EUROPEAN/US TOURS: The US PGA Tour kicks-off today, but unlike previous years there is no Tiger Woods. The world number one is skipping the Mercedes Championships in Hawaii after undergoing knee surgery.
Woods, who turned 27 on December 30th, will spend the weekend at his Florida home watching the $5 million event on TV.
Phil Mickelson is also sitting this one out as his wife awaits the birth of their third child, but many of the rest of the professional game's major contenders, like Ernie Els, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh will be there.
The Mercedes in Kapalua, Hawaii, is open only to the winners on last year's tour.
Woods plans to return next month. "I really don't have an exact timetable for returning to competition," he said on his website. "I might not play again until February, which would be the longest break I've ever had in golf. In some ways, I'm looking forward to it. The more time I take off, the better my knee will be."
This year, there are four majors and four World Golf Championship events before the season-ending Tour Championship in Houston on November 9th.
Woods should be in top form for the Masters, which will be held at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10th-13th.
The US Open will be contested at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago. The Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, will be the site of the PGA Championship, which was won last year by unheralded American Rich Beem who held off Woods during the final round.
The long list of first-time winners on the US tour last year, and competing in Hawaii this week, included Australian Craig Parry, who finally cracked the winner's circle after a decade of trying.
There are also a number of great young players in Hawaii who could break through this year.
American Jonathan Byrd, the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, will be looking to defend his Buick Challenge title and surpass the $1.5 million he won last year. Other young guns to watch out for are Charles Howell, David Gossett, Matt Kuchar and England's Luke Donald.
