2025 The Sentry Longshot Odds, Picks, & Predictions

The PGA Tour is back in action on Thursday with The Sentry tournament at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. This field is limited to 60 golfers who either won an event last season or recorded a top-50 finish in the 2024 FedExCup standings.

Despite the high-caliber talent on site for the first PGA Tour event of 2025, there is still a lot of value that can be found on the betting board. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Shane Lowry qualified but will not be in this field. Viktor Hovland is questionable with a toe injury. 2024 Sentry winner Chris Kirk is currently 100-1 to win. He’d be the first golfer to go back-to-back at Kapalua in 15 years.

I’m here to recommend a few golfers with longshot odds to bet outright ahead of Round 1 at The Sentry. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more free bets and weekly analysis.

2025 The Sentry: Best Longshot Bets

These plays are .25u and .10 u, or 0.25% and 0.10% of your betting bankroll. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Nick Dunlap (+7500)

Nick Dunlap is coming off of a two-win season, turning professional after starting as an amateur and winning the 2024 American Express. He’s one of the best rising stars on the PGA Tour and ranked 40th in driving distance at 307.3 per attempt, which will give him a big edge on the wide, lengthy, and downhill fairways featured at the Plantation Course.

Dunlap was 16th in birdie average, 35th in one-putt percentage, and 12th in putting average. His skillset aligns well with low-scoring, relatively easy courses like Kapalua, so despite making his debut here, let’s bet a quarter unit on Dunlap to start his season with an outright win for the second straight year.

Austin Eckroat (+8000)

At 80-1, Austin Eckroat offers plenty of appeal as a longshot golfer in outright betting markets. Both of Eckroat’s career wins came in 2024, which is why he’s competing in this 60-man field at Kapalua. Ranked inside the top-30 for strokes gained off-the-tee and approaching the green, Eckroat’s putting woes shouldn’t flare up as much compared to more difficult courses scheduled in 2025.

When Eckroat logged a top-1o finish last season, two of those turned into outright wins. Yes, this field has a lot of talent, but Eckroat’s best assets are his driver and irons. The Plantation Course should allow this Oklahoma native to get off to a fast start, culminating in a potential victory.

Let’s place a 0.10 unit wager to get eight units of profit in return on Eckroat as our second longshot golfer to win The Sentry this weekend.

Aaron Rai (+9000)

After numerous runner-up finishes and collapses on Sunday, Aaron Rai logged his first PGA Tour win late in the 2024 season. Now that the monkey is off his back, Rai should be able to make some noise at the Plantation Course.

He’s at his best with the driver and irons, while putting did improve down the stretch for the British golfer. Rai is among the most accurate players in this field, finishing 2024 ranked seventh in SG: approach and 34th SG: Off-the-Tee.

Rai did not play well at the Sony Open last season, another Hawaii event, but he ripped three top-five finishes, including his outright win at Wyndham Championship, within a five-week stretch last year. Let’s sprinkle one more 0.10 unit bet on Rai to win The Sentry at 90-1 odds.

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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros and FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.