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Tournament Preview: Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Jan 4, 2013 – Jan 7 2013)

Published

13 years ago

January 2, 2013

It’s only appropriate for the 2013 PGA TOUR season to kick off with Golf’s elite reconvening at the picturesque Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii this week for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The 72-hole tournament begins on Friday for the second consecutive year and will conclude on Monday January 7.

This Hyundai Tournament of Champions has a “winners-only” invitation format and has kicked off the TOUR season 15 years straight. Thirty of the 37 qualifiers for this week’s competition are scheduled to show up to the exclusive Maui track.

From Fiscal Cliffs to Maui Cliffs, the Plantation Course at Kapalua will provide an ideal break from the cold and chaos of the mainland. The par-73 track consists of only three par 3s to accompany the normal set of four par 5s. The track measures 7,411 yards from the tips, and the slope here allows players to gain some real distance of the tees. Gary Woodland is known for having the longest drive of the 2012 season, with a whopping 450 yards on the 18th hole during Round 1.

A slight chance of precipitation looms for the weekend as breezes off the water which surround the course will could make things a bit challenging. Windy conditions have the potential to allow some of the holes may play shorter or longer then indicated on the card, so look out for a Bubba Watson blast here and there. Temperatures will be right around 80 degrees every day.

Some key players to keep an eye on:

Matt Kuchar: He’s a steady TOUR performer with plenty of success at Kapalua, including a solo 3^rd in 2010 and a T6 in 2011.
Ian Poulter: Poulter played a huge role at the 2012 Ryder Cup, won at the WGC-HSBC Champions and finished with a solo 2^nd at the Australian Master a month prior.
Steve Stricker: Last year’s winner with a runner-up prior to that in 2008. Stricker knows this track all too well and we wouldn’t be shocked if he showed up to play here.

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