Golf story by Georgina Scane, Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:32:00 GMT


KAPALUA, Hawaii - Stuart Appleby overcame a stiff challenge posed by the conditions as he defeated Fijian Vijay Singh to claim a third straight win in the PGA'S season opening Mercedes Championships at Hawaii. With this win, the Australian jumped nine places to the 21st spot in world ranking.

Vijay Singh tested Appleby all the way with a seven under par 66 that left him needing a birdie to achieve a victory. Appleby did this with ease and ensured that he mastered the prevailing conditions along the way. The windy conditions have been the talk of the tournament rather than the golf and it was a shame that the focus was on the elements rather than on the quality of the golf on display.

"I'm short of words," Appleby said after his record-equaling win. "To win it the first time was great. Second time awesome. Third time, it's the wrong English, but more awesomer. It's a dream come true." Jim Furyk finished at the third spot, while US Open champion Michael Campbell was tied at the fourth position with Vaughn Taylor.

Vijay Singh was happy with his performance, "I played well all week, I just made a few mistakes each day," he said. "Today I said I was going out there to be a little more aggressive, take on the golf course and hit it like I can." Appleby said that the conditions ere testing for all golfers, "This one was the hardest test, mentally and physically, because it was a real windy week. Obviously, I had to win a playoff against Vijay. He was the hottest player, by far.

"With the win Appleby earned $1.08 million and the keys to a third Mercedes Benz car, while Vijay Singh made $630,000.

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