KA‘UPULEHU-KONA — Some of the best senior golfers in the world will be returning next weekend to Four Seasons-Hualalai’s minty-green, iconic course alongside Kona’s golden coast.
PGA TOUR Champions will be hosting the 29th annual Mitsubishi Electric Championship from Jan. 16-18, bringing in some of the most legendary players to ever play the game. Forty-two golfers are slated to compete across the three-day event.
The PGA TOUR Champions is a men’s senior professional golf tour that is open to ages 50 and older. At Hualalai, players will be competing for the $2 million purse and highly-coveted Charles Schwab Cup.
“Seeing the best golfers of yesteryear and generating national and international exposure for the Island of Hawaii and the state of Hawaii Tourism Industry (is what makes this tournament great),” Tournament Manager Kelly Fliear told West Hawaii Today in a recent interview. “We are one of the oldest tournaments on the tour, and we have a great field of players this year.”
New Zealand’s Steven Alkler, last year’s champion and 2022 winner, will be returning to the Big Island to compete. Alker had an impressive showing in 2024, posting a -25 to earn the four-stroke victory. United States star Steve Stricker, Hualalai’s 2023 champion, will also be returning to West Hawai‘i. Spain’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Hualalai’s winner in 2022, 2020 and 2015, will compete for the Charles Schwab Cup.
Five World Golf Hall of Fame members will also be competing at the Four Seasons. Sixty-seven year old Bernhard Langer will be on Hualalai’s links for the 18th time in his career. He took home his 47th Champions Tour win in November at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, marking at least one win in each of his 18 years on the tour. Fred Couples, 65, will also be teeing up. Couples owns 14 victories overall on the Champions Tour while also finishing runner-up at Hualalai four times (2010, 2014, 2017, 2020). Fiji’s Vijay Singh, who finished tied for third in the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Championship, will also be returning. It will be his ninth appearance in West Hawai‘i.
Rounding out the Hall of Fame members in this year’s event are South Africans Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, making their fifth and sixth appearances, respectively. Els is coming off three tour wins in 2024.
“(The players) are eager to play. They’ve had about two months off since their last event in Arizona as their last (PGA TOUR Champions) event of 2024, so they’ve been eager to get back out there,” Fliear said. “We have a great sponsor in Mitsubishi Electric, as well as the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and Charles Schwab. The course is also in magnificent condition. So putting all of those things together, and you have a winning recipe (for the event).”
Fliear added that the tournament not only gives locals top-tier entertainment from a golfing perspective, but benefits the entire West Hawai‘i community as a whole.
“The economic impact to the Big Island of Hawai‘i (is great). In addition to the $2 million purse, producing live television brings another crew of 40 to 50 people that can spend into the business community for things we need in the tournament.
“The second part would be our benefits to our local charities. We benefit the Rotary Club of Kona (2024 Champions Tour Charity of the Year), Big Island Junior Golf Association, Daniel Sayre Foundation and Hualalai Ohana Foundation, so there’s a lot of benefits that go back to the community.”
Those interested in purchasing tickets can visit MECgolf.com to purchase daily tickets ($30) or three-day passes ($50). Keiki 16 and under get free admission with a ticketed adult. Each day will be broadcasted on the NBC Golf Channel.
When entering the resort, follow the spectator parking signs for free parking. A complimentary shuttle service will be given to and from the parking lot until 6 p.m. each day. Spectator village (close to Holes 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 14) will hold food trucks, seating, a live scoreboard and restrooms.
See the paper in the coming days for more tournament coverage.
