Two first-time PGA Tour winners eligible for Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui
In August, Tom Kim of South Korea and American Will Zalatoris each became first-time winners on the PGA Tour, qualifying them to compete in the Sentry Tournament of Champions that is being held Jan. 4-8 at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui.
Kim, who is only 20, won the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina. He is the second-youngest winner on the tour since World War II. The youngest is Jordan Spieth, who won the 2013 John Deere Classic. Kim also is the first player born in the 2000s to win on the tour.
He joined the tour as a special temporary member after The Open Championship and is the first special temporary member to win on the tour since Collin Morikawa at the 2019 Barracuda Championship. Kim now is a full-time member of the tour and qualified for the FedExCup playoffs.
Zalatoris, 26, defeated Sepp Straka on the third sudden-death playoff hole to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Tennessee. It was his first career PGA Tour victory in his 56th start. The reigning Arnold Palmer Award winner for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year was not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs in 2020-21.
Dallas resident Zalatoris joined the PGA Tour as a special temporary member and collected enough non-member FedExCup points to earn full-time membership for the 2021-22 season.
Also in August, Patrick Cantlay earned his second victory of the calendar year at the BMW Championship and Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship for his second title of the year and became the first player to win the FedExCup three times.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions field had consisted solely of winners from the previous year on the PGA Tour, but beginning in 2023 the field also will include the top 30 players from the FedExCup playoffs points list who qualify for the Tour Championship.
Scott Stallings, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Sahith Theegala, Adam Scott and Aaron Wise will be exempt for the 2023 tournament as a result of the new criteria.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions will feature a purse of $15 million and one of the most elite fields in golf. For more information about the 2023 event, visit SentryTournamentOfChampions.com.
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