KAPALUA, MAUI, HAWAII – JANUARY 04: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan walks off the first tee box during the … [+] third round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 4, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
PGA TOUR
The opening PGA tournament of 2025 is producing record-breaking scoring again at The Sentry in Hawaii. A total of 14 players will tee off in the final round Sunday shooting 18-under par or better. But the two leaders have a 4-5 stroke lead with major champions Hideki Matsuyama (-27) and Collin Morikawa (-26) both firing 11-under par 62 scores in Round 3 Saturday.
The par 73 Plantation course at Kapalua in Maui yielded 11 birdies to Matsuyama and 9 birdies and an eagle to both Morikawa in Sungjae Im, who matched them with a course record 62 in Round 3.
Data golf Sentry stats show Matsuyama and Morikawa were the strokes gained leaders Tee-to-Green in Round 3 at better than +4.3 for the round. For the tournament, they lead the field in Tee-to-Green at better than +3.2 and top-10 in SG: Putting behind the leaders Tony Finau, Cameron Young, Corey Conners and Will Zalatoris, who are all top-15 into the final round at 17-under par or better. Sitting in the top-5 behind Matsuyama and Morikaw are Thomas Detry (-22), Sungjae Im (-21) and Harry Hall (-20).
Sentry Final Round Odds
Final round golf odds to win The Sentry refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, which operates in more than 20 states.
-150: Matsuyama
+130: Morikawa
+4900: Im
+5000: Detry
+30000: Hall
Matsuyama (+1800), Morikawa (+1000) and Im (+1800) were among the top-5 favorites to win The Sentry prior to the tournament. Morikawa was one of the top-3 most bet golfers to win ahead of the tournament. So was leading contender Justin Thomas (-9) and tournament favorite Xander Schauffele (-11), who won’t be cashing in for outright win or top-finishing position bettors as they sit outside the top-30 into the final round.
GolfStats founder and analyst Sal Johnson picked both Morikawa and Matsuyama to win and golfers to watch and contend in his Sentry pre-tournament preview. He noted that Morikawa was “a most sensible pick having played well at the Sentry and finishing in the top-7 in his last five starts.” He added that Matsuyama is “a good bet for this week despite his poor play at the Sentry in his last four starts.” His GolfStats performance charts showed that Hideki finished T-3rd in 2015, T-4 in 2018 and was 2nd in 2017 at The Sentry, “so if he gets hot with the putter, he is a great choice for this week.”
Hideki Matsuyama’s 27-under par score is a record 54-hole score at The Sentry. He’s chasing Cam Smith’s PGA Tour record of 34-under-par at the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions, renamed The Sentry this year. He’ll also have to hold off Morikawa, who he was paired with Saturday.
Morikawa post round presser: “Today was really, really good. Couple shots out there a little squirrely, but for the most part the irons were center face, knew where they were going.” He continued and said “it’s nice to see the things that I’ve been working on continue in and be able to put it all together and shoot some scores in a tournament setting.”
Morikawa’s post round comments were positive, along with his on-course strategy, shot selections and discussion with his caddie, and especially for this tap-in birdie following a short wedge shot on No. 16 Saturday.
The Sentry is the first of eight signature events in 2025 and has a $20 million prize pool with $3.6 million to the winner.
Tee times and final round pairings for the leaders include (all times Eastern):
3:08 pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Thomas Detry
2:56 pm: Sungjae Im, Harry Hall, Max Greyserman
2:44 pm: Will Zalatoris, Tom Hoge, Cam Davis
2:32 pm: Adam Scott, Sepp Straka, Cameron Young
Watch and wager action is on NBC and streamed on Peacock from 4-6 p.m. with continuing coverage on the Golf Channel from 6-8 p.m.
More memorable moments, inspiring stories and birdies ahead as fans fire for more fairways and greens in pursuit of profit while watching and wagering on golf.
You can bet on it.
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