Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai

(Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii) - Champions Tour players Jay Haas, Peter Jacobsen, Loren Roberts and Craig Stadler will all play the PGA TOUR's Sony Open in Hawaii this week prior to starting their Champions Tour season next week at the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai.  All four are expected to remain in Hawaii and play the Champions Tour's first full field event of the year, the Turtle Bay Championship, January 23-29.  The 2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai will be played January 16-22 at Hualalai Golf Club on the Big Island of Hawaii

Perhaps the hottest player on the Champions Tour over the last month of the season, Haas ended 2005 with five straight top-five finishes, including two victories, and was named Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.  The nine-time winner on the PGA TOUR still enjoys full exempt status on the PGA TOUR as a member of the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team.  He will be joined in the field this week by his son, Bill Haas, a graduate of the 2005 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. 

One of the most popular personalities in professional golf, Jacobsen overcame knee problems to earn Comeback Player of the Year honors on the Champions Tour in 2005.  He recorded four top-10 finishes in just 10 starts and won his second Champions Tour major championship at the Ford Senior Players Championship in July.  The Portland, OR native made five of 11 cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2005, including a T28 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii.  A seven-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Jacobsen is playing this week on a sponsor's exemption. 

Roberts turned 50 in July and finished no worse than 11th in his six Champions Tour starts during the second half of 2005.  A member of the PGA TOUR since 1984, Roberts recorded his first Champions Tour victory in dramatic fashion at the JELD-WEN Tradition, defeating Dana Quigley on the second playoff hole.  The eight-time PGA TOUR winner is exempt on the PGA TOUR in 2006 by virtue of finishing 93rd on the 2005 money list. 

Stadler, the 2004 Champions Tour Player of the Year, posted 14 top-10 finishes in 2005 and finished ninth on the Champions Tour official money list.  He tied for ninth last year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and made the cut in five of his six PGA TOUR starts.  The 13-time winner on the PGA TOUR is playing this week on a sponsor's exemption. 

Haas, Jacobsen, Roberts and Stadler will be joined next week at Hualalai by winners of Champions Tour major championships from the last five years (2001-2005) and winners of Champions Tour official money cosponsored and approved tournaments from the last two years (2004-2005), plus four tournament invitees.

The MasterCard Championship at Hualalai will air live on The Golf Channel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 20, 21, and 22.  

Ticket Information

Tickets for the 2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai are $25 for an all-week pass, good for all days of the tournament, and $10 for one any day ticket, good for any one day of the event.  Tickets may be purchased by calling Tournament Headquarters at 1-800-417-2770.