Things are changing rapidly in the golf betting landscape these days. Tournament dates are fluid, venues and relevance of given events change on a year-to-year basis and some of the top players have left the PGA Tour altogether for LIV golf. 

Maybe that’s why the Tournament of Champions is such a welcome site for golf bettors. It’s not the strongest field or the biggest purse, but there’s something to be said for traditions we can always count on. That includes the winners-only event at Kapalua’s Plantation Course in Maui, where we know come January the sun will be shining and the whales will be leaping out of the Pacific Ocean as some of the top players in golf gather for the first time in months to kick back and go low. 

That group of LIV defectors includes defending champ Cameron Smith, but there’s still plenty of A-listers atop the golf odds board for the limited-field event. 

Jon Rahm is the favorite to win at +650 on sports betting apps after finishing T-4 at the CJ Cup and T-8 at the Hero World Challenge in his first two events of the season. Scottie Scheffler is next at +900 after a once-in-a-lifetime season that included a Masters win and four total victories. 

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay are next at +1000, while two-time TOC winner Justin Thomas (2017, 2020) rounds out the top five at +1100. 

2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions Odds

2023 Tournament of Champions Expert Picks & Prediction

Aaron Wise Top 5 Finish 

Odds: +550 at DraftKings

Wise had a sneaky-strong year in 2022, earning nearly $3.5 million despite not getting a win. He earned his way to Hawaii on FedEx Cup points instead, but the course should be a great fit for his game and he’s been playing well in recent months. 

The former Oregon star was T-22 or better in each of his last three starts, which included a solo sixth at the CJ Cup. He’s made nine consecutive cuts overall and while this is a no-cut event, we’ll take the consistency. 

Wise is only 26 years old and we’ve seen spectacular stretches of golf over the years. We’ve also seen too many months of futility for a player with his talent. He’s walked a fine line between future star and journeyman, and last year suggests he’s serious about taking advantage of his prime years. 

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Wise get off to a hot start with an 11:10 a.m. local tee time for Round 1 in Kapalua. We’ll also take a shot on him at +550 for a top-5 finish on the week.

2023 Tournament of Champions Betting Picks

There are spots around this golf course where it becomes difficult to determine where one fairway ends and another begins. This is a massive, visually-stunning ballpark with the most generous landing areas on Tour. A resort course in the truest sense. 

It looks daunting at 7,596 yards on the scorecard, but it doesn’t play nearly that long due to massive elevation changes and short grass everywhere you look. We’ve seen even the shortest of current pros like Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed win here. 

This is a true second-shot course. It’s a dream for the bomb-and-gouge crowd – big misses are rarely punished off the tee and sharp iron play will lead to a ton of circles on the scorecard. That’s why we’ve targeted players like Wise – he gets into trouble with the driver but is normally among the top ballstrikers in the field. 

Don’t worry about accuracy or distance off the tee this week. Find the hot irons who can throw darts into these massive putting surfaces and you should be in great shape. 

2023 Tournament of Champions Time, Date & TV

When: Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 5-8

Where: Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii 

TV: Golf Channel, NBC