2003 PGA Tour begins with Mercedes Championship
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2003 Mercedes Championships | Preview | 06 Jan 2003
The merry go round of the USPGA Tour gets under way again this week as thirty six players look to get their 2003 season off to a flying start by winning the Mercedes Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii.
The event is effectively the tournament of champions as it brings together the winners on the USPGA Tour from 2002 although it has not been officially known as that since Davis Love’s win in 1993.
There are two notable absentees from the event. Tiger Woods is ensuring he has well and truly recovered from his recent operation for the removal of fluid from around the anterior cruciate ligaments in the knee and a benign cyst, before returning to competitive golf. Woods is not expected back in action until around the time of the Buick event at Torrey Pines. Phil Mickelson is also not playing the event. So the number one and two from the 2002 money list are not there but every other winner is.
Defending champion is Sergio Garcia, who defeated David Toms, who is not playing this week, in a playoff last year. Jim Furyk won in 2001 and in 2000 Tiger Woods won the second of his two Mercedes Championships beating Ernie Els in the most dramatic of finishes.
The course is the Plantation Course where the event has been played since its move from La Costa in 1999. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the course was opened in 1991.
One Australian and two New Zealanders are in the field with Parry getting a start via his win at the NEC Invitational event, Craig Perks through his Players Championship win and Phil Tataurangi following his win at the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas.
Always difficult to pick a winner of a golf tournament especially one such as this so early in the season and where they are all proven performers but those golfers that are here and have form on the course are Els 2nd in 2000 and 3rd in 2001, Furyk, winner in 2001 and 4th last year, Garcia winner last year and Singh 3rd in 2001.
The tournament is worth $US5,000,000 with $US1,000,000 available for the winner.
