Furyk Headlines PGA Event

KAPALUA, Hawaii (Ticker) -- Jim Furyk hopes for a quick start as he headlines the field for the season-opening $5.5 million Mercedes-Benz Championship which starts Thursday. At third in the world, Furyk is the highest-ranked player in the 31-player field which lacks Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson - the top-two players in the world.

In the absence of Woods and Mickelson, most of the attention this week will fall on Furyk, who enjoyed a consistent 2007 campaign with one win and eight top-10 finishes in 23 events. The 2001 winner here, Furyk finished 18th last year.

One player looking for more consistency this year is Vijay Singh, who is ranked 10th in the world. The Fiji native picked up one of his two wins here last year, edging Adam Scott by two shots. Also expected to challenge this week will be world No. 5 Steve Stricker, a surprising repeat winner of the tour's Comeback Player of the Year Award. He is appearing in this event for the first time since finishing 25th in 2002. Others who contend are Henrik Stenson, Woody Austin and Mike Weir. First prize is $1.1 million.