The Starter: Round 1, Sony Open in Hawaii

text size

Jan. 15, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, the first full-field event of the 2009 season. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
1 pm ET (8 am in Hawaii)		Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Andres Romero Love and Johnson each finished in the top 10 last week, but Romero struggled in his first trip to Kapalua. Track 'em
1 pm ET (8 am in Hawaii)		Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry, Boo Weekley U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Fred Couples gets a look at how two top Americans stack up against one red-hot Aussie. Track 'em
5:30 pm ET (12:30 pm in Hawaii)		Ernie Els, K.J. Choi, Steve Stricker Els loves Waialae and Choi won here last year. Could we see those two dueling on Sunday afternoon? Track 'em

AND NOW, SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
HONOLULU (AP) -- Throw out the weeks before and after the majors, and it's tough to find consecutive stops on the PGA TOUR as diverse as the Aloha Swing.

Thursday's forecast

Showers
Temp: 79 high/72 low
Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Winds will come from WSW at 15 to 25 mph.

The Mercedes-Benz Championship was a winners-only field of 33 players. More than half of the 144-man field at the Sony Open has never won at all.

The Plantation course at Kapalua was carved out of a mountain on the west coast of Maui, and with so much elevation, there were 24 tee shots that traveled at least 400 yards last week. The 17th hole alone drops 100 feet from tee-to-green.

The biggest drop at Waialae is stepping off the curb to cross the street from the clubhouse to the first tee. It is a classic course on the shores 10 miles east of Waikiki Beach, where the greens are located a flop shot away from the next tee.

There are two holes at Kapalua where players needed a Mercedes SUV to reach the next tee.

"Big field, small field," Davis Love III said as he outlined the differences. "A bunch of rookies this week and established guys last week. Came out here yesterday and just, whew! Breath of fresh air. Don't have to go up and down any hills."

The Sony Open begins Thursday, the second stop on the PGA TOUR and the first full-field event of the 2009 season.

Last week, Geoff Ogilvy had to beat a field of PGA TOUR winners, and he wound up with a six-shot margin over Love and Anthony Kim. But just about anyone at the Sony Open is capable of playing his best golf, and that means an additional 111 players to beat (including 14-year-old Lorens Chan, the amateur qualifier who is in the ninth grade and hits it a mile).

There's one thing about the Sony Open that hasn't changed from last week -- the trophy goes to the guy with the lowest score.

The field includes some two dozen PGA TOUR rookies, 10 of whom have never teed it up on tour. And that doesn't include Chan, who is about four months older and six inches shorter than Michelle Wie when she made her Sony Open debut in 2004.

AT WAIALAE, PATIENCE IS REWARDED
For the second straight week, the closing hole is a legitimate birdie hole -- the 551-yard par-5 is reachable for all but the shortest of hitters, and the field has averaged 4.480 strokes on the hole since 1983.

For players going off on the first tee, the final four holes at Waialae Country Club are ripe for the taking -- none of them ranked in the top 10 in terms of difficulty in 2008.

In contrast, the opening hole is a brutally-long 480-yard par-4 that is the second-toughest hole on the course. Inside the Course

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry gets you ready for the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Watch it
	Lovin' it Davis Love III talks with the media about getting his 2009 season off to a fast start. Watch it
	What's next for Tadd? High school senior Tadd Fujikawa met with reporters at Waialae to discuss his future. Watch it