The $5.5 million cash prize, offered at the Sony Open Hawaii, normally draws an elite group of golfers. The tournament is one of two season openers, taking place in Hawaii. Traditionally the tournaments take place in early January.
The first event, Hyundai PGA Tournament of Champions, got off to a windy start. The tournament is scheduled from Jan. 3-7. The Tournament of Champions underwent delays attributed to heavy rain and wind gust over 30 mph.
The days delay of the tournament, is keeping the golfers hanging-on for better weather conditions to complete the tournament. The Sony Open Hawaii, is scheduled for Jan. 7-13, and takes place at the Waialae Country Club, Honolulu. The tournament has three days of preliminary events, with a tee-off on Thursday, Jan. 10,.
Jan. 7, Hawaii News Now cites, "One change is certain. Sony's place on the PGA calendar will shift. The 2013-14 season starts in October as the tour moves away from a calendar year to a wraparound schedule. That means Sony will lose its annual distinction of being pro golf's first full-field event.
Sony USA, sponsors the Sony Open Hawaii, in addition to a major electronic show, in January, in Hawaii. Having the events overlap is financially sound, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Ray Stosik, Director of the tournament, is considering moving the event to later in January and changing the tee-off from Thursday, to Friday. The early feedback from the players is, no. Pro golfer, Darron Stiles, feels that a Friday start date may affect travel time lines to other tournaments, causing golfers to skip the tournament. "To me, tournament golf is Thursday to Sunday. If you start any other day it makes it all a little bit weird," Stiles said.
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