Local golf analyst Mark Rolfing has been pounding his driver for years that Hawaii was close to bidding a fond farewell to the Aloha Season of professional golf.

If something wasn't done soon, the trickle-down effect that has seen the island chain already lose LPGA and Champions tour events on Oahu would eventually cause the PGA Tour to reconsider starting its season in the 50th state as well.

And while things won't be as good around here as they once were—the national economy is dictating policy these days—the thought of tour commissioner Tim Finchem abandoning these shores for good seems unlikely.

Finding a company willing to replace Mercedes was a tall order of business for those folks working feverishly behind the scenes. As wonderful as the hospitality is on Maui, without a title sponsor, the season-opening event for the previous year's winners was in jeopardy.

After the LPGA spurned SBS for another Korean television network, tournament director Gary Planos' prayers were answered when SBS inked a 10-year deal to be the title sponsor. Without that contract, the tour's first full-field event here on Oahu was also in peril.

The Sony Open in Hawaii is good for another year at least and it seems likely a long-term arrangement can be secured, if the price is right for both Sony and the PGA. Those talks should go a little easier after last week's successful event concluded with a dramatic flagpole finish at the 18th gave Texan Ryan Palmer his third tour victory over tough-luck opponent Robert Allenby.

This year's field was as strong as any since the Mercedes and Sony corporations signed five-year deals in 1998 to host the opening PGA tournaments for 1999 and beyond. SBS executives floated the concept of having a major support sponsor to help defray the costs at this year's event.

It gave folks on Maui pause, thinking perhaps SBS likes the idea of being a sponsor, but maybe not one capable of handling the expense alone. Finchem reassured everyone at his opening-day press conference that he saw no reason why the event wouldn't remain at the top of the schedule and at the Plantation Course on Maui, but there's room there to wriggle if necessary.

Still, Rolfing is a good barometer as to how things are going and he said over the weekend he feels much better about things than he did a year ago. Does that mean everything is rosy out there? No. But it does mean all interested parties are talking and moving in the right direction.

It's no secret the PGA Tour is leaking tees all over the country. Finchem finally secured a sponsor in San Diego, a tentative one-year arrangement with Farmers Insurance with an option to be named later. Companies seem unwilling to commit to long-term deals without testing the economic hazards first.

Sony is no exception. And while that company's commitment to 2011 isn't as loud an endorsement as the one on Maui, it still leaves hope. Had Sony cut ties as abruptly as Mercedes did on Maui, there would be more cause for concern.

This week, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai begins on Friday. Not counting the Wendy's Skins game on Maui that inexplicably butts heads with Sony for playing time, the Champions Tour's presence here is muted without an Oahu stop. Even more alarming is the departure of the LPGA Tour, which can't capitalize on hometown girl Michelle Wie's recent success and gain in popularity.

Instead of playing here two weeks in February, Wie, if she gets permission from Stanford, will go to Asia, where the LPGA begins with events in Thailand and Singapore. It would be nice to think the LPGA will return here again as it has in the past, but new commissioner Mike Whan has bigger issues at the moment.

Which brings us back to the PGA Tour. If Finchem can hammer down a couple of deals here in the spring, maybe that can help lift the nails off the coffin of the other two tours and make the Aloha Season more about hello than goodbye. Rolfing has hope. And that's a good sign.