Nearly 80 golfers are expected to play in Monday's Sony Open in Hawai'i qualifier at Makaha Resort. There are four spots available for the PGA Tour's first full-field event of 2007, which starts next Thursday at Waialae Country Club.

The qualifying is made up of local pros and amateurs, PGA and Nationwide Tour players and golfers from Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Ayaka Kaneko, a 15-year-old amateur, is the only female playing. Others from Hawai'i include Jarett Hamamoto, Sean Mae-kawa, Greg Meyer, Public Links champion Casey Watabu, Keoke Cotner and Dave Eichelberger. Former Hawai'i resident Scott Simpson is also entered.

Play begins at 7:15 a.m. and is expected to run until approximately 2 p.m. The Sony field already includes eight of the top 10 from last year's money list.

TICKETS FOR WENDY'S SKINS GAME AVAILABLE

Tickets are on sale for the Wendy's Champions Skins Game, next weekend (Jan. 12 to 14) at Wailea's Gold Course. The $770,000 exhibition features four two-man teams playing an alternate-shot format.

Raymond Floyd and Dana Quigley will defend their title against Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer and Loren Roberts, and Gary Player and Jay Haas.

Tickets are $10 for the Jan. 12 Pro-Am, which begins at 9 a.m. Admission on Jan. 13, for the first nine holes, or Jan. 14, for the final nine, is $25. Play begins at 8 a.m. on the weekend. A three-day pass is $50. Children 12-and-under are free with a ticket-holding adult.

Tickets can be purchased at the Wailea pro shops, Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons Maui, Grand Wailea, Ka'anapali Golf Club, and the Maui Golf Shop and Roger Dunn Golf Shop in Kihei. They will also be available at the gate.

BALANCE POINT GOLF SCHOOLS AT KO OLINA

Balance Point Golf Schools will be back at Ko Olina Golf Club with a series that begins Tuesday and ends April 9. A variety of one- to five-day golf schools are offered, covering full swing fundamentals, mental game and short game instruction.

Balance Point founder Jim Waldron integrates physical mechanics, balance and tempo training with mental conditioning. For more information, contact www.balancepointgolf.com or (800)-898-4563.