With a few adjustments, the Sentry Tournament of Champions is headed back to the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course in 2021 ready to showcase the best of the PGA Tour.
As January 6, 2021, rapidly approaches, golfing fans await the annual Sentry Tournament of Champions with anticipation. Widely viewed as a competition between the best-of-the-best PGA players, this event generates extensive media coverage. The tournament raises thousands of dollars for charitable causes every year.
An Outstanding Group of Champions
Only professional golfers who have previously finished won in a PGA tournament typically participate in the competition at the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course. This year, schedule changes precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed 17 qualified PGA players who did not win in the 2020 tour to join 28 tournament victors in competing for the coveted Sentry Tournament of Champions trophy.
Just a few of the prominent golfers expected to vie for first place in Kapalua in 2021 include Martin Laird from Scotland, Brian Gay from Texas, Michael Thompson from Arizona, and Adam Scott from Australia. Stewart Cink won the 2020 Safeway Open Tournament in Napa, California in September. Now he looks forward to competing in Kapalua next year. His son, Reagan, will serve as his golfing caddie during the tournament. The 47-year old professional golfer previously competed in the prestigious PGA event in West Maui over a decade ago, and he expressed his enthusiasm for playing in the tournament again recently.
Observing Some of the World's Most Talented Golfers
Both visitors and full-time Maui residents enjoy watching the exciting Sentry Tournament of Champions. The PGA competition during recent years has showcased the skills of some incredibly talented golfers. Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, and Geoff Ogilvy all won this tournament twice.
Other recent winners of the tournament at the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course include some leading PGA players. For example, Xander Schauffele, Jonathan Byrd, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Steve Stricker, and Zach Johnson have all won the trophy at Kapalua in this decade. Attending the event enables spectators to observe professional golfers competing vigorously with one another on a challenging Mui golf course with tough conditions.
Complying With Public Health Guidelines
The tournament usually serves as the first scheduled PGA event of the year. It occurred during 2020 before the Novel Coronavirus severely curtailed most large public gatherings in Hawaii. However, due to the pandemic, the sponsors plan to significantly limit the size of the audience in 2021.
In keeping with the need to restrict large indoor gatherings, spectators will watch the event in January from an outdoor venue. Many recent PGA tournaments on the West Coast have occurred without audiences. Although about 200 to 300 spectators will observe the competition in Kapalua on any given day, everyone in attendance must pass stringent health checks in order to gain admission to the golf course. Tickets grant access to the tournament spectator areas, not to the entire grounds.
An Important Source of Charitable Fundraising
Sentry Insurance based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin sponsors this annual PGA event in Kapalua. This year the business insurance firm and four other sponsors hope the competition will continue to generate significant funds for worthy nonprofit organizations. The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, the Maui Visitors Bureau, Kapalua Golf, and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau have joined Sentry Insurance in conducting the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Kapalua Resort. In 2020, the PGA event raised an estimated $459,743 to help support a number of civic, environmental, cultural, athletic, educational, and community groups.
The PGA Tour recently donated half a million dollars to assist five historically Black institutions of higher education. During recent years, proceeds generated by the annual golfing tournament in Kapalua have aided a variety of charitable and nonprofit entities. Just a few of the organizations to obtain donations as a result of the competition include the Maui Arts League, Whale Trust, Lahainaluna High School Foundation, Lahaina Junior Golf, Boy Scouts of America, and Hui O Wa'a Kaula. Sentry Insurance established a scholarship program using proceeds from the tournament to assist 12 high school students in attending college-level programs in Hawaii.
