🏌🏻 Sentry's Star-Studded Lineup

Good morning. It's officially 'The Sentry’ week and we can’t wait for the season to tee-off. Take a look at the format, playing field, broadcasting schedule and tee times for the championship that has 38 of the top 50 ranked players. That, and sponsorship fall-outs continue to make the headlines and so does the PGA vs LIV.

Make yourself comfortable and let's gear up for the start of a brand new season.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1988 and 1993, a couple of journeymen won on the Monterey Peninsula. In 1988, Lennie Clements won the Spalding Invitational Pro-Am in a four-man playoff. In 1993, Mark Brooks claimed victory by five shots over Bob May in the Pebble Beach Invitational.

ALBATROS
Top 50 Players Headline The Sentry

The Sentry Tournament of Champions will take place from January 4-7 at the Kapalua Golf Course. It is a signature event and has a total purse of $15 million.

Here's everything you need to know about the event's format, top-ranked players, TV schedule and tee times.

Format:

The Sentry field will consist of 59 players - ones who finished in the top 50 in last year's FedEx Cup standings and the winners of the 2022-23 season. There will be no cut in this event. The winner will earn around 21% of the total points, 3-4% more than last time.

Top Players:

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Viktor Hovland

3. Patrick Cantlay

4. Xander Schauffele

5. Max Homa

6. Matt Fitzpatrick

7. Brian Harman

8. Wyndham Clark

9. Tom Kim

10. Collin Morikawa

11. Jason Day

12. Jordan Spieth

13. Tony Finau

Defending Champion John Rahm and Rory McIlroy are two popular names who will be missing out.

TV Schedule (all times in ET):

Thursday: Round 1 Live 6-10 pm on GC/Peacock.
Friday: Round 2 Live 6-10 pm on GC/Peacock.
Saturday: Round 3 Live 4-6 pm on NBC/Peacock and 6-8 pm on GC/Peacock.
Sunday: Round 4 Live 4-6 pm on NBC/Peacock and 6-8 pm on GC/Peacock.

Tee Times For Round 1 (all times in ET):

🏌🏻 12:45 pm: Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Tom Kim.
🏌🏻 2:21 pm: Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay.
🏌🏻 2:33 pm: Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg and Rickie Fowler.
🏌🏻 4:39 pm: Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.

Check out the complete list here.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Xander Schauffele Dumps Adidas, Endorses Descente

Xander Schauffele has moved on from Adidas and was spotted wearing Descente apparel at Kapalua. Schauffele was Adidas Golf's apparel and footwear ambassador since 2018.

Schauffele's new sponsor, Descente, is a Japanese premium brand. Other golfers on their roster include former Masters champion Danny Willett and LPGA Tour star Danielle Kang.

As for Adidas, they still boast an impressive roster of golf talent including the likes of two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, Rose Zhang and Golf's rising star Ludvig Aberg.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Players of the Year: John Rahm (male), Lilia Vu (female) and Steve Stricker (senior) have been adjudged the Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA). Viktor Hovland finished second in the Male Player of the Year voting with 33 percent and last year’s GWAA winner Scottie Scheffler was third with 18 percent.

Tiger Woods: John Wood is set to be Tiger Woods' new caddie for the 2024 season. Wood has been a caddie on the PGA Tour for two decades. Tiger previously had his daughter as the caddie for the PNC Championship and best friend Rob McNamara for the Hero World Challenge.

Rickie Fowler: Rickie Fowler will part ways with his decade-long sponsor Farmer's Insurance. Fowler has been an ambassador for the brand since 2012 but that is going to end soon. He has not yet revealed his new sponsor.

PGA Tour Power Rankings: Collin Morikawa holds the top spot in the power rankings for The Sentry 2024. Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Xander Schauffele and Tom Kim complete the top five.

BIRDIE
Patrick Cantlay Declines LIV Offers, Pledges Loyalty to PGA Tour

Patrick Cantlay is staying on the PGA Tour. Cantlay has been the subject of rumors over a potential move to LIV but he has now shut down all speculations. The American will also continue to remain a part of the PGA Tour policy board.

“I grew up wanting to play on the PGA Tour and win tournaments on the PGA Tour, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have done that. I declined offers. Pre and post joining the board. And the most recent offer I got, I declined in the same meeting that my management team brought to me.”

Cantlay will continue to play a crucial role in the PGA-LIV framework agreement as a member of the policy board. He has made it clear that he wants what’s best for the Tour, whether it’s with or without PIF.

DRIVING RANGE
8 Things To Consider When Choosing New Wedges

In this video, Joel Tadman runs through the eight things golfers need to consider when choosing new wedges. These pointers should help create a checklist for you to tick off when buying new wedges to ensure they are perfectly suited to your technique and typical home course conditions.