Steve Palmer's Sentry Tournament of Champions predictions, best bets & golf tips

Free golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 7.30pm on Thursday

Best bets

Jordan Spieth
2.5pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, Power
Sungjae Im
2.5pts each-way 20-1 Coral

Click here to add Steve's selections to your Paddy Power betslip

Betting offers

• Paddy Power are giving away free bets to new and existing customers and all you need is an account. Sign up here
• Sky Bet are offering new customers multiple free bets when they sign up. Click herefor free bets, money-back specials and BuildABet free bets
• Betfair have lots of offers and money back offers. Sign up for a new account here
• To get free bets from Ladbrokes today, simply sign up to a new account here
• Don't have a Coral account? They have an offer for new customers here
• New William Hill customers can claim free bets and benefit from their daily offers including Scratch Of The Day by clicking here

The PGA Tour year starts with a bang - a star-studded field in Hawaii for the Sentry Tournament of Champions. This is the first of the tournaments with 'elevated' status, so a juicy $2.7m first prize is up for grabs at the Plantation Course.

Jon Rahm is 13-2 favourite as he looks to go one better than last year. Despite carding a 33-under-par total, the Spaniard left without the trophy, but he has no Cameron Smith in the field to worry about this time.

Rahm, twice runner-up, must be respected, but driver is the best club in his bag and this is not a track where players need to drive particularly well. His greatest strength is negated somewhat. Scottie Scheffler is more tempting at 9-1 on his second Kapalua start, but the market principals can be left alone at short odds in preference for better value options.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Jordan Spieth 28-1

A three-time Major champion is lurking deep in the tournament betting and is worth supporting for an assignment he loves. Jordan Spieth has proved himself along the quirky terrain of Kapalua and could be ready to boss the PGA Tour curtain-raiser again.

There are only three course winners in this field and Spieth is emphatically one of them. The Golden Child, as he used to be known, romped to an eight-shot victory on the Plantation Course in 2016. It was a masterclass at a layout which lends itself to his creativity and touch.

The undulating terrain and uneven lies make for lots of 'feel' shots, while the enormous greens demand excellent scrambling. Spieth is a natural for this gig and his Kapalua record stands up to close inspection.

On his tournament debut in 2014, Spieth finished runner-up, beaten by only a shot. Victory came on his return, then he was third in 2017 and ninth in 2018. He made his fifth appearance last year - his first since the course renovations - and took a while to adjust. Spieth improved his score each round, though, finishing 21st.

The Texan will relish the forecast breeze and his confidence has been sky-high ever since he top-scored in the Presidents Cup at the end of September. The 29-year-old has kept himself busy, finishing strongly in the World Challenge a month ago, winning The Match alongside Justin Thomas, then sharing eighth place in the PNC Championship with his father. There are a lot of rusty players in this week's line-up, but Spieth should be ready to hit the ground running.

Next best bet

Sungjae Im 20-1

After celebrating his wedding before Christmas Sungjae Im is walking on air and Im can also be satisfied with his performance on the course. Despite not winning a title last year, he was generally excellent from the end of July onwards, consistently appearing on leaderboards.

Second place in the 3M Open was followed by second again in the Wyndham Championship, then a share of second in the Tour Championship. Last time in the Hero World Challenge, Im improved his score each round on his way to eighth spot.

Im's short-game is sharp - he was 12th on the PGA Tour last season for strokes-gained-around-the-greens and fifth for scrambling. This solid all-rounder is a great fit for Kapalua and he has finished fifth and eighth in his two previous starts.

Players to note

Collin Morikawa
The two-time Major champion, who has some Hawaiian ancestry, played the Plantation Course as a nine-year-old and is a regular visitor to the Aloha State.

Justin Thomas
The world number eight has won two of the last six Kapalua gatherings, and has twice finished third. He has to be respected.

Xander Schauffele
The 2019 champion lifted plenty of silverware last year and has an obvious chance of being a leading contender this week.

Hideki Matsuyama
Last year was an injury-plagued one for the Japanese, who was suffering with neck problems last time out. If Christmas has healed him, Kapalua is a great opportunity.

Plantation Course guide

Course Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Prize money $15m ($2.7m to the winner)
Length 7,596 yards
Par 73 (four par-fives; 11 par-fours; three par-threes)
Field Field 39 (no cut)
Course records- 72 holes 258 Cameron Smith (2022) 18 holes 61 Justin Thomas (2022), Jon Rahm (2022), Matt Jones (2022)

Course winners taking part Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas (twice), Xander Schauffele

When to bet By 7.30pm Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 7.30pm on Thursday

Time difference Hawaii is ten hours behind the UK and Ireland

Course type Parkland

Course overview Kapalua is the traditional home of the Tour's curtain-raiser. A power-hitter's paradise, the fairways are like runways. Seven holes are longer than 500 yards. The 680-yard closing hole is a test of strength on a track which has the largest greens on the circuit. Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore renovated the track after the 2019 edition. Fairways, tees and rough were grassed with Celebration bermuda, while the greens became TifEagle bermuda, with the designers hoping to create firmer, faster conditions

Story of last year A lack of wind saw a defenceless Plantation Course get destroyed. The event turned into a duel between Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm, with the Aussie edging the Spaniard

Weather forecast Sunny, with temperatures around 26C, and moderate breezes throughout

Type of player suited to the challenge The huge dancefloors demand sharp scrambling. The roll-call of past winners shows how powerhouses can flourish (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas), but other recent champions (Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith) underline the importance of a superb short game

Key attribute Touch

Spotlight insight Only two of the last 23 events at Kapalua have been won by a debutant

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport