The Sony Open, the second and final stop in the PGA Tour’s Hawaii swing, kicks off at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu tomorrow. Well, that is, if the weather holds up. Wednesday’s pro-am was quickly canceled due to heavy rain, not to mention strong gales sweeping in from the ocean (I was almost blown away!). There was over two inches of precipitation, causing officials to close the course and practice areas.

According to a Tour official, the weather expert says two-three inches are expected overnight and into Thursday morning. As of now, tee times are as stands, but it all depends on the weather. I’m told that some golf will be played, it’s just a matter of when. But when the event gets going, tune into Golf Channel’s coverage to get inside defending champion Ryan Palmer’s head — he’s wearing a mic during the telecast (tape delayed, of course, so your kids don’t have to wear ear muffs in case an F-bomb happens to slip).

John Merrick, Doug LaBelle, Tony Finau and Kevin Hayashi were added to the field after placing in the top-four at the Monday qualifier at Turtle Bay on Oahu’s North Shore.

Four-time PGA Tour winner Dave Eichelberger shot his age (67) to win the Aloha Section Stroke Play Championship and qualify for the event. He told Ann Miller of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

“My goal is to try and drive it in the fairway,” Eichelberger says. “If I drive it in the fairway I have a chance to shoot par or under. If I’m not driving it in the fairway you won’t be seeing me making any cuts.

“I don’t have the power to get out there far enough and blow a wedge out of 2-inch rough up onto the green. If I drive it in the rough I’ll be chomping it out with a 9-iron 50 yards short of the green. … My goal is to drive it in the fairway.”

Brett Wetterich, Dustin Johnson and Ricky Barnes (back injury) withdrew from the field. Beers on those that got in the tournament from the alternate list — Alexandre Rocha, Peter Tomasulo and Jim Renner. We need two more guys to pull out, so that Andres Gonzales gets in! Where’s Jeff Gillooly when you need him?! Just kidding…

But there’s a common misconception that once you get through Q-school, you are guaranteed a spot to play in PGA Tour events. That’s not the case. Andres placed T22 last December to earn his card, but he’s not in the field. He’s sixth on the alternate list.

The “featured” pairing on Thursday includes Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Palmer. In the morning wave, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Jonathan Byrd are probably what you’d call the marquee group. Here are the first- and second-round pairings in full:

Rnd 1 1 Tee	Rnd 2 10 Tee
7:10am	11:40am	Aaron Baddeley Melbourne, AUS	Josh Teater Lexington, KY	Troy Merritt Boise, ID
7:20	11:50	Shaun Micheel Memphis, TN	Dave Eichelberger Honolulu, HI	Charles Warren Greenville, SC
7:30	12:00	Chris Riley San Diego, CA	Duffy Waldorf Northridge, CA	Paul Stankowski Flower Mound, TX
7:40	12:10	Heath Slocum Alpharetta, GA	Carl Pettersson Raleigh, NC	Brian Gay Windermere, FL
7:50	12:20	Stuart Appleby Victoria, AUS	Justin Rose London, ENG	Justin Leonard Dallas, TX
8:00	12:30	Derek Lamely Fort Myers, FL	Mark Wilson Chicago, IL	Davis Love III Sea Island, GA
8:10	12:40	Troy Matteson Dripping Springs, TX	Marc Turnesa Rockville Centre, NY	Fred Funk Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
8:20	12:50	Chad Campbell Andrews, TX	Brian Davis London, ENG	Spencer Levin Elk Grove, CA
8:30	1:00	Tommy Gainey Bishopville, SC	Michael Thompson Tucson, AZ	Matt McQuillan Kingston, ONT, CAN
8:40	1:10	Chris Kirk Sea Island, GA	Nate Smith Jupiter, FL	Tadahiro Takayama Japan
8:50	1:20	Michael Putnam Tacoma, WA	David Hearn Brantford, ON, CAN	Peter Tomasulo Long Beach, CA
9:00	1:30	David Mathis Wake Forest, NC	Daniel Summerhays Farmington, UT	Kevin Hayashi Hilo, HI
Rnd 1 10 Tee	Rnd 2 1 Tee
7:10am	11:40am	Steve Flesch Union, KY	Joe Durant Pensacola, FL	Shane Bertsch Denver, CO
7:20	11:50	Jeff Maggert Houston, TX	Webb Simpson Raleigh, NC	Jimmy Walker Boerne, TX
7:30	12:00	Jesper Parnevik Jupiter, FL	Jason Dufner Auburn, AL	Jim Renner
7:40	12:10	Jonathan Byrd Sea Island, GA	Jim Furyk Ponte Vedra Bch, FL	Ernie Els South Africa
7:50	12:20	Robert Garrigus Scottsdale, AZ	Adam Scott Queensland, AUS	Camilo Villegas Medellin, COL
8:00	12:30	Matt Bettencourt Greenville, SC	Jason Bohn Acworth, GA	Nathan Green Newcastle, NSW, AUS
8:10	12:40	Dean H. Wilson Kaneohe, HI	David Duval Denver, CO	Jamie Lovemark Jupiter, FL
8:20	12:50	Charles Howell III Orlando, FL	Tim Petrovic Austin, TX	John Daly Dardanelle, AR
8:30	1:00	Keegan Bradley Woodstock, VT	Scott Stallings Oak Ridge, TN	Tony Finau Lehi, UT
8:40	1:10	Jhonattan Vegas Maturin, VEN	Alexandre Rocha Sao Paulo, BRA	Hideki Matsuyama-Y Ehime, JPN
8:50	1:20	Hunter Haas Ft. Worth, TX	Bobby Gates The Woodlands, TX	Sunghoon Kang Korea
9:00	1:30	Gary Woodland Topeka, KS	Joe Affrunti Crystal Lake, IL	Shunsuke Sonoda Japan
Rnd 1 1 Tee	Rnd 2 10 Tee
11:40am	7:10am	Alex Cejka Las Vegas, NV	Roland Thatcher The Woodlands, TX	Blake Adams Eatonton, GA
11:50	7:20	Ryuji Imada Tampa, FL	Steve Marino Tequesta, FL	Matt Jones Sydney, AUS
12:00	7:30	John Merrick Long Beach, CA	Michael Sim Perth, AUS	Jeff Klauk St. Augustine, FL
12:10	7:40	Matt Kuchar St Simons Island, GA	Steve Stricker Madison, WI	Ryan Palmer Amarillo, TX
12:20	7:50	Jason Day Brisbane, AUS	Anthony Kim Dallas, TX	Vijay Singh Fiji Islands
12:30	8:00	Arjun Atwal Calcutta, IND	Cameron Beckman San Antonio, TX	Pat Perez Scottsdale, AZ
12:40	8:10	Paul Goydos Long Beach, CA	Alex Prugh Spokane, WA	Michael Connell Houston, TX
12:50	8:20	Tim Herron Wayzata, MN	Shigeki Maruyama Tokyo, JPN	Jeff Overton Evansville, IN
1:00	8:30	Cameron Tringale Las Vegas, NV	Ben Martin Greenwood, SC	WC Liang Zhongshan, CHN
1:10	8:40	Jim Herman Port St. Lucie, FL	Brendan Steele Idyllwild, CA	Koumei Oda Japan
1:20	8:50	Scott Gutschewski Prosper, TX	Jarrod Lyle Melbourne, AUS	Steven Bowditch Queensland, AUS
1:30	9:00	Kyle Stanley Gig Harbor, WA	Martin Piller Dallas, TX	Joseph Bramlett Saratoga, CA
Rnd 1 10 Tee	Rnd 2 1 Tee
11:40am	7:10am	Billy Mayfair Scottsdale, AZ	Chris DiMarco Heathrow, FL	Kent Jones Albuquerque, NM
11:50	7:20	John Senden Brisbane, AUS	Brandt Jobe Westlake, TX	Tag Ridings Keller, TX
12:00	7:30	Boo Weekley East Milton, FL	Tom Gillis Lake Orion, MI	Chad Collins Cloverdale, IN
12:10	7:40	Tim Clark Scottsdale, AZ	Bo Van Pelt Tulsa, OK	K.J. Choi Dallas, TX
12:20	7:50	Zach Johnson Cedar Rapids, IA	Rory Sabbatini Ft. Worth, TX	Robert Allenby Melbourne, AUS
12:30	8:00	Rocco Mediate Naples, FL	Jerry Kelly Madison, WI	D.J. Trahan Mt. Pleasant, SC
12:40	8:10	Johnson Wagner Charlotte, NC	Charlie Wi Westlake Village, CA	Marc Leishman Melbourne, AUS
12:50	8:20	Kevin Na Las Vegas, NV	Brendon de Jonge Charlotte, NC	Fredrik Jacobson Gothenburg, SWE
1:00	8:30	Chris Baryla Vernon, BC, CAN	Zack Miller San Rafael, CA	Kevin Kisner Aiken, SC
1:10	8:40	Kevin Chappell Fresno, CA	Fabian Gomez Chaco, ARG	David Saka-Y Honalulu, HI
1:20	8:50	D.J. Brigman Albuquerque, NM	Colt Knost Dallas, TX	Michio Matsumura Japan
1:30	9:00	Bio Kim South Korea	William McGirt Boiling Springs, SC	Doug LaBelle II Phoenix, AZ

Fingers crossed for the weather to cooperate!

(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)