Power Rankings: Mitsubishi Electric Championship

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Editor's note: Vartan Kupelian is the Champions Tour Insider and a PGATOUR.COM Contributor. Each week, Kupelian will size up the field and provide his top 5 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.

The Champions Tour returns this week to kick off the 2011 season at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Tom Watson won the title in dramatic fashion last year with a final-round 65 to hold off the fast-charging Fred Couples. The exciting finale set the stage for a series of classic finishes on the Champions Tour in 2010.

Here are the first Champions Tour Power Rankings for 2011:

Power Rankings: Mitsubishi Electric Championship

Rank Player   Comment Bernhard LANGER Achieved a Champions Tour first last year with his third Player of the Year award and returns to a course where he won in 2009. Fred COUPLES Runner-up last year to Tom Watson despite a final round 64 which kick-started his remarkable early-season run as a Champions Tour rookie. Tom WATSON The defending champion starts every season with the same goal -- to win. Hell have good vibes again Hualalai after last years solid performance. Fred FUNK The 2008 winner warmed up against the kids at last weeks Sony Open in Hawaii, narrowly missing the cut by 1 shot after rounds of 69-69. Tom LEHMAN A victory here could be a precursor to a very big year, indeed, for the 2010 Senior PGA Champion who finished fourth hear a year ago.