ASSOCIATED PRESS Ernie Els shot 30 under par at the Plantation Course in 2003.

Els eyes
Mercedes title

The runaway champion in 2003
is back for more at the
Plantation Course in Kapalua

KAPALUA, Maui » Ernie Els strolled into the media room of the Mercedes Championships yesterday sporting a tap-in wide grin.

Home of champions The Plantation Course, Bay Course and Village Course call Kapalua home, but it is the 7,263 yard, par-73 Plantation layout that is home to the Mercedes Championships. When: Tomorrow through Sunday Purse: $5.3 million. Winner's share: $1.06 million Television: ESPN (Tomorrow-Saturday, 2-5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2-5 p.m., HST) Internet: www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r016/ Defending champ: Stuart Appleby Field: Stephen Ames, Stuart Appleby, Woody Austin, Bart Bryant, Jonathan Byrd, Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink, John Daly, Ernie Els, Steve Flesch, Carlos Franco, Fred Funk, Sergio Garcia, Brent Geiberger, Retief Goosen, Todd Hamilton, Mark Hensby, Zach Johnson, Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Rod Pampling, Craig Parry, Adam Scott, Joey Sindelar, Vijay Singh, Heath Slocum, Andre Stolz, Vaughn Taylor, David Toms, Mike Weir and Tiger Woods.

Despite a long flight from Orlando, Fla., Els made it to Maui in time to survey the 18-hole Plantation Course he helped make famous with his runaway Mercedes victory in 2003. That record-setting, 30-under-par performance was the first of three wins in Hawaii over the last two years for Els.

The two-time defending Sony Open champion heads to Oahu next week, but before he goes, the South African would like nothing better than to leave his mark on Maui once more.

"Yeah, the last couple of years, I've played well in Hawaii," Els said. "I remember a couple of years ago, I was 30 (under) or something here.

"Sony has been good to me the last two years. I love playing and I love coming here. It's a long way to come, but it's worth the while. You know, the kids love it, I love it, it's a good two weeks."

Els is part of a foreign contingent that has dominated the world scene of late. Of the 32 golfers who qualified for the $5.3 million winners only event, 13 don't hang Old Glory off their front porch on the Fourth of July.

The last three winners here -- Stuart Appleby (2004), Els (2003) and Sergio Garcia (2002) -- don't play exclusively stateside. All three are here this week from foreign lands and figure to challenge for the lead early and often at the tournament that tees off tomorrow.

Appleby arrived in Maui yesterday and is one of six golfers from Australia vying for the title. He held off Vijay Singh with a final-round 71 to win by one stroke last year. It was Appleby's only PGA Tour victory en route to a 13th-place finish on the money list. For Singh, it was a portent of things to come.

He made it known at last year's Mercedes that he planned to surpass Tiger Woods and become the world's No. 1 golfer. Appleby didn't discount the Fijian's hopes and dreams, saying, "There should be no one, including myself, who should deviate from what he thinks is possible. There's no reason why he can't."

Singh hasn't won the Mercedes since it moved to Kapalua in 1999. But he does have five top-10 finishes, including a second, third and two fourth-place efforts here. Over the years, Els has had success in Hawaii, but don't discount Singh here or on Oahu next week. He has made regular stops in the island chain throughout his career.

"Vijay is the man at the moment, obviously as we well know," Els said. "Phil, he shot 59 at Poipu Bay, which is quite impressive. Myself here, I had a good year. I see Tiger (Woods) had a really good offseason, so yeah, there's a lot of top players competing at the highest level."

Els counted countryman Retief Goosen among them. The quiet half of the South African duo, Goosen won the U.S. Open and the season-ending Tour Championship. In his fourth appearance at the Mercedes, Goosen's best finish was his tie for fourth last year.

"You've got to mention Retief here," Els said. "He might have a breakout year this year, I feel. He won the Tour Championship. He dominated down in South Africa on a tough course. So he's looking good."

Never one to embrace an interview session, Goosen sees the coming campaign as competitive as ever.

"There are a lot of players bunched up, Top-10 players and world rankings are pretty bunched up," Goosen said. "There will probably be a (new) No. 1 player a few times this year. I think it could jump a little bit between Ernie and Tiger and Vijay at the moment.

"I'm a little bit far behind at the moment in the world rankings to really think about getting to No. 1, but if I have a good year and Vijay doesn't have a good year like he's had again, then we've got a chance at catching him."

Singh is the current No. 1 with Woods, Els, Goosen and Phil Mickelson rounding out the Top 5. Mickelson, who isn't a big fan of the course, opted not to play here again. He missed the Mercedes last year because he didn't win in 2003. Mickelson missed two years ago because his wife was having a baby.

Today is the tournament pro-am. Some of the bigger names taking part in the final tune-up of the tourney are Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens, celebrities Dennis Hopper, Alice Cooper and Kelsey Grammer, and top female golfers Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie.

The Course

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