KAPALUA, Maui, Hawaii -- "This Month at the Mercedes Championships" features news from Kapalua's Plantation Course and the 2000 Mercedes Championships, Jan. 6-9:

Furyk Defends Vegas Title, Earns Spot on Kapalua Invitation List

Never mind the slot machines and blackjack tables, Jim Furyk will stick to the Las Vegas links. Furyk defended his Las Vegas Invitational title in October for his first win of the season and his third Las Vegas win in five years. The win qualifies Furyk for the 2000 Mercedes Championships at Kapalua's Plantation Course and makes him the sixth member of the victorious 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team to qualify for the winner's-only event.

Woods Continues Record-Setting Season

Tiger Woods, who has competed in every Mercedes Championships since turning pro in 1996, won his sixth and seventh events of the '99 season, bumping his record earnings total to $5,616,585 with October victories at the National Car Rental Golf Classic and the season-ending Tour Championship in Houston. Also in October, Notah Begay (Michelob Championship at Kingsmill) and David Toms (Buick Challenge) each won their second event of the season. Woods, Begay and Toms already have qualified for a trip to Kapalua. Brian Henninger, playing at the site of his only other PGA TOUR victory, won the rain-delayed Southern Farm Bureau Classic, making it into the Mercedes Championships

Kapalua Honored for Dedication to the Environment

The Kapalua resort on Maui, home of the 2000 Mercedes Championships, recently was awarded an Odyssey Award in the category of environment by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). Judges unanimously agreed that Kapalua is an excellent example of how to balance travel and tourism with economic development. Located on Maui's northwest coast, the 1,650-acre Kapalua resort has a history of consistent, environmentally sensitive practices dating back to its opening 35 years ago. These efforts include protection of an 8,661-acre rain forest on the West Maui Mountains and establishment of an environmental code of ethics. In 1991, Kapalua's Bay Course became the first golf course in the world to be certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International. Kapalua's Village and Plantation Courses also have received Sanctuary designation.

Tickets on Sale

Tickets for the 2000 Mercedes Championships are available by phone order through C & J Telecommunications at 888-310-GOLF toll free, or on-line via kapaluamaui.com or pgatour.com. On Maui, tickets can be purchased at the Kapalua resort at all Golf Shops, the Honolua Store, The Logo Shop and The Body & Bath Shop. Tickets also can be purchased at all Activity World outlets on Maui and at the Ka'ahamanu Shopping Center Information Booth. Tickets also will be sold at all ETM Ticket Machines statewide.

Media Bulletin

· For a 2000 Mercedes Championships media credential application form, contact Linn Nishikawa, media coordinator, (800) KAPALUA, (808) 669-4480 fax or e-mail Lnishikawa@kapaluamaui.com. Media rooms are limited, so send in your applications as soon as possible.