January 3, 2008

2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship: "I'm prepared"
The Maui News by Robert Collias, Staff Writer

There are seven flags flying at the entrance to the Kapalua Plantation Course, each featuring a previous winner of the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

The 10th event starts today with only two of those men - defending champion Vijay Singh and 2001 winner Jim Furyk - in the field.

Singh, with top-eight finishes all eight times he has played on Maui, comes in tied with Furyk for the most experience on the Plantation Course among the 31 players in the field. Furyk is second in top-10s, with five.

Missing are Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott, four of the top eight players in the world rankings.

Stuart Appleby, who owned the event with victories in 2004, 2005 and 2006, did not earn a win on the PGA Tour in 2007.

Singh won at Kapalua last year after finishing a combined four strokes behind Appleby during his win streak.

"I don't feel very much different," Singh said of coming in as the defending champion. "I know that everybody that shows up here are ready to play and ready to win. They're all winners. But I know that half of the guys will show up here because they've won and they want to get prepared this week. I'm prepared when I come here."

Even with the missing pieces, there are still several intriguing stories at the season-opening tournament on the PGA Tour.

Steve Stricker, fresh off his run to second place in the FedEx Cup last season, is at Kapalua for only the second time, and first since 2002.

"I'm a little rusty, but I think that's to be expected," said Stricker, who is from Madison, Wis. "It's a little hectic over the holiday time to try to get a lot of practice in, especially for me up there in the snow. I was able to hit some balls every once in a while, but the range was also closed a couple times because of the snow."

Singh, who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., said that players from cold places will be at a definite disadvantage.

"I think I've got only half the guys to beat because so many are coming from how cold their home is right now," he said. "Half of America is under snow, I think."

The par-73, 7,411-yard Plantation Course can vary as much as any on tour, depending on the wind conditions. Ernie Els set the PGA Tour under-par record in 2003 when the winds stayed away and he fired a 31-under 261; in 2006, Appleby won at 284 with four rounds in the 70s.

The forecast through Sunday calls for a 20 percent chance of showers, with winds of 15-25 mph. Kapalua had some rain Wednesday, and winds out of the northeast at 20-30 mph.

Twelve first-time winners are in the field, including two players - George McNeill and Brian Bateman - who each have nine appearances at Qualifying School under their belts.

Brandt Snedeker is one of the new players - he won the Wyndham Championship in August. Snedeker has been battling the flu since Christmas, and said simply walking the course for four days will be a challenge.

"I'm interested to see where my fitness level is," he said. "The course is really hilly and I'm struggling to get in and out of bed, so we'll find out." Mark Calcavecchia, a 13-time winner on tour, is competing on Maui for the fourth time. The 47-year-old said the rain that pelted the course Monday and Wednesday could make it play longer, but the greens are the key.

"The greens here are tough," Calcavecchia said. "Every time I come back here I forget how slopey these greens are, and if you forget what you're doing for a second, you can hit a putt 20 feet by in a heartbeat, which I did out there a couple of times already on the back nine (Tuesday).

"The course is in great shape. It's wet, so we don't need any more rain. Great place to start the season."

Singh said that the course was in good shape.

"With the amount of rain we got on Monday I thought it would be really soggy, but the golf course drains pretty well and it's in one of the best conditions I have ever seen it in," he said. "A lot of grass everywhere. A little bit more rough this year than I've ever seen it, so that's going to be a little more interesting when you miss the green, a little more interesting than it has been. So it is going to be a good event."

Singh changed his backswing in his limited offseason - he played 27 PGA Tour events last year - and he is settling in with the new takeaway. It is a big adjustment for one of the most dedicated workers on tour.

"I'm still not comfortable, still working on it," he said. "I worked a little bit on my short game and did a driver change here and there, just the same thing over and over again, but fine-tuning the golf swing was the main thing. I think it's there, but my mind is still not believing it because it's quite a big change from what I used to have. My caddie says it's good, everybody says it's good, but I think my mind is still not comfortable with it. Once I get going, I think I'll pretty much forget about thinking about it as much.

"The shots are good. The shot pattern is a lot tighter and (I'm) hitting a lot more solid shots. Looking good."

# # # #