Mercedes will be without four top players
|
[12/29/2005] There are worse places to spend the first week of January than Hawaii's Kapalua Resort, which might explain why roughly half the players competing in the Mercedes Championships are scheduled to arrive early and celebrate New Year's Eve in Maui. Yet it's the number of players who have declined invitations to the PGA Tour's season opener -- a list that grew to four when Tiger Woods sent his regrets last week -- that has become notable as the calendar turns to 2006.
|
There are worse places to spend the first week of January than Hawaii's Kapalua Resort, which might explain why roughly half the players competing in the Mercedes Championships are scheduled to arrive early and celebrate New Year's Eve in Maui. Yet it's the number of players who have declined invitations to the PGA Tour's season opener -- a list that grew to four when Tiger Woods sent his regrets last week -- that has become notable as the calendar turns to 2006.
"I haven't had an offseason, and I need one," said Woods, who has played in five events in three countries since last month's Tour Championship. Before Woods' announcement, Kapalua officials already had received word from Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington not to hold their tee times at the Plantation Course come Jan. 5-8. With Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Colin Montgomerie and Chris DiMarco not winning on the tour in 2005, and thus not eligible for the Mercedes, that leaves just three of the top 10 on the World Ranking (Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk) in the 28-player field, the fewest since the tournament moved from California's La Costa in 1999.
"Every tournament has to take a hit once in a while, and I guess this is our year," tournament director Nancy Cross told Golf World when asked about the unusual number of no-shows. "We're disappointed they aren't able to attend, but we certainly understand."
Woods' absence from the no-cut tournament isn't a first; he sat out in 2003 while recuperating from knee surgery. Mickelson has skipped the event three times (2002, 2003, 2005), citing a desire to spend time with family. Besides Mickelson, however, no top-10 player had withdrawn except for injury since 1999, so this year's change created some concern about a "star-deprived" Mercedes.
That 2006 is the year Mercedes takes its hit isn't ideal for Kapalua officials, who are set to spotlight recent renovations made to the Plantation Course as well as to the resort's clubhouse. Cross is confident, though, that the event still will be a success. "You just work with the cards you're played. [Even without those players,] we're really excited to start the season off here."
"I haven't had an offseason, and I need one," said Woods, who has played in five events in three countries since last month's Tour Championship. Before Woods' announcement, Kapalua officials already had received word from Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington not to hold their tee times at the Plantation Course come Jan. 5-8. With Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Colin Montgomerie and Chris DiMarco not winning on the tour in 2005, and thus not eligible for the Mercedes, that leaves just three of the top 10 on the World Ranking (Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk) in the 28-player field, the fewest since the tournament moved from California's La Costa in 1999.
"Every tournament has to take a hit once in a while, and I guess this is our year," tournament director Nancy Cross told Golf World when asked about the unusual number of no-shows. "We're disappointed they aren't able to attend, but we certainly understand."
Woods' absence from the no-cut tournament isn't a first; he sat out in 2003 while recuperating from knee surgery. Mickelson has skipped the event three times (2002, 2003, 2005), citing a desire to spend time with family. Besides Mickelson, however, no top-10 player had withdrawn except for injury since 1999, so this year's change created some concern about a "star-deprived" Mercedes.
That 2006 is the year Mercedes takes its hit isn't ideal for Kapalua officials, who are set to spotlight recent renovations made to the Plantation Course as well as to the resort's clubhouse. Cross is confident, though, that the event still will be a success. "You just work with the cards you're played. [Even without those players,] we're really excited to start the season off here."
[Sourse]
celebrity gallery | travel photo | motorcycle gallery | Dine in the USA
| Share You car picture |
| Website Contents © All Rights Reserved |
Conception by Universal Studio
|