This week in golf

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

For week on Jan. 17, 2001

PGA TOUR

Sony Open in Hawaii

Site: Honolulu.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Waialae Country Club (7,060 yards, par 70).

Purse: $4 million.

Winner's share: $720,000.

Television: USA (Thursday-Friday, 4-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday, 12:30-3:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-3 p.m.).

Last year: Paul Azinger won for the first time since his bout with cancer, beating Stuart Appleby by seven strokes. Azinger was diagnosed with lymphoma in his right shoulder in 1993, four months after his PGA Championship victory.

Last week: Jim Furyk won the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua, closing with a 6-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over South Africa's Rory Sabbatini. Sabbatini missed a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 18. ... Garrett Willis won his first start as a PGA Tour member, beating Kevin Sutherland by a stroke in the Tucson Open.

Notes: Tiger Woods is skipping the tournament. He tied for eighth in the Mercedes Championships. ... John Huston set a PGA Tour record for relation to par in the 1998 event, finishing at 28-under 260. Huston shot 63-65-66-66 to break the mark of 27 under set by Ben Hogan in the 1945 Portland Invitational and matched by Mike Souchak in the 1955 Texas Open. ... The Phoenix Open is next week, followed by the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

LPGA TOUR

Subaru Memorial of Naples

Site: Naples, Fla.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: The Club at The Strand (6,328 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1 million. Winner's share: $150,000.

Television: The Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.).

Last year: Nancy Scranton won for the first time since 1992, beating Sweden's Maria Hjorth on the second hole of a playoff.

Last week: Se Ri Pak won the season-opening YourLife Vitamins LPGA Classic in Orlando. The South Korean star finished with an 8-under 64 for a four-stroke victory over Sweden's Carin Koch.

Notes: Pak was winless in 2000 after two straight four-victory seasons. She won the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open as a rookie in 1998. ... Australia's Karrie Webb has 22 victories in five seasons on the LPGA Tour. She also won the 1995 Women's British Open before gaining tour membership. ... Australia's Rachel Hetherington is now known as Rachel Teske. She married Dean Teske in 1998. ... The Office Depot is next week at Doral in Miami.

SENIOR PGA TOUR

MasterCard Championship

Site: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Schedule: Friday-Sunday.

Course: Hualalai Resort Golf Course (7,053 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1.4 million.

Winner's share: $236,000.

Television: PAX (Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and CNBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).

Last year: George Archer won the season-opening event for second time in 10 years, closing with a 69 for a two-stroke victory over Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Graham Marsh and Dana Quigley.

Last event: Tom Watson won the Senior Tour Championship on Nov. 5 in Murrells Inlet, S.C., beating John Jacobs by a stroke.

Notes: The tournament is limited to tour winners in the last two years and major champions in the last five seasons. ... Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Irwin will compete next week in the Senior Skins Game at Wailea Resort. ... Archer, 61, had hip replacement surgery in 1996. The 1969 Masters champion has 19 senior victories and 12 PGA Tour titles.