The 2012 Hawaii professional golf season begins on January 6, 2012 with the first round of the PGA Tour's Hyundai Tournament of Champions and concludes on April 21, 2012 with the final round of the new LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf. In total, there will be four professional golf tournaments in Hawaii in 2012 involving all three major professional tours and taking place on three of Hawaii's islands.
Let's take a closer look at where you can see the world's top professional golfers compete in the opening events of the 2012 Hawaii professional golf season.
PGA Tour
Jan. 6-9, 2012
Hyundai Tournament of Champions
Purse: $5,600,000
Plantation Course at Kapalua
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Jonathan Byrd (D)
TV - Golf Channel
The 2012 PGA tour season kicks off with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the beautiful Plantation Course at Kapalua in West Maui. The field for the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions will include 28 champions of a combined 34 PGA TOUR events from 2011. Players will compete for a share of the $5.6 million purse. PGA Tour veteran and defending champion Jonathan Byrd will compete with some of the best professional golfers in the world. Golf Channel will offer 17-1/2 hours of prime-time live coverage from each round of this season-opening PGA TOUR event. Military (active duty, retired and reserve) and their dependents will be permitted onsite for free for the entire week. Military members should bring their military ID to the gate for admission.
Jan. 12-15, 2012
Sony Open in Hawaii
Purse: $5,500,000
Waialae Country Club
Honolulu, Hawaii
Mark Wilson (D)
TV - Golf Channel
The PGA Tour moves from Maui to Oahu and the beautiful Waialae Country Club for the 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii. With a purse of $5.5 million and a winner's share of $990 thousand, you can be sure that many of the top players will stick around in Hawaii and be joined by other tour members in this first full field event of 2012. In 2011 Mark Wilson shot a 3-under 67 in the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii to win by two strokes over Tim Clark and Steve Marino. Wilson will return to defend his championship. Former Sony Open champions Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and Vijay Singh have committed to the event in 2012. Rookie pro and 2011 Winner of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf Keegan Bradley and the always popular John Daly will also be at the 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Champions Tour
Jan. 20-22, 2012
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
Purse: $1,800,000
Hualalai Golf Course
Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii Island
John Cook (D)
TV - Golf Channel
The Champions Tour comes to the Big Island of Hawaii for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Ka'upulehu-Kona. This is the first event of the Champions Tour 2012 season. The tournament features an elite field of the past two seasons' tournament champions and past five years of senior major championship winners. John Cook will return to defend his championship and a share of the $1.8 million purse.
Sep. 14-16, 2012
Pacific Links Hawai'i Championship
Purse: $1,800,000
Kapolei Golf Course
Kapolei, Oahu
new event
TV - Golf Channel
This new event, with title sponsor Pacific Links Hawaii, was announced in April 2012 and will take place this year and next at the Kapolei Golf Course. In 2014, the tournament is expected to move to the Makaha West Golf Course which is being redesigned by golf legend Greg Norman. Norman is expected to lead the field of 81 Champions Tour players for what is currently the Champions Tour only scheduled event in September 2012.
LPGA Tour
April 18-21, 2012
LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf
Purse: $1,700,000
Ko Olina Golf Club
Ko Olina Resort & Marina, Ko Olina, Oahu
inaugural event
TV - Golf Channel
For the first time in several years, the LPGA will be returning to Hawaii in 2012. The LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf, which will be played April 18-21, 2012 at the Ko Olina Golf Club with a Saturday finish on Oahu, will feature a full field of 144 players. The LPGA Lotte Championship Presented by J Golf will be televised by Golf Channel. LOTTE, which is already well recognized as one of the most active golf sponsors of Korea, has achieved successful marketing in Asia through the LOTTE Mart KLPGA Open, the LOTTE Cantata KLPGA Open, the LOTTE Mart Women’s Golf Team and the LOTTE Card Women’s Amateur Golf Tournament. J Golf, the LPGA’s television rights holder in Korea, will serve as presenting sponsor of the event. J Golf is distributed to 8 million homes in Korea.
