The last time the PGA Tour shuffled its schedule and dealt out dates, Hawai'i hit the jackpot.

The next time ... well, it is anybody's guess what the coming shakeup might hold for the Mercedes Championships and the Sony Open in Hawai'i in 2007, when the new TV contract begins. And that's not all that comfortable a position to be in.

As the place where the PGA has kicked off its season for the past seven years, Hawai'i occupies a prime position in the lineup, one that would be painful to relinquish.

But with the PGA floating several different models for its 2007 lineup — seven at last count — and some with significant change, there are no guarantees here.

If the PGA is willing to move the Tournament Players Championship from March — which is prominent among the proposal making the rounds — what non-major is without concern?

If it came down purely to the performance of the local tournaments, there would be little finger crossing. The Mercedes, which involves the tournament champions from the previous year, and the Sony, which is the first full-field event, have flourished since they were moved into the leadoff spots in 1999.

Previously the Mercedes languished in November and the Sony, 2,500 miles from the nearest preceding or trailing tournament stop, struggled to attract a name field. Consider that this year the Sony drew five of the top seven money winners on tour. In 1994, as the Hawaiian Open, it got none of the Top 10. And in 1995 and '96 just two of the Top 10.

But run back-to-back, the Mercedes and Sony have complimented each other and given the state quite a one-two, prime-time TV lure, reaching into chilly homes across the Mainland in January two weeks in a row.

And the PGA has few complaints. "I think the progress that both of them have made as far as staging, attendance, their impact, the way the players look forward to them, it has all been extremely positive," said Ric Clarson, PGA senior vice president for development.

The rub is that events all along the tour are at the mercy of TV negotiations and the repackaging that the PGA has proposed to try and hang onto its hefty ($850 million) rights fees. For while Tiger Woods lifted the ratings of the British Open, numbers have sagged significantly elsewhere.

To bolster ratings, minimizing head-to-head clashes with the NFL, and satisfy time demands of some of its top stars, the PGA is considering moving some tournaments around, even proposing to lop almost a month off the schedule to fit into a condensed January to September framework.

"Hawai'i has a lot going for it," said Mark Rolfing who, as an advisor to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, has had a role in negotiations. "But there are a lot of ways this thing could go, so you can't feel too comfortable just yet."