While the PGA Tour’s traditional season opener, the Sentry, was canceled this year, fans can still enjoy Hawaiian vistas at next week’s Sony Open, played at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
And given the strength of the field reflected in the Sony Open’s published player commitments, the world’s best are as eager to get the competitive season underway as the fans are to watch it.
Four of the top 10 players in the world will compete next week: Russell Henley (No. 5), US Open champion JJ Spaun (No. 6), Robert MacIntyre (No. 7) and Ben Griffin (No. 8).
Other notable players in the 120-player field include defending Sony Open champion Nick Taylor, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott and Vijay Singh, who at 62 is cashing in on his final year of Tour participation with an exemption as the all-time top 50 earner on the lifetime money list. (With $71,281,286 in career earnings, Singh is No. 6 all-time, ahead of Justin Thomas and behind Jim Furyk.)
So where are the two best players in the world? World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has played the Sentry three times over the years but never made it to the Sony Open, preferring to start the year on land at the American Express. Scheffler has already committed to playing in the California desert this year.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy usually starts the year with the DP World Tour in Dubai rather than the PGA Tour in Hawaii, although he did play the Sentry once in 2019. For the past two years, McIlroy’s first PGA Tour appearance of the year came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which will take place February 12-15 this year.
The Sony Open starts on Thursday, January 15. You can watch the action starting at 12 PM ET on ESPN+, with broadcasts starting at 7 PM ET on Golf Channel.
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