4 first-timers to tee up at this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai
Four new faces will hit the links at the 18-hole Hualālai Golf Course in beautiful Ka‘ūpūlehu, Kona, on the west side of the Big Island of Hawai‘i for the first time next week at the 2025 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Four Seasons Resort Hualālai.
The Jan. 16-18 tournament — to be played for the 29th year in a row at the island’s first Jack Nicklaus-designed course — kicks off this year’s PGA TOUR Champions season.
Thomas Bjørn, Y.E. Yang, Tim O’Neal and Ricardo Gonzalez will be among the packed field of 42 illustrious players competing.
“We are thrilled to welcome Thomas, Y.E., Tim and Ricardo to Hualālai for the first time this year,” said tournament manager Kelly Fliear. “The tournament week experience is special for each of our players, but even more so for our first-timers.”
Bjørn, who made 20 starts last year on PGA TOUR Champions, finished 18th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
The 53-year-old from Denmark notched 8 top 10s, highlighted by back-to-back top three finishes to open his 2024 campaign. He was runner-up at the Trophy Hassan II before finishing tied for third at the Invited Celebrity Classic.
Yang finished No. 6 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, earning his first win on PGA TOUR Champions in September 2024 at the Stifel Charity Classic.
The Korean, who will celebrate his 53rd birthday Jan. 15, during Hualālai week, edged World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer in a playoff to get his maiden Champions Tour win. Langer, a three-time Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai winner, is back to compete this year.
Yang earned two runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes last year in addition to that win.
O’Neal broke through for his first Champions Tour win in October last year at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, which served as the first leg of the 2024 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.
The 52-year-old finished 16th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings during his second year on PGA TOUR Champions.
Gonzalez found the winner’s circle for the first time in February 2024 during the Trophy Hassan II.
The 55-year-old from Argentina finished 10th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after compiling six top 10 finishes in 25 starts. In addition to his win in Morocco, Gonzalez added runner-up finishes at The Galleri Classic at Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Tim O’Neal (Screenshot from Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai website)- Ricardo Gonzalez (Screenshot from PGA Tour website)
Six players since 1997 have won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai in their tournament debut:
- Darren Clarke (2021).
- Jerry Kelly (2018).
- Duffy Waldorf (2016).
- Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2015).
- Loren Roberts (2006).
- John Jacobs (1999).
All three rounds of the tournament will be televised live on GOLF Channel.
Fans who want to watch in person at Hualālai Golf Course are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting the tournament website.
This will be the 17th consecutive year Mitsubishi Electric has been the tournament’s title sponsor.
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