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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kamehameha quarterback Noah Sua-Godinet cut through 'Iolani's defense on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
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Four months before the Hyundai Tournament of Champions tees off on Maui, the PGA Tour signed a contract that extends the carmaker’s sponsorship through 2015.
The tour and Hyundai announced the two-year extension Friday. The TOC, which has been played at Kapalua Plantation since 1999, was once the tour’s first event of the year. It will be played Jan. 3-6. In the tour’s revamped schedule, it is not the first event of the season, but the resumption of the 2013-14 season after a 11⁄2-month layoff.
That doesn’t change the TOC’s eligibility. Winners from all of this year’s events are invited, starting with 2013 Hyundai champion Dustin Johnson.
Maui’s Mark Rolfing, a TV golf analyst, was happy and relieved at the news.
"I think it’s good it’s for more than one year," he said. "I was hopeful it would be. … For Hyundai to step up for two years says a lot about how they feel about the event.
"Next year’s date is so bad, so close to the holiday. The date is way better in 2015 (Jan. 9-12) — that’s why I think it’s good that’s secured now. More than anything, this gives everybody a chance to do some long-term planning so they can be here a long time."
In a press release, Hyundai marketing VP Steve Shannon called the TOC "an ideal platform to share Hyundai’s premium lineup with golf fans around the world."