Three more pro golfers qualify for The Sentry in Kapalua

The month of October saw Kevin Yu, Matt McCarty and Nico Echavarria become the most recent players to qualify for The Sentry via their PGA TOUR victories, while J.T. Poston, who previously qualified for The Sentry by finishing in the top 50 of the FedExCup, also returned to the winner’s circle.

Just three opportunities remain for players to qualify for The Sentry. Those tournaments include the World Wide Technology Championship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship and The RSM Classic.

The Plantation Course at Kapalua will once again host The Sentry for the PGA TOUR’s Opening Drive from Jan. 2-5, 2025.

In his Zozo Championship debut, Echavarria earned his second career TOUR win defeating Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman by one stroke at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan. The 30-year-old posted a career-low 72-hole score of 260 (previous: 267/2023 Puerto Rico Open/1^st), which also marked the tournament 72-hole low score (previous: 261/Tiger Woods/2019). With the title, Echavarria qualified for his second consecutive trip to The Sentry, where he finished T25 in 2024.

In his ninth appearance at the event, Poston captured his third career TOUR title at the Shriners Children’s Open. The North Carolina native collected the win in his first start since the 2024 BMW Championship as he finished in the top 50 in the FedExCup for the third consecutive season (No. 41/2024, No. 39/2023, No. 15/2022) – which qualified him for 2025 The Sentry. In three previous appearances at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, Poston finished T11 in 2020, T21 in 2023, and T5 in 2024.

PGA TOUR rookie McCarty claimed his first career TOUR title in his third career start at the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah. The 26-year-old became the second player to win on TOUR in the same season after earning the Korn Ferry Tour’s Three-Victory Promotion (Jason Gore/2004 84 Lumber Classic). McCarty became the fourth rookie to win on TOUR this season (fifth win), joining Nick Dunlap (2), Matthieu Pavon, and Jake Knapp, and became the 13^th first-time winner of the season and second consecutive (Kevin Yu). The win qualified McCarty for his first trip to The Sentry.

Yu earned his first career TOUR win when he defeated Beau Hossler with a birdie-3 on the first playoff hole at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 26-year-old became the 14^th player to earn his first TOUR title at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the third Chinese Taipei winner on TOUR (C.T. Pan/2019 RBC Heritage, T.C. Chen/1987 The Genesis Invitational). With the victory, Yu qualified for his first trip to The Sentry and The Plantation Course at Kapalua.

Qualifiers for The Sentry 2025 now include: Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon, Wyndham Clark, Nick Taylor, Hideki Matsuyama, Jake Knapp, Austin Eckroat, Brice Garnett, Scottie Scheffler, Peter Malnati, Stephan Jaeger, Akshay Bhatia, Billy Horschel, Rory Mcllroy, Shane Lowry, Taylor Pendrith, Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Davis Riley, Robert MacIntyre, Cam Davis, Davis Thompson, Harry Hall, Nick Dunlap, Jhonattan Vegas, Aaron Rai, Keegan Bradley, Patton Kizzire, Kevin Yu, Matt McCarty, J.T. Poston and Nicolas Echavarria.

The Opening Drive returns to Maui as it hosts The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua for the 27^th year. From premium hospitality options like The Cook Pine Club to a reimagined grounds-access experience with the Gallery Pass, The Sentry offers something for every fan. All tickets to The Sentry and General Parking passes can be purchased by visiting TheSentry.com. 

As the PGA TOUR’s first Signature Event of the season, The Sentry features one of the most accomplished fields in golf contested at one of the most unique settings on the PGA TOUR. For information about the 2025 event, visit TheSentry.com. Fans are encouraged to follow The Sentry on Facebook, X and Instagram.