Breaking down the 2010 SBS Championship field

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Dec. 17, 2009

Here's a look at each of the 28 players who are expected to play in the season-opening SBS Championship, sorted by their 2009 FedExCup finishes. Only winners of 2009 PGA TOUR events are eligible to play at Kapalua:

Steve Stricker
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won three events in 2009 -- the Crowne Plaza Invitational, John Deere Classic and Deutsche Bank Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 3 (best finish: 2nd in 2008) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 3
NOTABLE: In the past three years, Stricker has shown the ability to contend early in the season. Of his 13 TOUR starts in January/February since 2007, he has six top-10 finishes.
Sean O'Hair
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Quail Hollow Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 2 (best finish: 4th in 2009) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 5
NOTABLE: O'Hair struggled in his first Kapalua start in 2006, finishing 80-82 at age 23. Contrast that with 2009, when O'Hair had the field's lowest final round with a 65.
Zach Johnson
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won two events in 2009 -- the Sony Open in Hawaii and Valero Texas Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: 3 (best finish: T6 in 2009) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 6
NOTABLE: Johnson left Hawaii last year as the FedExCup points leader after tying for sixth at Kapalua and winning the Sony Open.
Heath Slocum
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Barclays
PREVIOUS STARTS: 2 (best finish: T23 in 2005 and 2006) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 8
NOTABLE: For the fifth time in six years, Milton (Fla.) High School will be represented at Kapalua. Slocum played in 2005 and 2006, and prep teammate Boo Weekley qualified in 2008 and 2009.
Kenny Perry
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won two events in 2009 -- the FBR Open and Travelers Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 7 (best finish: 3rd in 2002) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 9
NOTABLE: Nobody in this year's field owns more experience at Kapalua than Perry (four career starts). He also played three times when La Costa CC hosted the season-opening event.
Nick Watney
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Buick Invitational
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T5 in 2008) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 12
NOTABLE: Watney was one of only two players to shoot in the 60s in the first round at Kapalua in 2008. He carded a 68, one shot better than Daniel Chopra, who went on to win.
Geoff Ogilvy
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won two events in 2009 -- the Mercedes-Benz Championship and World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 3 (best finish: 1st in 2009) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 13
NOTABLE: In 2009, Ogilvy became the third wire-to-wire winner at Kapalua since the event moved there in 1999, joining Vijay Singh and Ernie Els. He's the only past champion in this year's field.
Dustin Johnson
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (11th in 2009) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 14
NOTABLE: Johnson is strong early in the year. In addition to his February 2009 victory, he had three top-12s in his first four events as a rookie in 2008.
Lucas Glover
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 U.S. Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (6th in 2006) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 17
NOTABLE: In 2006, Glover recorded the first hole-in-one at the season opener since the event moved to Kapalua in 1999. The ace at No. 8 earned him a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG.
Retief Goosen
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Transitions Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 4 (best finish: T4 in 2003 and 2004) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 18
NOTABLE: Goosen and Rory Sabbatini keep up the streak of South Africans at Kapalua. The country has been represented all but one year since 2000, the exception coming in 2006.
Brian Gay
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won two events in 2009 -- the Verizon Heritage and St. Jude Classic
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T18 in 2009) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 21
NOTABLE: While he's only played Kapalua once before, Gay is comfortable in the Aloha State. He regularly plays the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he hasn't missed the cut since 2000.
Jerry Kelly
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T10 in 2003) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 22
NOTABLE: Kelly fired an 8-under 65 in his first career round at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in 2003. He was tied for third after that first round behind Jim Furyk and eventual champ Ernie Els.
Y.E. Yang
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won two events in 2009 -- the Honda Classic and PGA Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 23
NOTABLE: Yang can already boast an SBS Championship title. He won the 2002 SBS Championship on the Korean Tour, his first career victory.
Angel Cabrera
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Masters
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T15 in 2008) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 25
NOTABLE: Cabrera has alternated starting his season between Hawaii and the West Coast the last four years. In both West Coast starts, he missed the cut in his first event. Of course, everbody plays the weekend at Kapalua.
Stewart Cink
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 British Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: 4 (best finish: T5 in 2005) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 28
NOTABLE: Cink, who is playing the season opener for the second straight year, is the first reigning British Open champion to play at Kapalua since Todd Hamilton in 2005.
Mark Wilson
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (27th in 2008) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 32
NOTABLE: Wilson has only played four times in Hawaii among his 188 career starts, his best finish a tie for 25th at the 2009 Sony Open.
Rory Sabbatini
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 2 (best finish: 2nd in 2001) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 34
NOTABLE: Sabbatini led after three rounds in 2001 at Kapalua but lost it by shooting a Sunday 72 while Jim Furyk carded a 67 to win by one shot. Sabbatini missed a 2 1/2-foot putt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff.
Matt Kuchar
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T25 in 2003) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 40
NOTABLE: Kuchar's career has roller-coastered since his previous appearance at the season opener in 2003. He spent 2006 on the Nationwide Tour before regaining his PGA TOUR status and notching his second TOUR win at Turning Stone.
John Rollins
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: 2 (best finish: 25th in 2007) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 45
NOTABLE: Rollins looks to better his recent season-opening performances. He's finished 25th and tied for 29th in two starts at Kapalua and missed the cut in his debut events in 2008 and 2009.
Pat Perez
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Bob Hope Classic
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 46
NOTABLE: While he's never played Kapalua, Perez has registered a top-10 in one of his first two starts of the season in four of the last five years.
Ryan Moore
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Wyndham Championship
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 47
NOTABLE: This will be just Moore's second PGA TOUR tournament in Hawaii even though he has played 118 total events on TOUR. Moore missed the cut at the 2006 Sony Open.
Bo Van Pelt
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 50
NOTABLE: Van Pelt has more career PGA TOUR starts, 239, than any other first-time participant at the 2010 SBS Championship.
Paul Casey
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Shell Houston Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 52
NOTABLE: The SBS Championship marks Casey's first action on the PGA TOUR since the 2009 British Open. He missed the final two months of the 2009 season with a rib injury.
Stephen Ames
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Children's Miracle Network Classic
PREVIOUS STARTS: 3 (best finish: 3rd in 2008) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 55
NOTABLE: Ames has solid recent history at Kapalua. He shared the lead after 18 holes in 2007 and finished one shot out of the Daniel Chopra-Steve Stricker playoff in 2008.
Nathan Green
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 RBC Canadian Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 63
NOTABLE: Outside of his win at the Canadian Open, Green's best finish of 2009 came at his first event, the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Australian shared the lead after two rounds and finished tied for 12th.
Troy Matteson
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Frys.com Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: 1 (T11 in 2007) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 78
NOTABLE: Matteson is usually ready to go at the start of the PGA TOUR season. He has just one missed cut in 13 career January starts.
Michael Bradley
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular
PREVIOUS STARTS: 2 (best finish: T17 in 1997) | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 139
NOTABLE: Bradley's last start at the season-opening event came in 1999, the first time it was held at Kapalua. He'll notice a slightly different field this time than 11 years ago, when Tom Watson played.
Martin Laird
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Won the 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
PREVIOUS STARTS: None | 2009 FEDEXCUP FINISH: 146
NOTABLE: Laird is the first Scot to play the season opener since 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie, who finished tied for eighth in 2000.
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