Mercedes Championships boasts 'very good' field
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
Joe Torre, manager of the New York Yankees, was on the phone. He wasn't calling for Mariano Rivera or anyone else from his beleaguered bullpen. He was calling long distance to Gary Planos, tournament chairman of the Mercedes Championships at the Kapalua Bay Resort.
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Torre — that's with two Rs, if you've been watching the latest Visa commercial with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner — was then busily preparing for the American League Division Series with the Minnesota Twins.
Gary Planos, left, and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre pose at the Mercedes Championships.
Despite all that, he still wanted the telephone number of Fred Funk, who had just won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.
"He's a friend of Fred's and just wanted to call and congratulate him on his victory. They've played together a couple of times in the pro-am here at Kapalua," Planos said.
Torre probably has played as many Mercedes pro-ams as he has won American League championships. So his is a familiar face at the sprawling Plantation Course in West Maui.
So is Funk's, even though he hadn't won since 1998 to be eligible for the winners-only Mercedes field. But with so many national Mercedes dealers playing in the pro-am competition, golf professionals regarded as "friends of Kapalua" are invited to be their team partners.
Funk played in three or four pro-ams between victories and was joined by several others, including LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam for the first time in January.
"He likes to come early and stay and practice at Kapalua before going to play in the Sony Open at Waialae," Planos said.
With his victory, Funk won't need a pro-am invitation as an extra player for January's Mercedes Championships. He earned his way this time, playing for big bucks in the $5.3 million no-cut event, which now lists 31 players with Brent Geiberger the latest to join the elite field.
"The field's very good," said Planos, pointing out that it includes Vijay Singh, the unchallenged player of the year, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and defending champion Stuart Appleby.
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Even though Singh won eight times this year, the 2005 field already is larger than that from 2004 when it was 30 players.
Fred Funk's first PGA Tour victory in six years landed him a spot at the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua's Plantation Course.
There were 36 champions from the previous year in the 2003 Mercedes Championships.
All of the sand bunkers at the par-73 Plantation Course were renovated, according to Planos, with architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on hand for the supervision. They brought back into play the original design of the bunkers, Planos said.
And, yes, Torre is all set to show up again for the pro-am competition on Jan. 5 with the 72-hole championship to follow.
Torre has said more than once during his annual January visits to the Valley Island, "Yankee Stadium is my work place. But when it's vacation time, there's no place like Maui."
Kevin's in heaven
Congratulations to Kevin Hayashi, teaching pro at Mauna Kea Resort, who qualified to play in the 2005 National PGA Club Professional Championship at Kiawah Island, S.C., June 23 to 26.
Hayashi finished tied for 27th in the Western PGA Club Professional Championship last week in Patterson, Calif., with a 72-hole score of 287.
The top 32 joined other regional qualifiers to gain the national championship.
"I hit the ball pretty good but my short game wasn't sharp," said Hayashi, who is looking forward to playing the Kiawah Island golf course, site of the 1991 Ryder Cup that was billed as the "War on the Shore."
"I never played it but I saw it on TV during the Ryder Cup. I heard they toned it down a bit," Hayashi said of the course.
It will be a busy next couple of months for Hayashi, who will play in the Golf Concepts Four-Ball Match Play at the Oahu Country Club Monday through Wednesday with Hapuna pro Jay Taise, and then defend the Bridgestone Pro-Scratch Challenge with his partner and caddy, Elton Tanaka, on Nov. 1 and 2.
Hayashi also will enter the Hawai'i State Open at the Hawai'i Prince and will play in the John A. Burns Governor's Cup at the Mid-Pacific Country Club. Both events also are scheduled for next month.
Then, he'll try to qualify for the Sony Open. As the 2003 Aloha Section PGA player of the year, he got an exemption to the 2004 Sony Open in which he was paired with Michelle Wie for the first 36 holes. That's when he was called, "Uncle Kevin," by the teenage phenom.
With the teams of Hayashi-Taise, likely 2004 Aloha Section player of the year John Lynch and Beau Yokomoto, and Champions Tour senior pro Dave Eichelberger joining Shane Abe, OCC head professional Andrew Feldmann and partner Larry Stubblefield will face a difficult challenge to defend their Four-Ball crown.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
