As the PGA Tour leaves Hawaii and moves to the mainland for the Humana Challenge, the Champions Tour is set to open its 2014 season with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
Champions Tour players will be surrounded by comfort, beauty and style this week. The Four Seasons Resort at Hualalai sits on the North Kona-Kohala Coast of the Big Island, offers every amenity imaginable to its guests, and has been awarded AAA Five Diamond status.
The Hualalai Golf Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus. The green fairways create a beautiful contrast and flow like ribbons through the dark lava rocks. The par-72 course will play to 7,107 yards for the seniors.
To earn a spot in this elite field requires a senior major win in the last five years or a Champions Tour win over the past two years. A total purse of $1.8 million will be split among the 41 participants with $307,000 going to the winner.
John Cook out-dueled David Frost in a playoff last year to win the first title of 2013. Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples and Kenny Perry completed the top five spots in the 2013 Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
The usual cast of characters will be on hand again for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. Kenny Perry won two majors, the AT&T Championship and the Charles Schwab Cup last year. He was also named the Champions Tour Player of the Year.
Bernhard Langer had another solid year in 2013 winning the Champions Tour money title. He is looking to unseat Perry and win the Charles Schwab Cup this year.
The Mitsubishi Electric Championship will be aired all three days Friday-Sunday, January 17-19, in prime time 7:00-10:00 PM ET on the Golf Channel.