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With no cut and a limited field, the inaugural event of 2024 on the PGA Tour, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, is only a week away. The event has a 70-year-long history with the Tour. It has gone through an array of changes in the last decades, from sponsor changes to increased prize money and even the trophy becoming a special and unique part of it.

Moreover, the tournament even saw entire state changes when it moved from the mainland of America to the islands of Hawaii. It’s clear that the event has a rich and evergreen history, and here’s all you need to know about it.

The unique trophy of the Sentry Tournament of Champions

With a $5 million increase in its prize money, The Sentry is the first stop for the 2024 calendar year on the PGA Tour. This year, the event has been inducted into the signature events of the PGA Tour alongside eight other events and will feature a whopping $20 million purse, which all the participating players will get a chunk of.

The event was first held in 1953, when it was known as the Tournament of Champions. Since then, it has been known as the Mony TOC, the Mercedes-Benz TOC, the SBS TOC, and in 2018 as the Sentry TOC, thanks to its sponsor, Sentry Insurance. The Tour’s partnership with the mega-insurance firm will last until 2048.

When Sentry took over as the sponsor, a new trophy was introduced too. The 35-pound trophy was hand-blown and made by Makai Glass, featuring a blue wave through which a humpback whale is piercing through the edge of it, with only its tail visible. The trophy and all it depicts represent Maui Island and its culture. On it, it also bears Sentry Insurance’s logo—two quotation marks.

This year, along with the iconic trophy, the winner will also get an 18 percent cut from the $20 million (a 25% increase from last year’s prize money), which amounts to a humongous $3.6 million. The competition, of course, will be immense, especially with the talent-packed field and the jam-packed schedule of the tournament.

What does the Sentry’s day-to-day schedule look like?

The Sentry will unofficially begin on January 1 with a practice session for the participants, followed by two days of the Pro-Am. The official event will start on the 4th of January and conclude on the 7th. It’s field will be limited to last year’s winners and the top 50 from 2022 to 23 FedExCup Standings.

The TOC will be held on the Kapalua Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. The course spans 7,596 yards, is the only par-73 course on the PGA Tour, and has been hosting the event since 1999, after it was shifted from Las Vegas.

Moreover, with the defending champion, Jon Rahm, and its 2022 winner, Cameron Smith, having defected to LIV Golf, the event is bound to find a new winner. But who will it be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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