The new PGA Tour season has officially snuck up on us! But who are we kidding: What better way to recover from a New Year’s hangover than watching the stunning scenary of Kapalua’s Plantation Course on our TVs on Thursday evening. We can’t wait. Plus, sorry Scottie … but with no Scheffler in the field due to his hand injury, we might actually be able to cash a decent outright winner! (Feel better soon, for real, POY.)

RELATED: 10 players who will win you money early in 2025

We’re back as we have been since gambling was legalized in 2018 with our Golf Digest betting panel, comprised of a caddie reporting anonymously from the grounds of Kapalua, Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Brandon Gdula of numberFire/FanDuel, Andy Lack of the Inside Golf Podcast, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line. Stewart, our newest member of the panel, is our new betting content partner as well.

Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2025 Sentry:

The Sentry picks 2024: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions 

Anonymous Caddie Picker of the week: Keegan Bradley (60-1, Bet365) — Taking a shot on the Ryder Cup captain here. Bradley is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Hero World Challenge, and he’s only a few months removed from a W at the BMW.

Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Sam Burns (28-1, BetMGM) — Many forget (by that I mean, me) how good Burns was last year despite feeling like he never really contended for anything. It’s shockingly like Morikawa’s 2024, just without the collection of high finishes in majors. It’s probably because he gagged away the AMEX on the 17th hole and I never forgave him. It’s a new year now, though. Time to forgive. I must since I placed him so highly in 2025 season-long rankings. Burns is always better on Bermuda, and did gain over 6.4 strokes putting three times in his final five starts.

Brandon Gdula, FanDuel/numberFire managing editor: Justin Thomas (9-1, FanDuel) — Justin Thomas’ game seems to be back, especially the tee-to-green numbers of late. He’s leading the rest of the field by over a shot per round in strokes-gained/tee-to-green over each golfer’s last 20 rounds, per datagolf. We know he’s good at Kapalua (two wins), and a familiar course could get the putter back on track.

Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Collin Morikawa (14-1, Bet365) — It’s week one of the 2025 season, let’s not overthink this. Collin Morikawa has seven top 10s in his January career. He’s one of those guys who grinds throughout the holidays. In five Sentry starts, he has not finished worse than seventh and had a chance to win the last two years. Collin can putt these greens, and his iron game will return in 2025. That combo alone makes him a favorite for every event he tees it up in.

Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest dep. managing editor: Collin Morikawa (14-1, Bet365) — I love Morikawa at Kapalua. He’s now a full year removed from his Sunday collapse of 2023, and on a course where approach play is so important, give me the leader in SG/approach over the past 36 rounds, per RickRunGood.com. There’s also the angle of his family’s connection to Maui that I can’t ignore.

Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Sam Burns (28-1, BetMGM) — Picking up in 2025 where I left off at the end of the summer—chasing the Sam Burns victory. Feels right at this number in such a small field, too. With no Scheffler to worry about, this week’s Sentry is genuinely up for grabs. The way Burns finished 2024 hitting his irons and putting on Bermuda, it’s clear he’s closing in on his first win since the 2023 Match Play.

Andy Lack, Inside Golf podcast: Patrick Cantlay (18-1, FanDuel) — I’m expecting a big bounce-back season for Patrick Cantlay, and Kapalua is the perfect venue to get the ball rolling. Cantlay has never finished worse than 16th in six appearances at the Sentry, with two top five finishes mixed in. When at his best, Cantlay remains one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, which will certainly come in handy this week in Maui.

Past results: The panel had a total of 15 outright winners in 2024, besting our 2023 total of 13. We also had a strong season of matchups and our very own Stephen Hennessey absolutely cleaned up in the top 10 market. Let’s keep it rolling right into 2025.

Listen to Golf Digest’s weekly betting podcast, “The Loop,” (below) where we interview the industry’s leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to “The Loop” wherever you get your podcasts!   

The Sentry picks 2024: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win 

Caddie: Si Woo Kim (55-1, FanDuel) — The Presidents Cup star is poised for a huge 2025 and I think it starts here at Kapalua, where Si Woo has had moderate success in the past with a top 10 in 2018 and a pair of top 25s since.

Mayo: Nick Dunlap (80-1, FanDuel) — First-timers at Kapalua don’t have a ton of success, but very few first-timers are the reigning rookie of the year who won twice in the past 12 months, also at birdie-fests. Dunlap’s putter is far from reliable, yet when he’s rolling it well, he has tended to pair with it elite iron play at the same time. He’s a true Ricky Bobby in a field like this, he’s first or last. Which is fine for his odds.

Gdula: Taylor Pendrith (55-1, FanDuel) — Pendrith hits it plenty long and is one of the top recent iron players in this field. His putter is hot, sure, but he’s got good long-term Bermuda putting splits. He’s finished top 10 in three of his last seven.

Stewart: Adam Scott (40-1, Bet365) — Six Australians have won The Sentry in the last 21 years. The most of any country other than the United States. Adam Scott has four top sevens in eight Sentry starts. When great comp courses are Riviera and Augusta National, one can see why Scott has had success here. An exceptional driver, wonderful iron player off uneven lies, and solid putter on slow greens, I look for Adam to build on last year’s career success early on the west coast in 2025.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Nico Echavarria (120-1, FanDuel) — We’ve seen longshots come through at Kapalua recently (Chris Kirk, Harris English), and I think Nico could get hot enough to contend. He’s eighth in Birdie or Better percentage and 11th in SG/total over the past 36 rounds. He also just edged two of the hottest players over the past few months, Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman, at the Zozo Championship a few events ago. I think this number is a bit too high on the talented Colombian who already has two PGA Tour victories to his credit.

Powers, Golf Digest: Max Homa (66-1, BetRivers) — My good friend Brian Kirschner sold me on Homa on this week’s Tap in Birdie podcast (check it out here). Homa’s 2024 was a disappointing one, especially after it began with such promise at the 2024 Masters, but he actually finished sneaky strong with a Sunday singles win at the Presidents Cup, a top 30 at the Zozo and a T-14 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour. Driving was his main issue last season, but that can absolutely be fixed on the gigantic fairways of Kapalua, where he’s finished top 15 in all three appearances including a third in 2023.

Lack: Max Greyserman (45-1, FanDuel) — I already touched on Patrick Cantlay’s putting upside, and Max Greyserman also checks the box of a player that can get scorching hot on the greens. Kapalua features the easiest scoring conditions on the entire PGA Tour and is the most extreme version of a putting contest. I trust Greyserman’s flat stick to keep up with the best of them.

RELATED: The Sentry DFS picks 2025: Why I’m betting on a Max Homa bounceback

The Sentry picks 2024: Players We’re Fading 

Caddie: Brian Harman (40-1, Bet365) — Not loving what I’m seeing from the former Open winner, who struggled in his lone Fall start at the RSM and then finished outside the top 10 in a 20-man Hero field.

Mayo: Viktor Hovland (22-1, BetMGM) — A broken toe and a guy who can’t chip who just, once again, broke up with his coach? Ya, no thanks.

Gdula: Sungjae Im (18-1, FanDuel) — Im is a firm part of the second tier of favorites this week based on the betting odds, but he’s hard for me to justify over Hideki, Ludvig, and Cantlay. He’s played well at Kapalua despite not being a great Bermuda putter, and he’s the weakest iron player of the favorites.

Stewart: Corey Conners (25-1, Bet365) — Corey Conners has never finished better than 18th at The Sentry. Prior to last year, those fields only had 30-plus players. In three Plantation Course starts, Conners is losing an average of 2.86 strokes on the field with his flat stick. Where Corey excels for being straight off the tee and accurate with his iron game, everyone hits the fairway at Kapalua, and the greens are the biggest on tour. Since it is a putting contest, save Conners for a complete ball-striking test.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Corey Conners (25-1, Bet365) — This number’s just way too short in an event where you need a hot putter.

Powers, Golf Digest: Ludvig Aberg (16-1, FanDuel) — While he still managed to top 20, Aberg was shockingly bad tee-to-green at the RSM Classic. Couple that with the fact he was also shockingly bad in his first ever Sentry start last year and it has me staying away from the young Swede at this price.

Lack: Hideki Matsuyama (18-1, DraftKings) — There will certainly be opportunities to pound on Hideki Matsuyama in 2025, but this is not one of them. Matsuyama finished nearly dead last in the field last year en route to his worst putting performance of the season. In a pure putting contest, it appears far too likely that we will catch a poor performance on the greens from the former Masters champion.

RELATED: Viktor Hovland suffers freak holiday injury  

The Sentry picks 2024: Matchups  

Caddie: Akshay Bhatia (-125) over Adam Scott (Bet365) — Scott’s been solid at Kapalua in his career and he’s coming off a T-3 finish in the DP World Tour Championship. That was back in November, though. Bhatia just played in the Hero World Challenge, on familiar grass types he’ll play this week, and finished solo fourth.

Mayo: Max Greyserman (-110) over Robert MacIntyre (Coolbet) — The public may not have caught on to Greyserman’s excellence the past six months, but the sports books have. Bobby Mac may have won twice in 2024, but I’ll side with Greyserman in a putting contest.

Gdula: Ludvig Aberg (-125) over Sungjae Im (Bet365) — Aberg’s a big hitter whose game should translate to Kapalua. Im’s short game is better, but there’s a noticeable ball-striking difference here.

Stewart: Byeong Hun An (-120) over Russell Henley (Bet365) — Ben An started a transformation last season by working with a new putting coach named John Graham. Graham’s PGA coaching resume includes Justin Thomas’ Players win and second PGA win along with Aaron Rai at the end of last season. There are others, but I brought up Rai for a reason. Graham gave Rai confidence on the greens, and we saw what happened. The same is coming for An. The last time we saw Russell Henley, meanwhile, he finished last at the Hero World Challenge. I’m taking Ben’s momentum against Russell re-building some confidence again.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Adam Scott (-135) over Jason Day (Caesars Sportsbook) — There’s a pretty big gap between these two players if you look at the approach play. Day ranks fifth to last in this field in SG/approach over the past 36 rounds, and I’ll bet that he didn’t fix all of that over the offseason. I’d rather wait to bet him in the desert or at Torrey.

Powers, Golf Digest: Sungjae Im (+100) over Ludvig Aberg (Bet365) — Im has two top 10s in three starts at the PGA Tour’s season-opener, while Aberg finished a distant 47th in his lone appearance a year ago and is coming off a brutal tee-to-green performance at the RSM Classic, not to mention surgery on his left knee.

Lack: Byeong Hun An (-120) over Russell Henley (Bet365) — Byeong Hun An is one of my favorite plays on the board this week, and I believe he has the upside to win the event. An ranks first in this field in driving distance, and he finished fourth at this golf course last year, gaining strokes in all four major categories. Russell Henley, on the other hand, has struggled more at Kapalua, and I prefer him on golf course that will accentuate his elite driving accuracy and middle iron approach play.

Matchup Results from the RSM Classic: Caddie: 1 for 1 (Cole –120) over Spaun); Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Svensson (-125) over Mitchell); Powers: 1 for 1 (Rodgers +100) over Straka); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Yu (-110) over Hisatsune); Lack: PUSH (Sigg (-145) over Woodland); Gdula: 0 for 1; Stewart: 0 for 1

Final Matchup Results from last season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Lack 27-12-4 (up 11.43 units); Gdula: 24-16-3 (up 5.06 units); Caddie: 25-17-0 (up 5.62 units); Hennessey: 21-15-7 (up 4.1 units); Powers: 19-19-4 (down 0.09 units); Mayo: 21-22-1 (down 0.61 units); Stewart: 17-24-2 (down 8.21 units)  

The Sentry picks 2024: Top 10s 

Caddie: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+600, DraftKings) — After taking some time off post Tour Championship, Bez returned in his home country at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and tied for sixth, then had a respectable showing at the Dunhill. Not much rust to shake off and I love his chances to hang around on Sunday in a putting contest. 

Mayo: Sahith Theegala (+260, FanDuel) — Theegala drastically improved his driving in 2024 which was the one area where he was lacking among the world’s elite. He’s still not Rory off the tee, but he’s firmly above average now. Which is all he has to be considering his short game and irons are what separates him on tour. Plus, if he gets a bit wayward off the tee this week the expansive fairways can cover up those errors, and the slow greens allow him to be aggressive as he wants with his putter. It’s really the perfect course for Sahith.

Gdula: Sam Burns (+240, FanDuel) — Sam Burns on Bermuda should always get our attention to start with, and when you dig in, you’ll see there’s more with Burns this week than just that angle. Burns’ tee-to-green game is solid (20th) among golfers this week over his last 50 rounds; that’s an uptick over his longer-term data.

Stewart: Sungjae Im (+175, FanDuel) — Another case of let’s not try and outsmart ourselves. Sungjae Im has four starts at Kapalua and three top 10s. His fourth finish was a T-13. Excellent on Bermudagrass, the powerful Im can drive it long enough and score from close range. Im’s around the green proximity is ranked seventh in the field. Sungjae succeeds here year after year because he scores from close range on the eight par 4s under 425 yards and four par 5s. With 10 places over the four rounds, Im’s a contender (and a casher) year after year.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Eric Cole (+500, FanDuel) — Cole’s got the approach/wedge play and hot putting ability you want at Kapalua. I’ll likely sprinkle on the outright number, and this lofty top-10 number is pretty attractive, too.

Powers, Golf Digest: Nico Echavarria (+450, Bet365) — All Nico has done in his last six PGA Tour starts is collect four top 10s, including a win and a second-place finish. Kapalua isn’t the best spot for first-timers, but you need to ride the hot hand here anyway.

Lack: Justin Thomas (+105, DraftKings) — While I’m not sure if I trust Justin Thomas’ putter enough to bet on him to win, he possesses amongst the highest likelihood to top 10 in this field. Thomas is a two-time winner of this event already, and his ball-striking looked phenomenal in December at the Hero World Challenge. I expect the 14-time winner to continue his success in Maui.

Top-10 results from the RSM Classic: Everybody: 0 for 1

Final Top-10 results from last season: Hennessey: 13 for 43 (up 65.35 units); Caddie: 8 for 42 (down 1.93 units); Gdula: 9 for 43 (down 2.3 units); Mayo: 8 for 43 (down 7.3 units); Powers: 8 for 43 (down 8.9 units); Stewart: 8 for 43 (down 13.42 units); Lack: 8 for 43 (down 15.45 units)

About our experts   

Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME. 

Brandon Gdula, managing editor and analyst for numberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 FSWA Golf Writer of the Year. Gdula also co-hosts the DFS Heat Check podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @gdula13. 

Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor for Golf Digest and founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the LPGA and PGA TOUR. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter here and raise your golf betting acumen. Keith’s winning content can also be found on Sports Grid, Bleacher Report and The Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_.

Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports  

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com