Turtle Bay field
is deeper

The event’s move to January
increases its star power

Hale Irwin may call the new millennium his own, but there's a long list of 20th century dudes at this week's $1.5 million Turtle Bay Championship who have had success in paradise.

Early tomorrow morning, the first of 26 threesomes will tee it up at the opening full-field event on the Champions Tour. Irwin will attempt to defend his title for the fifth time, dating back to winning this tournament in 2000, when it was played on Maui.

It has been 15 months since Irwin outdueled Tom Kite for the 2003 championship. The tournament was moved out of the fall and into its current January slot for one key reason. Much like the Sony Open in Hawaii has benefited from the PGA Tour's winners-only Mercedes, Turtle Bay's field has more heft to it this year thanks to following the elite MasterCard Championship field.

Only four of the 37 golfers playing last week on the Big Island opted out of the trip to Oahu. Three of those -- Kite, Peter Jacobsen and Craig Stadler -- made the cut at the Sony Open two weeks ago and returned to the mainland for future PGA Tour events in California.

They left behind a talented field of golfers that includes past greats Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Tom Watson. That fearsome foursome captured 30 majors, with Player winning all four grand slam events in his career. Palmer and Watson never won the PGA Championship and Trevino never procured the Masters' green jacket.

They've also had a lot of success on the senior circuit, winning 18 majors among them. Player is at the top of the list with six. The South African, who has logged more air miles than an astronaut, shot 3-over at the MasterCard last week, including a final-round 71. Not satisfied with his performance, Player, who will be 70 in November, went to the driving range to hit a bucket of golf balls as Dana Quigley and Watson matched shot for shot down the stretch.

Watson played the best of that senior foursome, losing in a three-hole playoff to Quigley. If he can keep his nerves under control, Watson figures to be among the leaders at this week's 54-hole event.

"I saw some good things last week in my game," Watson said. He opened the MasterCard with a pair of 64s, but stumbled a bit to shoot a final-round 71. Quigley countered with a 6-under 66 to force a playoff. Quigley parred the third extra hole. Watson bogeyed after hitting his tee shot at the par-3 17th into the lava field behind the green.

"I'm still working on some things," he said. "But for the most part, I hit the ball well. My putting stroke let me down a little bit. But I'm going to stick with it this week. That's a pretty tough golf course that Arnold designed."

Irwin noted it's a pretty tough field that will try to make off with the Turtle Bay Championship trophy that Irwin has guarded so closely this century. In addition to Quigley and Watson, Irwin will have to keep a close watch on Gil Morgan, Bruce Fleisher, John Jacobs, Larry Nelson, Wayne Levi, Fuzzy Zoeller and Mark McNulty.

"We've got a lot of depth on this tour and it's getting better all the time," Irwin said. "I just hope my game stays with me so I can make a good showing against these guys."

Irwin's success in Hawaii is well-documented. But he's not the only former Hawaiian Open winner in the field of 78. Joining him are Levi, Trevino, Isao Aoki, Andy Bean, Hubert Green, Bruce Lietzke and Howard Twitty.

Fleisher also joins Irwin, Jim Colbert and Jay Sigel as past winners at this event when it was called the Kaanapali Classic and was played on Maui. Past MasterCard winners Irwin, Quigley, Morgan, Jacobs and Nelson are also in the field, giving it a distinct feel of champions in paradise.

"I'm coming over here on cruise control," Quigley said. "We're still in Hawaii, which is always good for me, and we're teeing it up with all these past champions. I'm just glad to be a part of this great field."

Turtle Bay tee times

8:25 a.m.: Mark Johnson, Daniel Nishimoto, Tom Herzan. 8:36 a.m.: Hajime Meshiai, Mike Ferguson, Gary Robison. 8:47a.m.: Dick Mast, Mike San Filippo, Larry Stubblefield. 8:58 a.m.: Joe Inman, Larry Ziegler, Brad Bryant.
9:09 a.m.: Leonard Thompson, Walter Zembriski, John Fought. 9:20 a.m.: Jim Colbert, Gary McCord, Howard Twitty. 9:31 a.m.: Mike McCullough, Bob Eastwood, Jerry Pate. 9:42 a.m.: Tom Purtzer, John Jacobs, Hubert Green. 9:53 a.m.: Dave Eichelberger, Dave Barr, Isao Aoki.
10:04 a.m.: Dana Quigley, Bob Gilder, Rodger Davis. 10:15 a.m.: Tom Jenkins, Ed Fiori, Jim Ahern. 10:26 a.m.: Wayne Levi, Bruce Summerhays, Pete Oakley. 10:37 a.m.: Mark James, Morris Hatalsky, Jay Sigel. 10:48 a.m.: R.W. Eaks, Norm Jarvis, Don Reese. 10:59 a.m.: Lonnie Nielsen, Tom McKnight, Pat McGowan.
11:10 a.m.: John Ross, Dick McClean, Brad Schmierer. 11:21 a.m.: Walter Hall, John Harris, Keith Fergus. 11:32 a.m.: Bobby Wadkins, Graham Marsh, Jimmy Powell. 11:43 a.m.: Hugh Baiocchi, DeWitt Weaver, Mike Reid. 11:54 a.m.: Rocky Thompson, Babe Hiskey, Ron Streck.
12:05 p.m.: D.A. Weibring, Bruce Fleisher, Tom Watson. 12:16 p.m.: Gil Morgan, Fuzzy Zoeller, Vicente Fernandez. 12:27 p.m.: Bruce Lietzke, Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer. 12:38 p.m.: Mark McNulty, Jim Thorpe, Hale Irwin. 12:49 p.m.: Larry Nelson, Doug Tewell, Don Pooley. 1:00 p.m.: Allen Doyle, David Eger, Gary Player.