The tour didn't skip last year because the Palmer Course played two shots over-par in 2003. The tournament received a four-year extension, through 2008, and moved from October to the front of the schedule.

None of that probably matters to Hale Irwin, who has won this event all three years it has been played on O'ahu's North Shore.

Irwin chased Tom Kite down in 2003. He caught Kite on the final day with birdies on three of the first four holes. There were five lead changes before Irwin's birdie on 17 put him one up.

Compelled to chase, Kite tried to hit his second shot 240 yards over the water fronting the 18th green. The ball went 239 yards and splashed down.

Irwin appears more than ready to defend. He closed with a couple 65s last week to take third, behind Dana Quigley and Tom Watson. All three are playing again this week.

Quigley hasn't missed a tournament in more than seven years. This will be his 264th consecutive start. After he beat Watson on the third playoff hole Sunday, he was back early Monday to play with employees.

Apparently all that golf — Quigley played 45 holes a day in the offseason — helps the former club pro keep perspective.

"When you play so many holes why would one bogey ever bother you," Quigley mused Sunday night. "We'll have thousands of bogeys the rest of our life. If you can make it that simple in your mind you can play golf."

Asked if his perspective changed after he missed a putt to bogey the final hole of regulation and fall into the playoff, Quigley grinned. "That's life. I didn't try to do it," he said. "I didn't try to miss it."

And Irwin is not trying to monopolize the Turtle Bay Championship. It just seems that way.

"It's getting harder and harder to defend," Irwin insists. "I'm so impressed with the caliber of play out here. I think it's very underestimated. Look at what Craig (Stadler) did at the Sony. ... Four Championship players all make the cut, Craig finishing Top 10."

Irwin said he considered playing the Sony Open in Hawai'i this year. He won the Hawaiian Open at Waialae Country Club in 1981. He probably will play a few regular tour events this year, if his back holds up. After all the money he has won in Hawai'i, it's hard to think of him ever being out of contention.

"I think there's a story here people in the outside world are missing," Irwin said. "Fifty is this god awful age people don't want to get to and when they get there they're glad they're there. But there's some quality golf being played out here, there really is. It gets better every year and the guys coming in are going to tighten the screws a little more.

"But it still maintains the pleasantries. It's still a fun place to play golf."

Next month, the LPGA will return to Hawai'i and Turtle Bay. Seoul Broadcasting System and the resort announced a five-year agreement for the full-field SBS Open. The inaugural tournament will be Feb. 24 to 26 at the Palmer Course. Punahou sophomore Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play.