The Kapalua Plantation Course is set to host the Mercedes-Benz Championship for the 11th time this week. The current four-year contract between Kapalua Maui Charities, the PGA Tour and Mercedes-Benz USA runs through next year's event, Jan. 4-10, 2010.

After that - with the gloomy economic climate threatening to wreak havoc on the golf industry - the event's future at Kapalua appears to be anyone's guess.

''You know, right now we just have to wait and see where this crazy world is taking us,'' tournament chairman and Kapalua vice president Gary Planos said Sunday afternoon when asked about negotiations on a possible extension of the contract. ''We are good through January 2010 and I'm sure there will be discussions next week and early in 2009.''

When pressed on the issue of when or if a new contract would be finalized, Planos only spoke in generalities.

''What we do at Kapalua is host championships,'' he said. ''We are still are the only resort to host a PGA event this year after an LPGA event before that in 2008. To be the only venue that hosts LPGA and PGA events is big for us.''

The Kapalua Bay Course hosted the Kapalua LPGA Classic for the first time in October. That $1.5 million event, with four years left on its contract with Kapalua, is still looking for a title sponsor, a process Planos said is a priority for the resort. The LPGA lost four title sponsors in 2008.

''We're still searching for a title sponsorship with the LPGA and we will continue that search right after Mercedes-Benz Championship,'' Planos said.

When asked if it is possible to continue to host both events, Planos was emphatic.

''Yes, it is possible,'' he said.

The Mercedes-Benz Championship began at Kapalua in 1999 with a four-year contract and has been extended twice since with four-year deals. When the tournament started here, the purse was $2.5 million and winner David Duval took home $468,000. This year, the purse is $5.6 million. Daniel Chopra took home $1.1 million for his win here last year.

According to The Associated Press, all of the PGA Tour's sponsorship deals run through at least 2010, with some through 2012, and a few others through 2014.

Commissioner Tim Finchem told the AP that it is the long-term possibilities that concern him.

''We have a lot of customers and sponsors in economic sectors that are impacted negatively by the volatility in the economy,'' Finchem said. ''Thus far, we have not suffered any major damage. But clearly, if the instability were to continue for a sustained period of time, we will have real damages.''

The PGA Tour has 11 title sponsors and three presenting sponsors coming from the financial services industry. There were five automobile industry-sponsored events in 2008, including the Mercedes.

According to the AP, a PGA event title sponsorship costs between $6 million and $12 million per year.

Despite all of the economic clouds, Planos said that this year's Mercedes-Benz Championship is ready to roll, just 11 weeks after Kapalua touring pro Morgan Pressel lifted the first championship trophy for women at the resort.

The Mercedes got a little bit of a reprieve from the calendar after last year's event finished on Jan. 6 and the tournament week started Dec. 31, 2007.

''We are actually doing really, really well,'' Planos said of this year's event. ''We like these dates better than the ones that encroached on the holiday season. A week later is a little bit more time and everything is right on schedule. The golf course is in excellent shape, other stuff like the Ritz-Carlton (Kapalua) is looking great. We are in good shape.''

Planos said starting a week later than last year's event is a big break for nearly everyone concerned - tournament staff, volunteers, media and most importantly, the players.

''The players seem to like it where they can spend their holidays at home and come out to Maui after the holidays,'' he said.

The field includes Parker McLachlin, a Punahou School and UCLA graduate, marking only the second time at Kapalua that a Hawaii golfer is in the mix. Oahu's Dean Wilson finished 29th here in 2007.

''Well, not only is Parker local, but he used to help out here on the range and around the course,'' Planos said. ''Parker is good friends with us and has been for many, many years through high school and college. He is excited because this is a big, big deal for him. He went out on Saturday for a practice round and he is out there on the range right now. He is enjoying it, but he is taking it seriously. The smile on his face is pretty big.''

For the fourth year in a row Tiger Woods is not in the field after he played the first seven Mercedes events at Kapalua. Jim Furyk, the 2001 Mercedes champion who owns a house on the Plantation Course's fourth fairway and has been part of nine of the first 10 events here, did not win in 2008 and is not in the winners-only, 31-man field.

Conversely, Ernie Els, who set a tour-record 31-under-par score here in 2003, is back, as is 2007 champion and perennial contender Vijay Singh.

''The field is a great field,'' Planos said. ''We have got the veterans - Ernie, Vijay, Davis (Love III), all guys who have won on the Plantation Course. Then we also have a lot of up-and-comers - Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Camilo (Villegas), and Parker. We are excited with this field because this field is a good one. We have the last two Masters champions in Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman. Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open winner, is here, too. It will be a fun competition again on the Plantation Course.''

Changes to the qualifying format - currently a player must win an official PGA Tour event in the previous year to get to Kapalua - were discussed in 2008, but none were made.

''They were just discussions, but nothing has been implemented as far as format changes,'' Planos said. ''I'm sure there will be discussions of those possibilities in the future as we go. But next week it is simple. Champions only - an easy formula and look at the field we have got.''

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com