NOTES
Many in Maui playing Sony
| • | Appleby fends off Singh |
| • | Appleby leads charge |
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Of the 30 winners from 2003 that played the Mercedes Championships, 23 will make the hop to O'ahu this week for the Sony Open in Hawai'i. The PGA Tour's first full-field event of the year starts Thursday at Waialae Country Club.
Last year, Sony was the first PGA Tour event since 1998 where the field averaged a sub-par score — 69.88 at par-70 Waialae.
Tomorrow morning, defending champ Ernie Els will play a practice round with Punahou freshman Michelle Wie. At 3 p.m., Wie will go six more holes in the First Hawaiian Bank Pro-Junior Challenge. She will play in the Sony Open on a sponsor's exemption.
There is no admission charge at Sony today or tomorrow. Tickets are available at the gate beginning Wednesday.
Wie's appearance at last Wednesday's Mercedes Pro-Am helped the tournament draw nearly three times as many spectators as last year. Her week at Waialae has already caused the attendance to jump a bit, at least in the media center. There have been new requests for credentials from South Korea and Mainland newspapers this year.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem acknowledged the buzz Wie creates in comments Saturday, comparing her appearance to the memorable impact Annika Sorenstam had when she played on the tour last year.
"I think Annika playing was a very positive thing because it created so much interest in her, among people generally, among semi-fans, among girls who are thinking about taking the game up in the future — all those factors," Finchem said. "I think Michelle Wie could have some of the same impact. I don't think it will be at the same level or as impactful, but it certainly creates more interest and anything that creates more interest in the sport is beneficial.
"Whether it's a good thing to have a steady diet of individuals who are invited to play in tournaments and given sponsor exemptions who would not be competitive, that's a different issue. I don't see that as a particular problem at this point and I'd like to focus on the positive side, and it's pretty positive."
Overall at Kapalua last week, organizers estimated record attendance of between 28,000 and 30,000, compared to last year's 18,000. The tournament broke attendance records six of the seven days.
The Champions Tour opens on the Big Island with the MasterCard Championship, Jan. 23-25 at Hualalai Golf Club. Dana Quigley is defending champion.
• Club pride: Some of the world's best players belong to two golf clubs in Orlando, Fla. — Isleworth and Lake Nona — which would make for an intriguing intraclub match worthy of television.
It looks like it could happen.
Ernie Els said the Tavistock Cup — named after the company that owns both clubs — is planned for March 29-30 at Lake Nona, where Els, Retief Goosen and Annika Sorenstam all have homes.
The Golf Channel and Sky TV in Europe would televise the matches, although a PGA Tour official said they have not yet secured the necessary release from the tour.
The Lake Nona crew features Els, Goosen, Sorenstam, Sergio Garcia, Nick Faldo and Trevor Immelman. Isleworth counters with Mark O'Meara, Stuart Appleby, Lee Janzen, John Cook and Scott Hoch.
• Tiger cubs: Tiger Woods hasn't set a wedding date yet, but he says children are definitely in his plans.
Woods got engaged to Sweden's Elin Nordegren in November. They have been together for about two years, and Woods said marriage won't be a big adjustment.
"The biggest change is when you bring another life into the world," Woods said. "They're completely dependent on you. That's a big responsibility, and one that I know Elin and I will take very seriously. That will be the biggest adjustment to my time management."
He must have been talking about practice time, and not a loss of sleep.
"I don't sleep well, anyway," Woods said. "I'll be up all night. Doesn't really change from that aspect."
SHORT PUTTS: The Mercedes-Benz of Devon, Pa., team won the Mercedes Dealer championships National Final at Kapalua's Bay Course Friday. The team was Doug Schroer, John Aivazoglou and Jerry Bohlinger. ... The final was the culmination of a year-long program that involved more than 16,000 players in 196 tournaments across the country.ÊIt raised $950,000 for the American Heart Association. ... Defending champion Ernie Els had not finished below 14th in his previous five Mercedes Championships. He tied for 21st yesterday. In his three previous Plantation starts, he finished second (losing a playoff to Tiger Woods), third and first. ... Last year, Mercedes raised $276,000 for Maui charities. Since the tournament moved to Maui in 1999, it has raised more than $1.1 million. ... The last three winners of the Mercedes have been Spanish (Sergio Garcia), South African (Ernie Els) and Australian (Stuart Appleby). ... For the week, the par-73 Plantation played to a 71.192 average. The toughest hole was the par-4 first (4.292) and the easiest the par-5 ninth (4.35). ... There were 11 over-par rounds the first three days of the tournament and 13 yesterday.
