The 2010 PGA Tour season begins, as it does every year, in the beautiful
state of Hawaii for the winners only, SBS Championship...Only those who made
it to the winner`s circle in 2009 on tour are invited this week and sadly,
the story is more about who`s not coming, than who is...Tiger Woods
certainly qualified for this championship based on his Player of the Year
performance last year, but is on an indefinite leave of absence while he
tries to piece his life back together...Phil Mickelson is also staying home
and hasn`t gone to this tournament since 2001...Last year, Geoff Ogilvy used
a big back nine on Sunday to cruise to a six-shot victory...The 2006 U.S.
Open champion went wire-to-wire to become the first player to punch his
ticket for admission in 2010...SBS International took over sponsorship from
Mercedes-Benz...As the 2010 campaign gets underway, so too does the 2010
FedEx Cup race, won last year by Woods...There is also a pretty significant
rule change that went into effect for this year on tour...The grooves on iron
clubs have been reduced in width, depth and sharpness...The Golf Channel has
the telecast all week...The PGA Tour`s first full-field event of the year is
on tap next week...The Sony Open in Hawaii tees off at Waialae Country Club
in Honolulu next Thursday with Zach Johnson as the defending champion.
