Stuart Appleby will avoid some of golf's biggest hurdles when he begins his quest for a fourth successive Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii tomorrow.
World number one Tiger Woods and Masters champion Phil Mickelson are absent, as well as South African pair Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. It means Australian Appleby will be a strong contender to retain his title.
Appleby claims his past experience at the par-73 Plantation Course in Kapalua will not make much difference.
"I don't feel like this is my home course or anything," he said. "I think everybody knows how to play the course. It's all about scoring here. You've got to score on the short holes."
The 35-year-old leads a strong Australian contingent that also includes the only major winner in the 34-man field, US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, along with Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley and John Senden all making the trip to Kapalua.
"It's good that there are going to be a lot more Australians competing in the event this time around," he told The Australian.
"I'm sure any one of them will be keen to knock me off but it's fantastic that, aside from Americans, the Australians will make up the second-biggest percentage in the field."
Another contender will be 2001 champion Jim Furyk, the bookmakers' favourite who will be keen to start the new season with a win.
"I've played well here in the past with a couple of wins on this course," said Furyk.
The tournament only features PGA Tour winners from 2006, ruling out South African duo Els and Goosen, while Mickelson is on holiday and declined to play for the fifth straight time after qualifying.
Woods, who has won six consecutive PGA events and is missing a second straight elite tournament after sitting out the season-ending Tour Championship in November, is spending time with his wife Elin.
The couple recently announced they were expecting their first child.
This year, the PGA Tour has revamped its schedule to feature a points race that begins at Kapalua and finishes with four 'play-off' tournaments at the end of the season. PA
