SBS Championship A Holiday Must For Many
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Stephen Ames Takes Some Time Out To Sign Autographs For Fans Behind The Driving Range Area Prior To Heading Out For A Practice Round At The SBS Championship At The Plantation Course At The Kapalua Resort In Maui - All Photos Credit Gord Montgomery Unless Otherwise Noted

by Gord Montgomery

There are any number of reasons for vacationing in Maui in the winter if you live in north-central Alberta, or any other part of Canada for that matter, not the least of which is the slate of golf tournaments set in front of you.

Sure, you can watch whales, surf, snorkel, bake your body on a beach or do any other number of other activities, but you can only watch the pro golfers for a two-week period on this island and it’s an opportunity a surprising number of Canadians take advantage of.

The first of the Hawaiian PGA events is the SBS Championship, formerly and more well known as the Mercedes Benz Championship, that tees it up as a winners-only event on the Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort the first week of January.

The field here is the best of the best and even if the top-ranked guys choose to skip the $5M (US) tournament for whatever reason, those that do show up are worth the time and effort to get up close and personal with as many fans do during the practice days.

One of the observers keeping a close eye on things during the second practice round was Bryan Wiens, from Vernon, B.C., who this year was making his third visit to the tournament site on the western side of Maui.

The main reason the 12-handicapper shows up for this event every chance he can, he noted while standing alongside the putting green watching Retief Goosen and Zach Johnson test the green’s speed, is the small size of the crowds, especially when some guy named Woods isn’t in attendance.

“It’s a great opportunity to see, and meet, the pros,” Wiens said. “There are no other tournaments like this where there are so few people in the galleries.

“And it’s such a limited field. The guys here are all high caliber tournament winners. That’s a real positive.”

Wiens said the SBS Championship is an important part of his holiday plans.

“We try to time our trip to coincide with the event. It’s always a significant part of our holiday,” he said of himself and wife Donna hotfooting it up to the area of the 10th and 13th greens along with the tee boxes for 11 and 14, to view as many players as possible when the tourney gets underway for real.

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Bryan Wiens Gets Up Close And Personal With Kenny Perry By Getting His Hat Autographed Behind The Ninth Green At The Plantation Course During A Practice Round

Asked what he found the most compelling reason for attending the SBS, Wiens didn’t bat an eye before answering: “I think it’s the close proximity to the players especially in the practice rounds. And, the availability of the players for comments and autographs is really good, too.”

That proximity to the professionals was a big draw for Cathy Cudmore and Ann Lynagh, both of Yellowknife, NWT, as well.

Sitting behind the ninth green on the second practice day, they waited patiently for Canada’s Stephen Ames to make an appearance with his son Ryan, as they finished up their day’s work.

“This is my first time at this tournament even though I’ve been to Hawaii a number of times,” Cudmore related.

“I like watching golf on TV and the dates with this tournament worked out and it’s our favourite type of sport,” she said as to why the pair had decided to head to the event this year.

There was a slightly different reason for Lynagh in heading to the gorgeous Plantation Course, but she said she was taken by what she’d seen in the short time she’d been there.

“My parents are here and my dad likes to golf but my mom doesn’t. So, we left her on the beach,” while they watched men play in the sand on the golf course. “It’s fascinating watching them hit two or three balls into the greens,” Cudmore continued. “And the players are very friendly.”

As it turned out, it was a player’s parent the pair engaged in a conversation they’ll long remember. “Yesterday we talked with Troy Matteson’s dad. It was neat to be noted of the most exclusive PGA field of the season.

Another Canadian who was on hand for the event, but wasn’t there as a spectator, was Sylvano Del Colle from Stony Plain, AB.

He’s a longtime volunteer at the tournament and while he doesn’t get to see a whole lot of golf played given his on-course obligations as a greens marshal, he said he wouldn’t miss his yearly excursion to the island, and the Plantation Course, to lend a hand.

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Two Volunteers At The SBS Championship In Maui, Watch One Of The Players Tee Off On The First Hole During The Second Practice Round. The Volunteers, Many Whom Come From Canada, Don’t Get Much Of A Chance To Do This Once The Event Begins For Real

“I’ve been a volunteer for six years and I guess it’s about the pleasure of just being here and to just associate with the excellent golfers,” he said of why he returns yearly to help out. “I just love being here.”

Del Colle noted the field is a big reason for making this tournament popular for the fans and volunteers, but added there other factors as well.

“It’s a beautiful course with beautiful vistas,” he explained, pointing out to the ocean at a breaching humpback whale from his greenside post.

Since his duties call for him to face away from the action on the green, to keep the crowd quiet and still when the players are putting, Del Colle doesn’t see a lot of the tournament action. That though, he said, doesn’t really matter.

“Just being able to say you rubbed shoulders with the best golfers in the world, that says a lot in itself,” he said of the only drawback of his duties.

“You do speak to the golfers once in a while during the practice rounds when they’re a lot more open but during the tournament, we’re down to business,” just like the guys they’re helping by performing their assigned duties.

In closing, Del Colle pointed out the tournament volunteers raise a substantial amount of money - $300,000 (US) this year - for charities on Maui.

“Every volunteer is somewhat paid,” he noted, “but it all goes to charity. We have five different ones on the island we help and that’s quite important, I think.”

So no matter how you plan your vacation time around the SBS Championship, whether it be as a fan chasing autographs and interacting with players during the practice days; as a spectator who follows a favourite around the course during the tournament; or a volunteer who helps out both the fans at the event and those less fortunate than themselves, everyone leaves the season’s first PGA event feeling good about what they’ve seen and done and happier for having been part of an exclusive golfing event.

About The Writer:
Gord Montgomery is the sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area. He is currently in his third year of writing for Inside Golf.