The Plantation Course at Kapalua – one of the world’s top golf courses – will celebrate 25 years of hosting the PGA Tour’s Sentry Tournament of Champions when the event returns to Maui, Jan. 4-8, 2023. Since the event moved to Maui in 1999, the Sentry Tournament of Champions has generated more than $8 million for local community charities, while the list of past champions includes Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Ernie Els.
The iconic Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design first opened for play in 1992. Designed on a grand scale, the 7,596-yard, par 73 Plantation Course, managed by Troon, plays along the slopes of the West Maui Mountains boasting dramatic ocean views from virtually every hole. In 1999, the PGA Tour relocated the Tournament of Champions from La Costa Country Club near San Diego, Calif. to Maui. David Duval won the inaugural Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course, shooting a 26-under (266).
“We are so excited to welcome the best players on the PGA Tour back to Kapalua’s Plantation Course again for the 25th year,” said Alex Nakajima, general manager, Kapalua Golf & Tennis. “The golf course has been prepared to perfect condition; we are ready to kick off the 2023 golf season.”
The Sentry Tournament of Champions annually kicks off the calendar year with one of the most exceptional fields in golf, featuring winners from the previous year on the PGA Tour and the top 30 players from the FedExCup standings. Past champions Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are set to play in the 2023 tournament along with major winners Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Adam Scott.
During a 2019 restoration/refinement project, enhancements were made to the Plantation Course, including new bunkers; new Celebration Bermuda Turf on tees, fairways and roughs; and rebuilt and resurfaced green complexes. The overall Plantation Course layout and routing remained the same. Since the 2019 restoration, additional projects have been completed to produce what Coore and Crenshaw originally planned during their 2019 refinement of the Plantation Course – namely to make the golf course firmer to get more ball roll. Through drainage and top dressing projects, as well as enhanced maintenance practices, the golf course continues to “firm-up.”
Photo: Dave Sansom