KAUPULEHU — There’s a sentiment that has been shared by just about every player at Hualalai this week when asked about their time at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
“What else could you want.”
The Aloha Spirit is always strong around the season-opening event for the PGA Tour Champions, so strong that most players choose not to leave the comfy confines of Hualalai.
It’s part of the charm of the Big Island tournament, which features a personable, up-close experience with the legendary field for the fans and a laid-back environment for the players to kick off the season.
“It’s just so much nicer than most weeks, where we’re just in a normal hotel and just in a city,” Bernhard Langer said. “You don’t have to go anywhere.”
Rocco Mediate liked it so much, he got married on the Big Island to then-fiance Jessica Somers in 2014 , making it a special experience every time he comes back to the Kona coast.
“It’s a heck of a place,” Mediate said, who is golfing in the tournament for the fourth time in his career. “We just kind of hang here. Where else would you go?”
Being in Hawaii in January — when many parts of the U.S. are freezing rather than basking in the sun — helps. But tournament officials work year-round to make sure things go smoothly when the event rolls into town.
Kelly Fliear is the tournament manager for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship and has been involved in the event since it decided to call the Big Island home in 1997.
“What I like most about this tournament is that spectators can approach the players in such a laid back way,” said Fliear, a Maui resident. “After this, these guys are going to major metropolitan areas most of the time. It’s not like this.”
The logistics of running a tournament in the middle of the Pacific Ocean have changed a lot in two decades. The event hosts 44 golfers and more technology than could have ever been imagined back in the early 2000s, when they were still hand-writing scores on a leaderboard.
“We had 18 players the first year — nine groups. If you went to the 18th hole to watch everyone finish, it took 1 hour and 30 minutes,” Fliear said with a laugh. “But I think the biggest difference is the physical shape these guys are in. When this tour started, it was a cigar-smoking, fun-loving group of guys. Don’t get me wrong, a guy like Gary Player was in that era and he was an incredible, physical specimen — one of the best. But overall, the players are in fantastic condition and it’s fun to watch.”
Fliear credits his fellow managers — Katy Pradella and Norma Long — for helping make the event a success year in and year out, as well as a committed group of volunteers, which numbers around 400 and do everything from directing traffic, to functioning as standard bearers and course marshals.
Lana Branum is among those wearing orange shirts around the course and has been for the past three years. She doesn’t mind calling the lush greens of Hualalai her office for a few days, especially when she’s posted up just a stone’s throw away from the ocean.
“It has just been perfect. Last year, we even saw whales,” Branum said. “The crowd is very friendly, and I like to talk to people here. A lot of them are visitors and they like to get to know a little bit about Hawaii. There is a great camaraderie between everyone.”
Among the fans in the stands for the first round was 6-year-old Blake Nakagawa, a budding Big Island golf superstar in his own right.
“I like getting autographs and golf balls,” Nakagawa said, who added four more to his collection after the first round. “I wanted to meet Miguel Angel Jimenez. I did not meet him today, but maybe I will get to meet him tomorrow. I want to meet him because my dad wants to smoke a cigar with him.”
While that’s still on his checklist, he did get to play his annual thumb wrestling match with World Golf Hall of Fame member Hale Irwin.
Irwin — a former US Open champion — is among nine World Golf Hall of Famers in the field, along with 13 major winners. That’s a treat for a small-town golf wiz like Nakagawa.
Fliear’s suggestion for any other fanatics out there that don’t get their fill during 18 holes — come early.
“Go to the practice range. Watch these guys hit golf balls and you will see the amazing things they can do,” Fliear said. “They can hit 10 shots in a row with their driver that will land within yards of each other. It’s really a unique way to see their amazing skill sets.”
The gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the first group teeing off at 10 a.m.