It has been a year since Daniel Chopra won the Mercedes-Benz Championship on a Kapalua Plantation golf course "I just loved from the moment I saw it." It was his second win in three starts and his last. Chopra did not have another Top-10 finish last year.

He's back to defend the title he took from Steve Stricker on their fourth playoff hole. Chopra tees off last in today's opening round, at 1:20 p.m. with 2007 champion Vijay Singh.

Stricker surged into the playoff by needing just eight putts on the last eight holes of his final-round 64, which included a blind, 50-yard flop shot that went in for eagle on the 12th hole. But it was Chopra who sank the most critical putt, draining a 25-foot birdie to win the longest playoff since the 56-year-old tournament went to sudden death.

The longest playoff in tournament history came in 1966 in Las Vegas, when Arnold Palmer beat Gay Brewer by 16 shots in an 18-hole overtime format. Palmer received $20,000 for winning what was then known as the Tournament of Champions. The golfer that finishes 33rd, or last, this week gets $53,000.

Despite the poor economy, sponsors have been encouraged by the tour to raise purses this year — Mercedes is up $100,000. The tour has also asked members to increase their work load by a tournament or two, in an effort to help tournaments with weaker fields.

Kapalua is open only to winners from the previous year. A year ago, four of the top eight in the World Golf Ranking skipped out. This year, the top four — Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington -are MIA.

Woods is injured; the others are healthy and happily chasing other pursuits that will also keep them from playing next week in the Sony Open in Hawai'i — where Woods, Mickelson and Harrington have never teed it up. That prompted the usual discussion of how much golfers owe sponsors.

"Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with that (the tour's request)," 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson said Tuesday on Maui. "I mean, certainly É you know, granted I want to play the tournaments that suit me and the golf courses that suit my game, certainly, the course, conditions that favor my game. But given that, this is my sixth year, there's still courses that I haven't played that I would like to hit.

"It's really important for the Tour, and I think it's a responsibility. Now, you know, given that, I've also got to look at my best interests. It's going to be difficult for a lot of guys to do. I encourage it, certainly, like the Tour is, because as we just talked about, times are not great, and we can make these tournaments bigger and better and get bigger fields. And certainly add some weight to these events and these fields. I think that's what we should do."

Australian Adam Scott was asked if his responsibilities to sponsors, tournaments and even Pro-Am partners have changed with the economy.

"I think certainly sponsors will be wanting a little more for their money," Scott said. "They certainly put up a lot of money and they deserve to get a lot out of it, a lot out of us. I think they should. I think it would be a shame if it was just because the economy is bad that now everyone is going to put in a little bit more. I think they should anyway."

NOTES

All four of the Hawai'i pro tour events in the next six weeks will be shown for the first time in high definition on Golf Channel. It starts with this week's Mercedes-Benz Championship and includes next week's Sony Open in Hawai'i at Waialae Country Club (Jan. 15 to 18), the Champions Tour's Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai (Jan. 23 to 25) and the LPGA's SBS Open at Turtle Bay (Feb. 12-14).

Locally on Oceanic Time-Warner, Golf Channel's high definition can be found at 1216, with regular digital at 216 and analog (for those without cable boxes) at 30.

"Golf benefits from HD more than almost any sport," said Golf Channel President Page Thompson. "For the first time, Golf Channel HD viewers will be able to fully appreciate the stunning beauty of Hawaiian courses like at Kapalua and Turtle Bay or at Scotland's Loch Lomond."

Today's Opening Drive Ceremony, before Marc Turnesa tees off at 10:45 a.m., will include a hula, followed by the national anthem performed by Josh Kelley. John Elway will hit a ceremonial tee shot and Greg Kinnear will be Honorary Starter. The Army's 25th ID Aviation will perform a flyover with three Blackhawk helicopters.

The Kodak Challenge will debut this week on Maui. The competition starts on Kapalua Plantation's 18th hole, the first of 24 holes chosen to represent the Challenge, which "celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on tour," this season.