Each of the last five winners have been shorter hitters off the tee. There are plenty of downhill holes that make drives 30-40 yards longer than usual, which helps the shorter hitters quite a bit. In fact, five of the top nine long drives for the entire season were recorded at this event last season. The winner of the event is typically at least 20-under par, so we want golfers that make a ton of birdies. I am also factoring in Hawaii experience, as some players tend to play well in Hawaii year after year (Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, and Pat Perez to name a few).
Cut Rule:With only 32 golfers in the field, there is no cut this week.
Recent Winners of this Event: Jordan Spieth (2015), Patrick Reed (2014), Zach Johnson (2013), Steve Stricker (2012), Jonathan Byrd (2011)
Key Statistics
1) Birdie or Better %
2) Strokes Gained Tee to Green
3) Par 5 Scoring
4) Good Drive %
5) Strokes Gained Putting
Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2011-2015)
| Golfer | Salary | OWGR | Odds | + / – | Cuts | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Day | $10,600 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3/3 | 10 | 3 | 500 | 500 | 9 |
| Dustin Johnson | $11,200 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3/3 | 10 | 500 | 6 | 500 | 9 |
| Jordan Spieth | $11,500 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 2/2 | 1 | 500 | 2 | 500 | 500 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $11,000 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1/1 | 500 | 3 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Branden Grace | $7,200 | 16 | 37 | 5 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Patrick Reed | $9,500 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 3/3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 500 | 500 |
| Bubba Watson | $9,200 | 10 | 18 | -1 | 4/4 | 10 | 10 | 500 | 18 | 25 |
| Jimmy Walker | $7,800 | 19 | 29 | 0 | 3/3 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 500 | 500 |
| Brandt Snedeker | $8,700 | 26 | 18 | 0 | 2/2 | 3 | 500 | 11 | 500 | 500 |
| Justin Thomas | $8,900 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 1/1 | 21 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Daniel Berger | $8,500 | 29 | 25 | 0 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Ryan Moore | $7,700 | 31 | 26 | 3 | 2/2 | 500 | 20 | 10 | 500 | 500 |
| Jason Dufner | $7,400 | 58 | 43 | 1 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 5 | 500 | 500 |
| Russell Knox | $8,200 | 18 | 29 | -1 | 1/1 | 27 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Tony Finau | $8,000 | 84 | 38 | -3 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| William McGirt | $7,500 | 48 | 75 | -5 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Charley Hoffman | $6,300 | 64 | 72 | 10 | 2/2 | 500 | 14 | 500 | 500 | 25 |
| James Hahn | $6,800 | 61 | 92 | 1 | 1/1 | 31 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Fabian Gomez | $6,600 | 83 | 77 | 5 | 1/1 | 6 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Brendan Steele | $7,600 | 57 | 53 | -3 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 25 | 500 |
| Si Woo Kim | $7,300 | 54 | 49 | 1 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Pat Perez | $7,100 | 106 | 70 | 1 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Billy Hurley | $7,000 | 124 | 136 | -7 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Aaron Baddeley | $7,000 | 149 | 101 | -4 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 21 | 500 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | $6,900 | 287 | 102 | -3 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Brian Stuard | $6,900 | 154 | 195 | -9 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Cody Gribble | $6,700 | 195 | 105 | -1 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | $6,500 | 74 | 80 | 5 | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 27 | 500 |
| Vaughn Taylor | $6,400 | 119 | 145 | -1 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Jim Herman | $6,200 | 91 | 143 | 2 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Rod Pampling | $6,100 | 166 | 153 | 1 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Greg Chalmers | $6,000 | 285 | 242 | 0 | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.
Legend
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| + / – | The difference between a golfer’s salary and odds rank. This can help you spot underpriced golfers. |
| OWGR | Official World Golf Ranking |
| Cuts | Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons. |
| 2011 – 2015 Columns | Course history at this event in the last five seasons. |