LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The PGA TOUR's season-opening, winners-only event, known as the Mercedes Championships since 1994, has been renamed The Mercedes-Benz Championship.

The $5.5 million Mercedes-Benz Championship kicks off the PGA TOUR's 2007 FedExCup and will be played Jan. 4-7 at Kapalua Resort. The tournament will be seen live in prime-time on The Golf Channel.

"The change to Mercedes-Benz Championship is primarily about the visual impact of the three-pointed star logo within the telecast," said Mark McNabb, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA). "As title sponsor of this prestigious tournament for the past 13 years, Mercedes-Benz has built a tremendous amount of equity with the sponsorship. The incorporation of the three-pointed star into the tournament logo allows Mercedes-Benz to more accurately present the brand within this forum by taking advantage of the equity built up in one of the world's most recognized brand symbols from the company who invented the automobile."

In January 2007, winners from the 2006 PGA TOUR season will converge on Kapalua's Plantation Course to compete for a share of the $5.5 million purse and the keys to an all-new 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport utility vehicle. PGA TOUR veteran and defending champion Stuart Appleby will compete with some of the best professional golfers in the world as he seeks a record-setting fourth-straight Mercedes-Benz Championship title.

Purchase tickets for the Mercedes-Benz Championship online or by phone at ClicknPrint Tickets. Tickets are available online at www.kapalua.com or by calling ClicknPrint Tickets toll free at 1-877-772-5425.