Victor Perez hits shot of a lifetime for Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship win

The calendar now reads 2019 – and that means the current PGA TOUR season ends its six-week hibernation and cranks up again. As customary, the locale is Maui at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua. For most fans, that means prime-time golf on TV …. and yes, you’ll spend the next four days wishing you lived in Hawaii. THE FLYOVER The final three holes at the Plantation Course stretch out to nearly 1,600 yards and can be both challenging and fun. The 365-yard par-4 16th is not drivable due to the crossing trade wins, so most tee shots will finish short of the fairway bunker that guards the green. The 549-yard 17th is the longest par 4 on the PGA TOUR, and yet ranked just 271st among the 551 par 4s in stroke average. The 663-yard 18th is the longest par 5 on the TOUR and yet, just like the 17th, is not difficult; it ranked 97th out of the 163 par 5s in stroke average last season. LANDING ZONE The par-4 14th is listed at 305 yards on the scorecard, and yet played less than 300 yards in each of the four rounds last year. Nearly half of all tee shots tried to drive the green, and yet just two of those 67 attempts were successful. One of those was by Dustin Johnson in the final round en route to victory (the other was by Jhonattan Vegas). Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson: “Gusty east-northeasterly trade winds are expected for much of the week, peaking on Friday before beginning to slacken on Saturday. Passing showers will be possible mainly during the overnight and morning hours Wednesday through Friday, with rainfall totals expected to be rather light. Passing shower chances will persist through the day on Saturday, though rainfall is forecast to remain light. Sunday will see showers become isolated in coverage as easterly trade winds weaken substantially, perhaps weak enough for winds to becoming variable in direction.â€� For the latest weather news from Kapalua, Hawaii, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It doesn’t get any better than being in Hawaii. … it’s a small field, a chance to get a lot of FedExCup points and get a good jump start to the year if you’ve either been behind or haven’t played yet. BY THE NUMBERS  155 – Combined career PGA TOUR victories by the 34 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champions field. 24,815 – Combined days between victories for 11 players who last season ended victory droughts of at least 1,600 days – Charles Howell III, Paul Casey, Kevin Na, Keegan Bradley, Ted Potter Jr., Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland. All but Woods and Mickelson are in the field this week. 11 – Consecutive seasons since the start of his PGA TOUR career in which Dustin Johnson has won at least one TOUR event. Only Arnold Palmer (17 seasons), Jack Nicklaus (17 seasons) and Tiger Woods (14 seasons) have longer streaks to start their TOUR careers. 532 – Drives of 400 yards or more on the PGA TOUR in the ShotLink Era (since 2003). Of those 532 drives, 301 (56.6 percent) have been recorded at the Plantation Course. And of those 301 drives, 96 have been at the 18th hole. SCATTERSHOTS  The par-4 fourth has a new teeing area and is now at 424 yards after previously playing at 382 yards. What once had been a wedge for most players on their approach shots will now be a mid-iron – depending on the wind conditions, of course. “I usually have somewhere between 110 to 120, 125 every time I play that hole and I had 188 yesterday,â€� Justin Thomas said after his practice round Tuesday. “I hit 5-iron in. That green’s tough with a wedge let alone with a 5-iron.â€� A year ago, the fourth was the ninth toughest hole on the Plantation Course, playing at a stroke average of 4.037. When it comes to the FedExCup Playoffs, winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions (the second smallest field of the season) has become a vital element in reaching the TOUR Championship (the smallest field of the season). Each of the last 10 Sentry winners have advanced to the 30-man TOUR Championship; only the Valspar Championship and the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship can match that streak among regular-season events. All eight winners from the fall portion of the 2018-19 season are in the field, including one rookie (Cameron Champ). Not surprising, all eight of those players are in the top 10 of the FedExCup standings, including current leader Charles Howell III. The Plantation Course has ranked inside the top 5 among easiest courses on TOUR in 10 of the last 11 seasons. It had the lowest field stroke average in relation to par five times. Last year, the field averaged 1.779 strokes under par, fifth lowest among all courses.

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NAPLES, Fla. – The last time Brandt Snedeker and Bubba Watson were on the same team it was at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. Snedeker was a player, Watson an assistant-captain. They had the same goal, a U.S. victory, but different job responsibilities. Snedeker was tasked with making birdies, while Watson, to hear him tell it, was tasked with making lunch. “Fixing him sandwiches, getting water for him, you know,� Watson joked Wednesday from the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club, where he and Snedeker will pair up and go for the title against the 11 other two-man teams at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Players form teams for all sorts of reasons. The seeds for Snedeker/Watson were sewn at Hazeltine, where they became good friends. Snedeker wanted to pair up with Watson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but Watson already had a partner. They finally got together for this week’s QBE, a low-stress get-together where Snedeker won with Jason Dufner in 2015 and where Watson once dressed up as Santa Claus along with partner Rickie Fowler.   On the surface, they don’t seem much alike, Snedeker a great putter, Watson a long driver. But they’re not that dissimilar. Both are pushing 40, both have played on Presidents and Ryder Cup teams, and both are on the cusp of 10 wins on TOUR, Watson holding a narrow 9-8 lead. But the similarity that stands out most is that Snedeker, 37, and Watson, 39, hope to use this week as a springboard into 2018 after enduring mid-career lulls. Watson failed to win last season for only the second time since 2010, while Snedeker fought through a sternum injury that baffled even the medical experts and sidelined him for five months. To say that both are hungry would be an understatement. Watson finished 75th in the FedExCup after missing the cut at the Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship last season. He had planned to take four months off after a T69 at the Dell Technologies Championship. His wife, Angie, was getting knee surgery. Their son, Caleb, was starting kindergarten. Alas, the plan didn’t take.  Watson says he simply missed the game too much. He returned to play in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T51) in Las Vegas, and The RSM Classic at Sea Island (67th). It was a humble beginning, but Watson is well aware that the last time he went winless, in 2013, he bounced back with authority, winning twice the next year, including his second Masters. “I’m looking forward to it,� he said Wednesday from Naples, “and I know I’ve done it before, and I know how good I can be when I’m focused on the right things.� Snedeker’s 2017 was even more confounding. He couldn’t figure out why it hurt to swing, and neither could doctors. He finally got a diagnosis and ended his season after finishing T14 at the Travelers Championship. Although he qualified for the Playoffs, the 2012 FedExCup champion sat on the sidelines, just as he had for The Open Championship, the PGA Championship, and other elite events. He would end the season 73rd in the FedExCup, two ahead of Watson. All of which begins to explain why Snedeker is so excited about finally playing again. He came back to competition at The RSM Classic, opening with rounds of 67-67 before a pair of 70s left him in a tie for 29th place. “Felt really good,� Snedeker said. “Body felt amazing.� He hopes a solid week at the QBE at Tiburon presages a big upcoming season, in the same way that he thrived in 2016 after winning here with Dufner in December, 2015.    Oh, and Snedeker is flying halfway around the world to play in next week’s Indonesia Masters. He says he needs the reps, and then there’s this: He is 50th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the top 50 at the end of the season are guaranteed spots in the field at the 2018 Masters. “I think it’s a 15-hour flight from JFK to Hong Kong, and I’m not even close to being there once I get to Hong Kong,� Snedeker said. “So it’s going to be a long trip.� Still, he’s looking forward to it, partly because he has never been to Indonesia. Like his QBE teammate, Watson, Snedeker knows he’s got work to do to get back to his old self, especially after a 14-week hiatus. And like too many others to count, Snedeker says he didn’t fully realize what he had until it was suddenly gone, even if it was only for a year. “You realize how much you love what you do,� Snedeker said, sitting to Watson’s right and more or less speaking for them both. “How much—how lucky we are to do what we do, and how passionate we are about it.�

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Tiger Woods shot a second-round 67 on Friday in the Memorial Tournament despite poor putting and a weather delay.

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