Happy birthday, Elvis, wherever you are

Today is the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s actual 78th birthday, even though all the hoopla in Hawaii is for Monday’s 40th anniversary screening of Elvis Presley’s "Aloha from Hawaii" concert.

The original show, the first broadcast globally by satellite, started at 12:30 a.m. our time, to put it at a better hour in European and Asian capitals (it was early evening in the Philippines, where almost 92 percent of the audience tuned in).

Another fascinating piece of trivia, gleaned from the official Elvis timeline site posted on his 75th birthday: No admission was charged for either the big concert or the Jan. 12 rehearsal show. However, donations in any amount were sought for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund, honoring the late Hawaii songwriter, and $75,000 was raised.

Ironic that Monday’s screening at Blaisdell Arena will cost $35, right? And a few of the original free tickets have sold recently on eBay at about $2,000 a pop — just in case anyone out there saved theirs.

Golf scores are blowin’ in the wind

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui is headed for golf history, but not the kind anyone wanted. If the wind cooperates, the tournament will join the 2006 Booz Allen Classic at Maryland’s Congressional Country Club and the 1980 Tucson Open to finish play on a Tuesday because of weather.

Winds up to 48 mph stopped play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ben Curtis, who won that thunderstorm-delayed Booz Allen event, hit the par-3 at the 11th hole at Kapalua on Sunday. His caddie saw the ball move 5 feet away from the cup and then another gust pushed it down a slope from the green. A chip and four putts gave Curtis a triple bogey.

"It’s crazy," Curtis said. "That’s the only way to describe it."

The Sony Open will start on Thursday at Honolulu’s Waialae Country Club, with television and operational equipment being scrambled by barge from Maui for the opening shot. Hope winds are calmer by then.