Champions' MasterCard up next
Advertiser Staff
Craig Stadler will play in the MasterCard Championship, beginning Friday at Hualalai Golf Club on the Big Island.
The tournament kicks off the Champions Tour's 25th season. Fuzzy Zoeller will defend his title.
The Turtle Bay Championship is the following weekend on O'ahu's North Shore.
Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Stadler play in the unofficial Wendy's Champions Skins Game Feb. 6 at Wailea's Gold Course on Maui.
CHAMPIONS QUALIFIER
The deadline has been extended to today for entering a qualifier for a sponsor's exemption to the Turtle Bay Championship.
The qualifier is at 7 a.m. Wednesday at Turtle Bay's Palmer Course. The entry fee is $100 with proceeds going to the Aloha Section PGA Foundation.
Hale Irwin is the defending champion of the tournament to be held Jan. 28 to 30.
For information, call 593-2230.
NOTES
Windblown: Vijay Singh's 10-under 270 total was the highest by a winner since Jeff Sluman won with 9-under in the inaugural Sony Open in 1999. Waialae played to a sub-par average (69.974) for the first time this week yesterday.
Numbers game: Ernie Els' 8-under 62 ties the tournament record set by John Cook in 2002 and tied by Steve Allan and Frank Lickliter last year. Davis Love III shot 12-under-par 60 in 1994, when par was 72, to set the course record.
Getting closer: Robert Gamez, who used to represent Ko Olina, has played 373 events since his last victory, in 1990. Yesterday's ninth-place finish was his 31st Top-10 since winning and the $124,800 paycheck put him over $6 million in career earnings.
40-something good: Singh has won 13 times since turning 40 in 2003, second only to Sam Snead's 17.
Even better: Six players over the age of 40 finished in the Top 10 — Singh, Tommy Armour III, Andrew Magee, Craig Stadler, Tom Lehman and Bart Bryant.
Blessing and curse: Shigeki Maruyama was this week's Crestor Charity Challenge winner, for leading after three rounds. For the second time in as many weeks, the Crestor winner couldn't finish. Vijay Singh also failed to hold his lead last week at Kapalua. The pharmaceutical company donated $50,000 to Wai'anae Comprehensive Health Center in Maruyama's name, and $50,000 more to a health care charity of Maruyama's choice.
