By Mark Halpern
After a small hiatus I am back at again bringing you the best golf opinion on the Sport Inanity Network. Tomorrow the Sentry Champion tournament tees off at Kapaula Plantaion course on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii. Held every year the Sentry tournament began back in 1953 and has been a tradition in Hawaii for over 55 years. This year the field is what you expect from a big tournament like this one. I am going to give you my opinions on who will win and why plus a look at the possible top 5.
There is so much talent in this field it will be a close match. I do not foresee a runaway in this. I like Colin Morikawa to win this tournament. He took the golfing world by storm last year with his aggressive and accurate play. I expect him to take over from where he left off and shoot towards his goal of being the #1 golfer in the world.
Justin Thomas will be on Morikawa’s heels all the way through this tournament. Thomas has 4 top 5 finishes dating back to last year and looks to keep it up. He is a master on the fringe and his great short game will help him on this course. He will be Morikawa’s main challenger.
Xander Schauffele won this tournament back in 2019. He knows this course and has done very well on it. If Xander comes our firing he will be in the top 5. He has great vision on the greens and his accurate drives keeping him on the fairway to help with those birdies. Justin Thomas will be looking at Xander’s score during this match.
Another name to watch out for and that is Sam Burns. Sam a Florida resident has had a great run from the beginning of December to the current tournament finishing 5 times in the top ten. There is no shortchange of names in this match that I expect that the guys doing the video board and visual board will be busy with changing score every few minutes.
No match would be complete without some underdog picks. First on my list is Joel Dahmen. His -5 under par play at the Packer Enterprise Houston open tied him for 5th during this match. After e completed that match, he had made the cut 5/5 times. I could see him sneak into the top 15 with his long powerful drives and good short game.
My second Wild Card pick Billy Horschel made the cut for his first tournament back in November of 2021 and has his sites set on the beautiful course on Maui. He has powerful drives and his putting his beautiful. His only real flaw is chipping around the fringe and other close areas, and it often costs him an important stroke. If Horschel comes out with the form, he did in November I can see a top 10 finish in his field.
Now there is a ton of talent in this tournament, and I would love to write small expose on each of them but, only have so much room in this article. Other golfers who will be driving their balls after the leader will be {in no Particular order}
Bryson Dechambeau
Viktor Hovland
Xander Schauffele
The weather couldn’t be better day for a well renowned tournament. The sun will be out shining bright and will be warm with a nice high of 79 degrees.
This is a beautiful course and is known to challenge even the best of golfers. Again, My Pick Is Colin Morikawa to win it with either Justin Thomas or Xander Schauffele to be nipping at his heels all through out the tournament. This match will come to a playoff and that is how the old man sees it.
Also Be on the look out for information regarding the SIN Golf Podcast that will be coming to the Network this late spring.
The Sports Insanity Network 