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PGA - Hyundai Tournament of Champions Preview
From The Sports Network
| DATES: Friday, January 6th through Monday, January 9th |
| SITE: Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii |
| COURSE ARCHITECT: Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore (1991) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 520 yds | 10 - Par 4 354 yds | |
| 2 - Par 3 218 yds | 11 - Par 3 164 yds | |
| 3 - Par 4 380 yds | 12 - Par 4 420 yds | |
| 4 - Par 4 382 yds | 13 - Par 4 407 yds | |
| 5 - Par 5 532 yds | 14 - Par 4 305 yds | |
| 6 - Par 4 398 yds | 15 - Par 5 555 yds | |
| 7 - Par 4 516 yds | 16 - Par 4 365 yds | |
| 8 - Par 3 203 yds | 17 - Par 4 508 yds | |
| 9 - Par 5 521 yds | 18 - Par 5 663 yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 36 3,670 Yds | 37 3,741 Yds | |
| Annual: | 60th |
| Television: | Golf Channel - Friday/Sunday -- 5:30-10 p.m. (et), |
| | - Monday -- 4-8 p.m. (et) |
| Defending Champion: | Jonathan Byrd |
| Runner-Ups: | Robert Garrigus |
| Tournament Record: | 261 (Ernie Els, 2003) |
| 54-Hole Record: | 194 (Ernie Els, 2003) |
| 36-Hole Record: | 129 (Ernie Els, 2003) |
| Course Record: | 62 (K.J. Choi, 2003; Graeme McDowell, 2011) |
| Total Purse: | $5,600,000 |
| Shares: | 1st Place - $1,120,000; 2nd Place - $635,000; 3rd Place - $412,000 |
| 2011 Finish |
| Player | Score | Player | Score |
| Jonathan Byrd * | 268 | Matt Kuchar | 274 |
| Robert Garrigus | 268 | Ian Poulter | 274 |
| Graeme McDowell | 269 | Bill Haas | 276 |
| Steve Stricker | 272 | Jim Furyk | 278 |
| Carl Pettersson | 272 | Jason Day | 278 |
| | Dustin Johnson | 278 |
| Past Hyundai Tournament of Champions Winners |
| Year | Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up |
| 2011 | *Jonathan Byrd (268) -- Robert Garrigus |
| 2010 | Geoff Ogilvy (270) -- Rory Sabbatini |
| 2009 | Geoff Ogilvy (268) -- Davis Love III, Anthony Kim |
| 2008 | *Daniel Chopra (274) -- Steve Stricker |
| 2007 | Vijay Singh (278) -- Adam Scott |
| 2006 | *Stuart Appleby (284) -- Vijay Singh |
| 2005 | Stuart Appleby (271) -- Jonathan Kaye |
| 2004 | Stuart Appleby (270) -- Vijay Singh |
| 2003 | Ernie Els (261) -- Rocco Mediate, K.J. Choi |
| 2002 | *Sergio Garcia (274) -- David Toms |
| 2001 | Jim Furyk (274) -- Rory Sabbatini |
| 2000 | *Tiger Woods (276) -- Ernie Els |
| 1999 | David Duval (266) -- Mark O'Meara, Billy Mayfair |
| 1998 | Phil Mickelson (271) -- Mark O'Meara, Tiger Woods |
| 1997 | *#Tiger Woods (202) -- Tom Lehman |
| 1996 | Mark O'Meara (271) -- Nick Faldo, Scott Hoch |
| 1995 | *Steve Elkington (278) -- Bruce Lietzke |
| 1994 | *Phil Mickelson (276) -- Fred Couples |
| 1993 | Davis Love III (272) -- Tom Kite |
| 1992 | *Steve Elkington (279) -- Brad Faxon |
| 1991 | Tom Kite (272) -- Lanny Wadkins |
| 1990 | Paul Azinger (272) -- Ian Baker-Finch |
| 1989 | Steve Jones (279) -- David Frost, Jay Haas |
| 1988 | #Steve Pate (202) -- Larry Nelson |
| 1987 | Mac O'Grady (278) -- Rick Fehr |
| 1986 | Calvin Peete (267) -- Mark O'Meara |
| 1985 | Tom Kite (275) -- Mark McCumber |
| 1984 | Tom Watson (274) -- Bruce Lietzke |
| 1983 | Lanny Wadkins (280) -- Ray Floyd |
| 1982 | Lanny Wadkins (280) -- Andy Bean, David Graham, Craig Stadler, |
| Ron Streck |
| 1981 | Lee Trevino (273) -- Ray Floyd |
| 1980 | Tom Watson (276) -- Jim Colbert |
| 1979 | Tom Watson (275) -- Bruce Lietzke, Jerry Pate |
| 1978 | Gary Player (281) -- Andy North, Lee Trevino |
| 1977 | *Jack Nicklaus (281) -- Bruce Lietzke |
| 1976 | Don January (277) -- Hubert Green |
| 1975 | *Al Geiberger (277) -- Gary Player |
| 1974 | Johnny Miller (280) -- Bud Allin, John Mahaffey |
| 1973 | Jack Nicklaus (276) -- Lee Trevino |
| 1972 | *Bobby Mitchell (280) -- Jack Nicklaus |
| 1971 | Jack Nicklaus (279) -- Bruce Devlin, Gary Player, Dave Stockton |
| 1970 | Frank Beard (273) -- Billy Casper, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player |
| 1969 | Gary Player (284) -- Lee Trevino |
| 1968 | Don January (276) -- Julius Boros |
| 1967 | Frank Beard (278) -- Arnold Palmer |
| 1966 | *Arnold Palmer (277) -- Gay Brewer |
| 1965 | Arnold Palmer (277) -- Chi Chi Rodriguez |
| 1964 | Jack Nicklaus (279) -- Al Geiberger, Doug Sanders |
| 1963 | Jack Nicklaus (273) -- Tony Lema, Arnold Palmer |
| 1962 | Arnold Palmer (276) -- Billy Casper |
| 1961 | Sam Snead (273) -- Tommy Bolt |
| 1960 | Jerry Barber (268) -- Jay Hebert |
| 1959 | Mike Souchak (281) -- Art Wall |
| 1958 | Stan Leonard (275) -- Billy Casper |
| 1957 | Gene Littler (285) -- Billy Casper, Jimmy Demaret, Dow Finsterwald, |
| Billy Maxwell |
| 1956 | Gene Littler (281) -- Cary Middlecoff |
| 1955 | Gene Littler (280) -- Jerry Barber, Pete Cooper, Bob Toski |
| 1954 | Art Wall (278) -- Al Besselink, Lloyd Mangrum |
| 1953 | Al Besselink (280) -- Chandler Harper |
| Note:Formerly called Tournament of Champions (1953-74), MONY Tournament of |
|
Champions (1975-89), Infiniti Tournament of Champions (1990-93),
Mercedes Championships (1994-2006), Mercedes-Benz Championship
(2007-09), SBS Championship (2010).
|
| Top Contenders in the Field |
| Player | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Jonathan Byrd | --- | T-6 | --- | T-13 | --- | --- | T-15 | --- | --- | Won |
| Steve Stricker | 25th | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 2nd | --- | T-10 | T-4 |
| Bill Haas | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 8th |
| Ben Crane | --- | --- | T-9 | --- | 25th | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-21 |
| Bubba Watson | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-25 |
| Rory Sabbatini | --- | --- | 25th | --- | --- | T-13 | 17th | --- | 2nd | --- |
| Sean O'Hair | --- | --- | --- | --- | 27th | --- | --- | 4th | T-4 | --- |
| Martin Laird | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-4 | --- |
| Lucas Glover | --- | --- | --- | --- | 6th | --- | --- | --- | T-14 | --- |
| Nick Watney | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-5 | --- | T-16 | --- |
| Michael Bradley | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-25 | --- |
| Mark Wilson | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 27th | --- | T-27 | --- |
| Johnson Wagner | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 10th | --- | --- |
| K.J. Choi | --- | T-2 | --- | --- | T-19 | T-8 | T-28 | T-15 | --- | --- |
| Aaron Baddeley | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 27th | T-12 | --- | --- | --- |
| David Toms | 2nd | --- | --- | T-8 | T-13 | T-8 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Keegan Bradley | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Harrison Frazar | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chris Kirk | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bryce Molder | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kevin Na | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Scott Piercy | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| D.A. Points | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Webb Simpson | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Scott Stallings | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brendan Steele | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jhonattan Vegas | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gary Woodland | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Webb Simpson |
| Darkhorse - Bryce Molder |
| |
| Last Week's Pick to Win - Dec 9-11 (Anthony Kim/Webb Simpson) - Finished 12th |
| Last Week's Darkhorse - Dec 9-11 (Stewart Cink/Bo Van Pelt) - Finished T-6 |
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| NOTES: |
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The 2012 PGA Tour season begins this week with the first of back-to-back
events in Hawaii. First up in the Aloha State is the Hyundai Tournament of
Champions, which features only winners from the previous season's official
events. This tournament kicks off the sixth season of the PGA Tour's FedExCup.
The winner of this event will earn 500 points and lead the race for the $10
million FedExCup bonus. Tiger Woods won the FedExCup in 2007 and 2009, Vijay
Singh captured the Cup in 2008, Jim Furyk in 2010 and Bill Haas in 2011.
This year, 38 players are eligible for this event, as there were seven
multiple winners in 2011. Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Dustin
Johnson, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose, Fredrik
Jacobson and Charl Schwartzel are skipping this week's event. Of the 28
participants this season, 12 are competing for the first time. Only five
players in the field competed in last year's event. Defending champion
Jonathan Byrd is the only former champion in the field.
Last year, Byrd parred the second playoff hole to defeat Robert Garrigus and
win the season-opening event. The two were on the first hole at the Plantation
Course at Kapalua Resort for the second playoff hole. Both players hit poor
second shots with Byrd 53 feet short and Garrigus about 10 feet closer. Byrd
nearly holed his long birdie effort, then tapped in for the par to put
pressure on Garrigus, who hit a lot of putts past the hole in the final round.
He did it again, this time leaving himself with three feet for par to extend
the extra session. Garrigus' putt lipped out and Byrd walked off with the
victory. It was Byrd's second consecutive playoff victory in as many starts on
the PGA Tour. He won Justin Timberlake's event near the end of 2010 when he
aced the fourth playoff hole to topple Cameron Percy and Martin Laird. Byrd
became the first American to capture this title since Jim Furyk won in 2001.
This event had been won by foreign-born players the previous nine years: Geoff
Ogilvy (2009-10), Daniel Chopra (2008), Singh (2007), Stuart Appleby
(2004-06), Ernie Els (2003) and Sergio Garcia (2002).
In 2010, Ogilvy fired a six-under 67 in the final round, making key
back-to-back birdies to repeat as champion. He was the only player in the
field to fire four rounds in the 60s (69-66-68-67). Ogilvy held off a hard-
charging Rory Sabbatini with birdies at the 14th and 15th holes to earn a one-
shot victory at 22-under 270. It was the seventh career PGA Tour win for the
Australian. Ogilvy became the first repeat champion since Appleby won his
third straight in 2006.
In 2009, after doing most of his damage on the front nine early in the week,
Ogilvy scorched the back nine in the final round en route to a six-stroke win
over Anthony Kim and Davis Love III. Ogilvy closed with a five-under 68,
including a five-under par back nine, to finish the wire-to-wire victory at
24-under-par 268. Ogilvy was the only player in the field to fire four rounds
in the 60s (67-68-65-68). He became the 10th player to win this event wire-to-
wire and first since Steve Pate in 1988.
Chopra beat Steve Stricker in 2008 with a birdie at the fourth playoff hole,
bringing a thrilling end to the PGA Tour's 2008 season-opener. All the drama
ended in Chopra's second career PGA Tour win -- his second victory in three
starts, actually, after going more than 130 starts and nearly four seasons
without one.
Singh won his 30th PGA Tour title here in 2007 and reached three milestones.
He became the 17th player with 30 or more wins in PGA Tour history. The title
was also his 18th since turning 40. That broke the PGA Tour record for
victories over 40, passing Sam Snead. Singh has since collected four more wins
for a total of 34 and 22 since turning 40.
In 2006, Appleby became just the second player to three-peat at this event.
Gene Littler accomplished the feat from 1955-57. Appleby is the leader in
career earnings at this tournament with $3,525,155 in seven starts.
When he won in 2003, Els blitzed the field, as he shot a tournament- record
261, breaking the previous mark of 266 set by David Duval in 1999. Els also
set marks for 36 holes (129) and 54 holes (194).
Littler owns the largest victory margin of 13, when he defeated Jerry Barber
and Pete Cooper in 1955. Jack Nicklaus is a five-time winner of this
tournament, while Bruce Lietzke has been runner-up four times. Appleby, Arnold
Palmer, Tom Watson and Littler are three-time winners. There have been 13
playoffs in the history of the event.
This is the 14th consecutive year in which this event is being held at this
site. The Plantation Course unfurls across island canyons, native vegetation
and panoramic oceanfront plateaus. A shot-maker's dream, players will find
that the use of imagination and feel - along with every club in their bag - is
an asset here. Kapalua means "arms embracing the sea." Although the Pacific
Ocean is in full view on every tee box, there are no water hazards on the
course. Prior to Kapalua, the event was held at La Costa Resort and Spa in
California the previous 30 years. The first 16 were played in Las Vegas; 14 at
Desert Inn Country Club and two at Stardust Country Club. This is the only
course on the PGA Tour which uses a par 73. The Kapalua Resort was previously
the site of the Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International from 1982-97.
The first full-field event of the 2012 season will be played on the island of
Oahu next week, as the PGA Tour's best battle defending champion Mark Wilson
at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
01/03 16:04:54 ET
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As of January 3, 2012, at 04:05 PM ET
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