The 2025 PGA Tour season is definitely off to a notable start, with Hideki Matsuyama breaking the record for the lowest ever score to par as he secured victory at The Sentry.
The Sentry is certainly establishing itself as one of the most unique stops on the PGA Tour schedule. Most of the longest drives from the 2024 season came at Kapalua, while it already held the record for the lowest score to par.
And that record has been broken again. Hideki Matsuyama finished at 35 under par to win by three over Collin Morikawa. But that achievement has led to a debate over whether changes need to be made to the Plantation Course.
Some fans criticised the Plantation Course during the tournament. Clearly, many have little interest in watching a real birdie fest. And Davis Riley was the one player in the entire field who was over par before he withdrew on Sunday.
The Sentry already discussing a change to the 2026 event
It does seem that a change is already in the offing before the tournament returns in 2026. Speaking on Golf Channel after Matsuyama’s win, Mark Rolfing suggested that talks are underway regarding a slight tweak to the scorecard.
“It’s not a done deal yet, no firm decision has been made. But I tell you there’s been a number of discussions this week about doing just exactly what Brandel suggested, and that is turn number five into a par four, which it is a par four,” he said.
“I don’t think you have to do anything to do the hole, you don’t need to build a new tee or anything else. You just need to change the number on the card. It’s just way too short in today’s world, and the players are hitting eight or nine iron into that green, most of them.”
How the fifth hole at the Plantation Course played during The Sentry
It will surprise absolutely no-one to know that the fifth played the easiest of any hole on the golf course this past week. There were 21 eagles and 170 birdies on that hole across the event. That was 28 more birdies than any other hole on the course.
| Hole | Par | Scoring average | +/- under par |
| 5th | 5 | 4.120 | -0.880 |
| 15th | 5 | 4.340 | -0.660 |
| 18th | 5 | 4.470 | -0.530 |
| 9th | 5 | 4.570 | -0.430 |
| 14th | 4 | 3.600 | -0.400 |
And you would imagine that the mindset would change if it did become a par four. So where it played at around 4.12 this year, you would think that that number would come down further if the players were viewing it as a par four.
Obviously, such a change would not alleviate all of the frustrations from fans. However, there is an argument that the likes of Matsuyama and Morikawa do not deserve to have their scores dismissed. The conditions were clearly favourable, and there were a much larger number of opportunities than usual to go low.
However, Matsuyama was 10 shots clear of fourth place in Maui. It denied the viewers any sort of grandstand finish, but the quality of his play should not be overlooked.
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