Howell has been runner-up in each of the past two years at Waialae. In all, he has posted three top-5 finishes at the event, but is still searching for his first Sony Open win.
All 25 of last season's Web.com Tour graduates, highlighted by No. 1 Casey Wittenberg, and 20 Q-School graduates will make their PGA Tour season debut on Thursday. No rookie has won at Waialae since the event moved to a January date.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds of the event that is being played Thursday to Sunday. The first three rounds are scheduled to air from 7 - 10:30 p.m. (et), while the final round is set to run from 7 - 10 p.m.
The PGA Tour moves to La Quinta, California, next week for the Humana Challenge, where Mark Wilson won by two strokes last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
VOLVO GOLF CHAMPIONS, Durban Country Club, Durban, South African - The third event of the 2013 European Tour slate gets underway on Thursday at the Volvo Golf Champions.
The field includes the first two winners of the 2013 campaign, every winner from the 2012 European Tour International Schedule, past champions of the event, and golfers with 10 or more European Tour victories.
Branden Grace, who took the tour by storm a season ago, is back to defend his title. The South African birdied the first playoff hole at this event last year to edge Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and capture his second successive European Tour victory. Grace totaled four wins on the tour in 2012 and finished sixth in the Race to Dubai.
Also in the field are former major champions Els, Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Paul Lawrie and Jose Maria Olazabal.
Scott Jamieson will look to continue his fine start to the season, which featured a debut win at the Nelson Mandela Championship and a third place tie at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.
The European Tour moves to Abu Dhabi next week for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, where Robert Rock posted a 1-stroke win over Rory McIlroy last year.
