PGA Tour preview, prediction, picks: Tour opens '23 with 'elevated' TOC

OddsChecker preview, field and pick

The PGA Tour opens the 2023 calendar year with this weekend's Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui. It’s a decorated field, including 17 of the world’s top 20 golfers. OddsChecker's Trent Pruitt is here to dive into the course and the field, and to see where the potential value is from a betting standpoint. 

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NOTES: This is the 10th tournament of the FedEx Cup season and the first of 17 designated events with elevated purses. The tournament of champions will award 550 Cup points for the first time. The other four tournaments with elevated status are The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Memorial Tournament. ... Smith, who won with a record score of 34-under 258 last year, will not defend his title after joining LIV Golf, while top-ranked Rory McIlroy chose to make this the one elevated tournament he will not enter in 2023. ...The field has been expanded to included players who did not win in the previous year but did qualify for the Tour Championship. Of the 39 players competing, 13 will be making their tournament debuts. ... Will Zalatoris will make his first start since withdrawing from the BMW Championship with a herniated disc in his back. ... The Plantation Course was the easiest on Tour last season relative to par with a scoring average of 4.783-under.

OddsChecker predictions and picks

OddsChecker's Brian Kirschner previews the upcoming Sentry Tournament of Champions at The Plantation Course and gives his predictions and picks. He also gives his perspective on the odds board and one golfer is he looking to target.

Looking for the latest odds on the TOC? Click here for LIVE updates on OddsChecker!

BEST BETS: Jon Rahm (+650 at BetMGM) tied the record for the most birdies in a 72-hole event with 32 in finishing a stroke behind Smith last year. He has seven top-10s in his past eight worldwide starts, including consecutive wins on the DP World Tour. ... Scottie Scheffler (+900) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 2 and is coming off a runner-up at the Hero World Challenge. ... Patrick Cantlay (+1000) has a win and a pair of runner-ups among his past five starts but has teed it up just once in a stroke-play event since the Tour Championship. ... Justin Thomas (+1100) is a two-time event winner (2017, '20) and recorded a 61 in the third round last year along with Rahm. Only Jack Nicklaus (5), Stuart Appleby (3) and Tom Watson (3) have won the event three times. ... Tony Finau (+1400) has three wins among six top-10s in his past eight events. ... Tom Kim (+2500) is the youngest player in the field by more than four years as he makes his debut. The 20-year-old is also the first player since Tiger Woods to win twice on tour before turning 21.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Sony Open, Oahu, Jan. 12-15