2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship Preview: Five Players to Watch This Week

At times it can feel as if there is no off-season to the PGA Tour, as charity and made-for-TV events fill virtually every weekend in November and December. 

But, the 2009 PGA Tour season officially gets underway on Thursday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii, which contains a field of only those players who won a PGA Tour event during the 2008 season.

Here is a list of five players to watch this week in Maui.

K.J. Choi

This former Korean bodybuilder is a prototypical fairways and greens golfer.

Choi flies under the radar because there is nothing utterly exciting about his game.  He does not crush the ball off the tee; he is not a short game wizard like Phil Mickelson; and he never gets overly animated on the course.

Choi simply goes about his business and walks away with earnings of more than $2.6 million as he did in 2008, which was good enough for 16th on the tour’s money list.

Choi had a very strong finish to the 2008 season with top-25 finishes in each of the four FedEx Cup events. 

Choi also happens to be in the field this week as a result of his win at the 2008 Sony Open, which was played in Hawaii. 

Look for Choi navigate the strong winds at the Plantation Course by doing what he always does: playing conservative golf and hitting those fairways and greens.

Davis Love III

At 44 years old and out of commission for some time due to injuries, Davis Love III’s name was truly a blast from the past.  That was, until his resurgence during the 2008 Fall Season, which culminated in a win at the year’s final event, the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Disney World.

Heading into the tour’s 2008 fall season, Love found himself outside of the top-125 spots on the money list which a player must finish within to regain their playing privileges for the following year.

Now, Love could have easily sat at home and spent some relaxing time with his family fully knowing that he had a lifetime PGA Tour earnings exception in his back pocket to use for the 2009 season.

But instead, Love decided to go out and earn his way into the top-125 on the money list, which he did.

Love’s win at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic was his 20th PGA Tour win and guarantees him a lifetime exemption on the PGA Tour.

After a strong finish to the 2008 season and the comfort that inevitably comes with a lifetime PGA Tour exemption, look for Love to get off to a strong start this week in Hawaii.

Anthony Kim

We all know Anthony Kim has been highly touted as the PGA Tour’s next big thing.

He is young; he is extremely talented; and perhaps more important than anything else, he walks with a swagger that exudes pure confidence.

This combination of youthful energy, talent, and confidence has not really been seen in a player since another confident young player from Southern California named Eldrick arrived on the scene more than 12 years ago.

Kim obviously has a very large mountain to climb before he can be compared to Tiger Woods, but it’s a mountain that Kim surely wants to waste no time in trying to ascend.

This week will give us our first indication as to how Anthony Kim will follow up his breakout year in 2008.

Ernie Els

Ernie Els has won three times in Hawaii including a win, at the 2003 Mercedes Benz Championship. 

Els also came within a hair of winning the 2000 Mercedes Benz Championship, when he lost to Tiger Woods in one of the most epic sudden death playoffs in recent history.

Els has been on a long road to fully recovering from a serious knee injury he sustained back in 2005.

At times during the 2008 season, we got a glimpse of the Els of yesteryear, particularly during his win at the Honda Classic. 

At 39 years old and with a now healthy knee, Els should still have some good years ahead of him on the PGA Tour.

Els has always played well at the Mercedes Benz Championship and is surely looking for a strong start to what could be a real comeback year for him.

Vijay Singh

The man is ageless.

Vijay Singh has been better in his 40s than at any other time during his career and just when we think he may be slowing down, he dominated the end of the 2008 season with wins at three out of his last seven events.

This resulted in a FedEx Cup title and the No. 1 spot on the tour’s money list. 

Vijay also won the Chevron World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods just a few weeks ago.

Singh, who is known as "The Big Fijian," won the Mercedes Benz Championship in 2007 and is without question the hottest player on the PGA Tour right now.

Anyone who says that they look forward to practicing all day on Christmas because there is no one else on the course, as Vijay stated a few weeks ago, you can pretty much conclude will be fully prepared for the start of the 2009 season.