Every year the first tournament on the PGA Tour is only for winners on the tour from the previous year. The Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, is one of the most prestigious, yet also one of the most underrated events on the golf calendar.
An issue is the tournament does not always get the big names. Due to the fact the event happens in early January, around the time of the Christmas/New Year’s holiday season, many star players over the years decide to stay home with their families rather than being on a tropical island in Maui playing golf. For example, Tiger Woods has not played at the Sentry Tournament of Champions since 2005.
On Wednesday tournament organizers got some good news. PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson of San Diego, California announced his plans of participating at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii for the first time since 2001 according to the Associated Press. Mickelson made golf history in May when he became the oldest golfer ever to win a major.
During recent years Mickelson has been one of the top names to have missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions. In the winter time, a frequent place you will find Mickelson is on the Colorado slopes skiing. However now at age 51, Mickelson has seemed to realize he may not get many more opportunities to play the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and has made the commitment to the tournament in 2022.
Mickelson has won the Sentry Tournament of Champions before. He won in 1994 and again in 1999, when the event was held in Carlsbad, California, and known as the Mercedes Championship. In 1994, Mickelson beat Fred Couples in a playoff after shooting a four-round score of -12. Then in 1998, Mickelson shot a -17 after four rounds in beating Woods and Mark O’Meara by a stroke.
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