Golf: All eyes on Woods, Els, Singh as season tees off

NEW YORK - American Ryan Palmer launched the new golf season when he was the first to tee off at the Mercedes championships today.

But all eyes will be riveted on Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els as the world's top three begin what is expected to be a thrilling year-long battle for golfing supremacy.

Defending champion Stuart Appleby of Australia will be partnered with Els, winner in Kapalua in 2003 and runner-up to Woods there in 2000, and will be the last of the elite 31 member field to tee off at the picturesque par 73 Plantation course.

World No 1 Singh, who won nine times on the 2004 Tour, will start as slight favourite but Woods and Els are upbeat about their own form entering the new season.

Although Woods has not won a major since the 2002 US Open, he ended last year with victories in his final two strokeplay events and believes his revamped swing is now ready for the heat of battle.

Singh, however, will be the player to watch over the next four days as he bids to maintain his golden run of form.

The workaholic Fijian, who ended Woods' five-year reign as world number one last September, produced one of the greatest individual years in the history of the game in 2004.

His nine PGA Tour victories helped him become the first player in tour history to earn more than US$10 million ($14.5 million) in a season. Overall, he racked up 18 top-10 finishes in 29 starts, and won US$376,040 every week he played.

The only notable absentee in Hawaii is US Masters champion Phil Mickelson, twice a winner of the event when it was staged at La Costa Country Club in Carlsbad, California.

- REUTERS