The PGA Tour picks back up this week on the Plantation Course at Kapalua for the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as my top 10, dark horse, and player to avoid predictions.
Tournament Winner: Dustin Johnson
It’s hard to bet against Dustin Johnson and this wouldn’t be the week to do so. Johnson has won 3 of his last 7 tournaments, with his most recent start being a win at The Masters, to go along with 3 runner ups (one of which came in a playoff), and a 6th place finish. In his Sentry Tournament of Champions career, he has 2 wins and 3 additional top 6 finishes, to go along with 2 finishes outside the top 10 (11th and 16th) in 10 career starts. I tend to ride the hot hand, with no one being hotter than Dustin Johnson at the moment.
Top 10: Joaquin Niemann
Niemann has been a quietly consistent player of late, finishing in the top 25 in 6 of his last 8 starts. Finishing 5th in his tournament debut here last year, I think his game fits this course well and will back up his debut result with another top 10 finish.
Dark Horse: Carlos Ortiz
Ortiz earned his first career tour win towards the end of last year at the Houston Open and backed it up with an 8th place finish at the OHL Mayakoba Classic. Ortiz had a successful career on the Korn Ferry Tour and now that he has finally earned his maiden PGA Tour win, I believe the sky is the limit. This tournament would be a great stage to prove that he contend with the stars of the PGA Tour on a regular basis.
Player to fade: Jason Kokrak
Kokrak earned his first career win lst year at The CJ Cup. He finished 17th in his next start and has missed each of the last 2 cuts. With so many A-list players teeing it up this week, Kokrak is going to have an uphill bacttle all week long, which makes him an easy fade for me.
Be sure to check back next week as I make my predictions for The Sony Open in Hawaii.
Photo credit: The Toronto Star