Another attempt to start the PGA Tour season was blown away Sunday.

Just more than an hour into the opening round of the Tournament of Champions, play was suspended when more 40-mph gusts roared down the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, and left officials no choice but to wipe out yet another round.

Rickie Fowler will hit the opening tee shot of the 2013 season today – for the third time in four days.

Andy Pazder, the tour's chief of operations, said earlier Sunday the decisions not to play "were not hard" because the wind was severe.

The evidence from one hour of golf was overwhelming.

Matt Kuchar's ball blew off the tee twice before he hit his first tee shot. Charlie Beljan played six shots before he reached his first green. Ben Curtis had birdie putts on the first two holes and played them in 5 over par.

The winners-only tournament was supposed to begin Friday, but the round was scrapped by high wind after no one had played more than eight holes. It tried to start Sunday – when most golf tournaments end – and it was clear early there would be trouble.

The tour will try again with 36 holes today, when the forecast is for less wind, and an 18-hole finish Tuesday. That puts a crimp on the next tournament, the Sony Open, which starts Thursday in Honolulu. Pazder said the Sony Open would have a limited television production because it's at least a 16-hour trip by barge to get the equipment to Oahu.

Murray repeats as Brisbane champion

His voice cracking, an emotional Andy Murray used his victory speech to offer encouragement to an absent friend.

The third-ranked Scot began his season by repeating as the Brisbane (Australia) International champion, holding off Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (0), 6-4.

"I'd like to dedicate this victory to one of my best friends," Murray said. "Thank you very much. He's back home watching, and you're going to get through."

He signed what appeared to say "For You Perched" on a small plaque after the match but wouldn't disclose the identity of his friend.

Murray started slowly against Dimitrov, playing in his first ATP World Tour final, and had to recover breaks in both sets.

Jockey Stevens begins comeback

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens finished third in the first race of his comeback after a seven-year retirement.

Stevens rode Jebrica in the sixth race, a $45,000 claiming race at a mile on the turf at Santa Anita in Arcadia. They opened a length lead approaching the eighth pole, only to be caught near the wire by two horses from off the pace, winner Maybe Tuesday and runner-up Deacon Speakin'.

Jebrica finished a nose behind Deacon Speakin' and paid $4.20 to show as the 5-1 third choice.

"I thought, 'Man, this is going to be a storybook comeback.' It wasn't meant to be, but it was close enough," said Stevens, 49.

General

• Los Angeles Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez will return to the U.S. national soccer team after a two-year absence, while Galaxy captain Landon Donovan was left off the Americans' training camp roster while he decides whether he will continue playing.

• In Zagreb, Croatia, defending champion Marcel Hirscher reclaimed the overall World Cup lead by winning a slalom for his third victory of the season.

– Associated Press

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