Jonathan Byrd jump-started his best year on the PGA Tour at Kapalua Plantation in January, when he won the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He calls his Maui victory the biggest of the five in his career.
“A small field,” Byrd admits, “but it’s the best field I’ve won against in 10 years on tour.”
Hyundai’s quantity will always be limited, but its quality can never be questioned. It is open only to winners from the previous year. There were 39 this year and about 35 are expected to tee off in the first round of the TOC Jan. 6.
The tournament is announcing players via Facebook until the Dec. 30 deadline. Early commitments include Byrd, David Toms and Mark Wilson — who will defend his Sony Open in Hawaii championship a week later. Webb Simpson and Nick Watney, ranked 2-3 in the world after Luke Donald, are also in, as is Rookie of the Year Keegan Bradley.
Donald, just named Player of the Year and the first to win money titles the same season on the PGA and European tours, has not committed yet. Bradley could be the only reigning major champion on Maui. Charl Schwartzel (Masters) is playing an event in South Africa. Rory McIlroy (U.S. Open) and Darren Clarke (British Open) are not PGA Tour members and have a limited number of U.S. appearances they can make.
A couple other prominent names probably will be missing. Tiger Woods is not eligible because did not win an official event this year. Phil Mickelson has not played at Kapalua in a decade.
This past January, spectators got a free pass on admission at Kapalua, but in 2012 the cost of admission will be $15 a day or $40 for a tournament pass. The Jan. 5 Pro-Am is free. Tickets are on sale at pgatour.com/Hyundai.
The tournament has moved to a Friday start and Monday finish in an effort to avoid having its final round conflict with NFL playoffs on TV. Organizers hope the final round (Jan. 9) will be done before LSU — Toms’ alma mater — takes on Alabama in the BCS championship game.
Toms will be playing for the ninth time at Kapalua. He finished second in 2002.
Byrd, who won a playoff with Robert Garrigus in January at the Plantation, is making his fifth TOC appearace. He didn’t win any other tournaments last season, and didn’t make a cut at any of the majors. He calls it “an inconsistent year,” but still considers it the best of a 10-year career because he had so many chances to win on Sunday.
He attributes much of his success to “simplifying his golf life” and focusing only on the two or three things he most needs to improve.
“I still tweaked even too much this year,” Byrd said, “so I will try to even simplify it more (in 2012). I need to focus and apply simplicity to every part of my game. I know the very basic things that I need to do to putt well and I really focused on that over the course of the entire year. I need to do that with all facets of my game. Focus on the simple things.”
That does not apply only to golf. Byrd believes he thrives at Kapalua because the small field allows him to spend lots of family time, in the ocean or simply near it.
“The highlight of the week (at Kapalua) was walking right out of the back of our room and letting the kids go play at the playground,” recalled Byrd, whose wife is expecting again. “We could just sit on the porch and let them have at it.
“And, we loved all the restaurants. My son just tore up the lava cake at Roy’s all week long.”
Hyundai is in the second year of a three-year deal on Maui. Steve Shannon, Hyundai America’s Vice President of Marketing, said no extensions or new deals have been confirmed.
“I would say our expectations have been exceeded,” Shannon said. “They’ve over-delivered. Certainly the people on the island have over-delivered for us.”
The purse is $5.6 million, with $1.12 million going to the winner. Golf Channel will carry all four rounds, with broadcast times scheduled for 12:30-5 p.m. the first three days and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. the final day.
For more information, contact the tournament office at 808-665-9160 or, toll-free, at 888-665-9160.
