No Tiger? No problem.

Sure, it would have been nice to have the world's greatest golfer teeing it up in the Mercedes-Benz Championship starting today at the Kapalua Plantation Course.

But if Tiger Woods doesn't want to come out and play, it's his prerogative.

Hey, he's Tiger Woods. He can do whatever he wants. Even the PGA can't tell him what to do, Fedex Cup or no Fedex Cup.

Me? I'm as disappointed as Gary Planos, Kapalua Resort's vice president of operations and tournament host, that Woods isn't in the tour's season opener. So are the folks at the Golf Channel. The PGA season opens for them, too.

It's tough not having Tiger on television when the NFL playoffs are going on. It doesn't exactly make golf must-see TV.

Tiger not showing up, even for the second year in a row, isn't a trend, according to Planos.

"I expect him to be back next year with his 'new arrival' in tow," referring to his wife, Elin, expecting their first child this summer.

As for expanding the Mercedes field because of no-shows, Planos and the Mercedes people like the way it is set up now.

"It's a very clean, easy-to-understand format. Winners only and you know who they are each week."

Besides, Planos reasons, the only time the issue arises is when Tiger doesn't play. Phil Mickelson, the only other no-show of the 36 winners from 2006 who qualified, isn't conspicuous by his absence like Tiger.

I'm of the same mind as Planos: OK, Tiger's not here. Let's deal with it and move on. And hope that he comes to Maui next year with that new arrival in tow, diapers and all.

As it is, there will be enough stories of interest this week without him.

Sure, Tiger might be the Prince of Po'ipu with his dominance in the PGA Grand Slam on Kaua'i. But could he have successfully taken on the reigning King of Kapalua, Stuart Appleby?

The 36-year-old Australian will be trying to make it a tournament four-peat, which no one has done. Gene Littler won it three years in a row (1955 through '57) when the event was known as the Tournament of Champions.

Appleby displayed a "bring-it-on" attitude in his press conference, more than hinting that maybe Woods didn't want to put his streak of winning seven PGA events in a row on the line against him, especially at Kapalua.

Then there are Jim Furyk and Adam Scott, second and third, respectively, on the 2006 PGA money list behind Woods.

Furyk has always been a conqueror in the Hawaiian Islands — winning the 2003 PGA Grand Slam on Kaua'i, the 2001 Mercedes Championships on Maui and the 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open on O'ahu. He also posted an unofficial victory in the 1995 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International at the Plantation Course, where he owns a home.

Scott is coming off a victory in the Tour Championship — another event Tiger skipped — and what would be a better way to begin a much anticipated breakthrough year than a victory to end the Kapalua streak by his fellow Down Under mate.

There's also the feel-good story of Corey Pavin, a familiar face to Hawai'i fans at the Wai-alae Country Club even before his back-to-back victories in the Hawaiian Open (1986-87).

Pavin is back, playing for the first time at Kapalua after winning the U.S. Bank Championship for his first victory in 10 years. The last time he played in the winners-only Mercedes event, it was held at La Costa Country Club in Carlsbad, Calif., the previous site before it moved to Maui in 1998.

The victory drought wasn't as long for Davis Love III. He ended a 76-tournament winless streak dating back to 2003 by taking the Chrysler Classic Of Greensboro. Not that he had been hurting financially during that stretch, having earned more than $7 million despite not winning.

It shows you the kind of money these guys are playing for on the PGA Tour these days. Do you realize that 93 golfers made $1 million or more in 2006?

For me, the most compelling storyline this week will be that of native son, Dean Wilson, one of 13 first-time winners in this year's Mercedes field.

Wilson enjoyed a breakthrough 2006 with his first PGA Tour victory in The International and a single-season career high of $2.5 million in earnings.

Maybe not nationally, but Wilson winning on Sunday would make bigger headlines locally than if Tiger had won. So pardon me, if there's a little cheering in the press room if the kane from Kane'ohe pulls it off. Not that he has any local knowledge, playing the Plantation Course for the first time.