Golf story by Brian Watters, Sat, 07 Jan 2006 23:16:00 GMT


Stuart Appleby of Australia was ahead by one stroke in the Mercedes Championships tournament in Hawaii. The Australian was at 3-under 143 and braved gusty conditions to take an early lead in the season opener of the PGA tour.

But the prevailing windy conditions were the talk of the town. Appleby himself was not too sure as to what the winning score in these conditions would be, "If it continues to blow about six-under should do it. If anyone gets to double figures [under par], that would be excellent golf," he commented.

Jim Furyk was in the second spot and he was sure that the wind would mess up the shots, "I haven't seen the wind tougher than this. It made it difficult to get the iron shots close. It also made putting very difficult. It's hard to so stay still and hit good solid putts," he said. Furyk should know what he is talking about since he has a vacation home in the island.

Also tied in the second place are Fijian Vijay Singh, American David Toms and US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand. Olin Browne, who was leading after the first round, slipped to the third spot at the end of the second round on Friday and was joined there by Spaniard Sergio Garcia. Both are locked at 1-under-par, 145.

If the windy conditions continue to prevail, then it would get tougher and as Appleby predicted, `"It's more of a grind. You have to work harder to put a score on the card. There's no real run of birdies."

More Sporting Stuff