The 2025 PGA Tour season is now underway following the conclusion of The Sentry in Hawaii, with Hideki Matsuyama putting down an early marker with a big win.
Matsuyama set a new record around the Kapalua Plantation Course as he stormed to a victory ahead of Collin Morikawa and Sung-Jae Im.
The Japanese star’s -35 was a monster performance and even though Morikawa managed a -32, he couldn’t get near the former Masters champion.
The low scores weren’t to everyone’s liking though, as fans slammed the Kapalua Course and demanded things be made harder for future events.
Of course, the week wasn’t a success for everyone. Certain players went into the event fancying their chances only to really come up short.
With that in mind, we’ve looked at the three big winners and losers from The Sentry.
Winners
Hideki Matsuyama
It’ impossible not to start with the winner of the tournament. Matsuyama’s standard of golf was mesmerising at times and he showed just why he is so often in the mix to win the the big events.
On this showing, it is only a matter of time before Matsuyama adds to his one major title and brings another home.
It’s now 11 wins for Matsuyama on the PGA Tour and with Scottie Scheffler out injured, he’s very much the man to watch in the opening few months.
Collin Morikawa
Morikawa is playing some of the best golf of his career but just not quite getting the results his performances perhaps deserve.
To go -32 and still not win the tournament is simply astounding but it does set him up nicely for a sustained run in 2025.
Morikawa hasn’t actually won on the PGA Tour since winning the ZOZO in 2023 but after finishing second at the TOUR Championship and continuing that form in Hawaii, it seems a matter of time before he gets over the line.
Ludvig Aberg
In terms of the European players who can look to dominate the PGA Tour, Swedish star Ludvig Aberg is right up there as the poster boy and after returning from injury, he settled right back into the swing of things at The Sentry.
Aberg finished in a tie for fifth with Thomas Detry and Corey Conners on -24 and in most years, that would have been enough to put him at least in contention to win.
Given it was Aberg’s first event since injuries curtailed him last year, this was a mightily impressive showing.
Losers
Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas has been tipped to make a big comeback in 2025 but despite doing ok at The Sentry, he was nowhere near the leaders again.
His performance will feel like a disappointment not only to himself but to those who want to see Thomas back in the form which made him a multiple major champion.
While a tie for 26th and -19 is not the end of the world, he was still 16 off the winner and that’s something he’ll want to address quickly.
Xander Schauffele
With Scottie Scheffler absent through injury, Xander Schauffele went into this event as the favourite but just like Justin Thomas, he fell well short.
Schauffele came in a tie for 30th and was a whopping 18 shots off the eventual winner, Hideki Matsuyama.
Of course, there is time for Schauffele to improve and his quality will no doubt shine through as 2025 progresses. But this was a chance to get an early win and ultimately, he was nowhere near.
Will Zalatoris
After starting the week so well and looking back to his best after a frustrating 18 months, Will Zalatoris ended up having a disaster that hit him in the pocket as well.
A mix up with Cam Davis when they accidentally played each other’s balls cost him two shots in a penalty and bumped his earnings down a whopping $119,000.
Indeed, had he not taken the penalty, Zalatoris could have been disqualified. All in all, it was a nightmare finish for the American who at one point had looked like he might be in contention to win.
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