Finchem noncommittal about future at Kapalua
By ROBERT COLLIASArticle Photos
KAPALUA - PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was noncommittal Wednesday when asked about what the future holds for the Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Kapalua Plantation Course.
The tournament starts its 11th run at Kapalua today, and the 2010 edition will be the last in the current four-year contract. The event is one of five on the PGA Tour slate that has an automobile manufacturer as the title sponsor.
The majority of Finchem's 37-minute press conference was taken up by discussion of the economy.
''Well, we have one more year on the contract with Kapalua, and we are looking at some options in terms of what is the best future for this tournament,'' Finchem said. ''I wouldn't want to speculate on anything at this point.''
Two new contracts - at four years each - have been signed in the past to extend the stay of the winners-only event at Kapalua.
''We have done this before,'' Finchem said. ''We have done it a couple of times. It's not the only place we do it. I think the way we like to believe you will get better is to constantly challenge what you are doing and ask the question: 'Can you do it better?'
''We do that in concert with tournament organizations and sponsors and that's just another example of doing that. It doesn't mean we will do anything particularly different, but we are looking at some other options.''
This year's field is missing the top four players in the world rankings - Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington. Just three of the top 10 are in the field - Vijay Singh (No. 5), Camilo Villegas
(No. 7) and Ernie Els (No. 9).
Last year, the tournament week began on Dec. 31. Starting a week later this year is a break for the $5.6 million event, tournament chairman Gary Planos said earlier this week.
Some have speculated that several qualifiers skip the event because of its proximity to the holiday season.
''There is no immediate thought of changing it on the calendar,'' Finchem said.
In a year when past champions Jim Furyk and Stewart Appleby didn't earn a spot at Kapalua, coupled with a lucrative European Tour event in the United Arab Emirates that begins in late January, the idea of changing the qualification format for the Mercedes-Benz Championship has come up. Garcia has chosen to start his season in Dubai despite being eligible to play at Kapalua.
Only six golfers from last year's Mercedes are in the
31-player field this week.
''The format is something that's discussed every couple years,'' Finchem said. ''It's just a usual review. I wouldn't want to speculate that we would necessarily do anything different this time. It's fairly early in the process.''
Finchem said the success of the Sony Open - the first full-field event next week at Wai-alae Country Club - goes hand-in-hand with Kapalua.
''I think it is helpful to have them together in Hawaii,'' he said. ''We found it to be a good situation over the years.''
Finchem said weather is a factor in the season getting under way in the Aloha State.
''Starting the season here is really a testament to the weather patterns, as much as anything,'' he said. ''We wanted to take advantage of a good time of the year from a television standpoint on the Mainland. But to do that this time of year, there are only so many markets we can play.
''We used to play this tournament in San Diego and we had weather trouble a lot. We found the weather over here better than San Diego at this time of year. That's not to say we couldn't go in a different direction, maybe, but it seems to be working.''
