| Right, Max. Hawaii, Max.It`s not just that California`s | | | | tournament. Hawaii`s a long flight from anywhere, |
| had a run of really wet weather lately (possibly | | | | fine, but it`s a guaranteed paycheck. And I have to |
| forecasting the rain-delayed 2005 West Coast swing | | | | figure the islands are sunnier than Ireland this time of |
| that revivified the age-old debate about indoor golf), | | | | year. Hawaii, Padraig.There`s always the flipside to |
| it`s that the famous line from Annie Hall---"California, | | | | the strength-of-field approach. Maybe the |
| Max", as in, "if we lived in California, we could play | | | | favorites---Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, David Toms and |
| outdoors every day, in the sun"---doesn`t apply this | | | | Sergio Garcia---do look more likely to win than 50-1 |
| week because the PGA Tour kicks off the 2006 | | | | shots like Jason Bohn, Jason Gore and Ted Purdy. |
| season with the Mercedes Championships at the | | | | But given that there`s no cut, the pressure is off |
| Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, where the usual | | | | slightly, and so is the intimidation factor, which is |
| weather event comes in the form of trade winds, | | | | significantly less a factor anyway because Tiger isn`t |
| not steady drenching rains.Every year I talk about | | | | playing. Even if the world #1 was playing, though, I`d |
| what a great tournament this is: TV cutaways to and | | | | still look at other golfers. Bart Bryant, an unknown, |
| fro, commercial breaks of beautiful vistas, sun and | | | | won twice last year: the Memorial and season-ending |
| sea from the course`s tall hills; a solid field of last | | | | Tour Championship where he held off guess who? |
| year`s Tour winners; 400-plus yard drives on the last | | | | Purdy won the Byron Nelson last May, fending off |
| hole; and the possibility of long money on quality | | | | Singh.As for the course, there are the peaks and |
| golfers in a small field. Because Tiger Woods, Phil | | | | valleys of Kapalua, and those trade winds (which are |
| Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington are | | | | almost always at the players` backs on the last hole, |
| not playing (or Ernie Els, by the way, who didn`t win | | | | yielding those 400-500-yard drives). The greens can |
| in his injury-shortened 2005) and because there were | | | | be slick, which might be a factor for the favorite, |
| so many low-ranked winners on Tour last year, this | | | | Singh. Two months doesn`t account for much of an |
| week`s Mercedes is a smaller (28-player), more | | | | offseason; who can say if Vijay`s come to a happy |
| bargain-filled field than normal. Mickelson and Goosen | | | | place with his putter?Jeremy Church covers Nascar |
| didn`t do the Silly Season tour like Woods and | | | | for Brian Gabrielle Sports.Jeremy Church is a |
| Harrington, and the latter`s decision to not play in | | | | documented member of the Professional |
| Kapalua is curious as he`s never played in the | | | | Handicappers League. |