Appleby adds to Mercedes streak

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Stuart Appleby had to go an extra hole to make it three in a row Sunday at the Mercedes Championships, making a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff against Vijay Singh, then winning on the same hole with a bunker shot that nearly went in.

Appleby joined Gene Littler in 1955-57 as the only players to win the winners-only tournament three straight times, and none of them was easy.

“This one was the hardest,” said Appleby, who went from a two-shot lead to a two-shot deficit before making birdies on two of the last four holes for a 2-under 71.

Two groups ahead of him, Singh surged into the lead with a 7-under 66, the best score of the tournament and nine shots better than the average score in the final round. But in the playoff, Singh’s approach caught a soft bounce and stayed short of the green, and his 100-foot eagle putt stopped 9 feet short of the hole.

Appleby hit 3-iron through the green into the back bunker, then blasted out and watched the ball tickle over the rim of the cup before settling 2 feet away. Singh’s birdie putt stayed right the whole way, and Appleby holed his short putt.

“I had to do something special coming in. I didn’t do it, so I had to do it in the playoff,” Appleby said. “Winning the Mercedes is awesome. Winning three times is a dream come true.”

Both players finished at 8-under 284, the highest score to win in the eight years the season-opening tournament has been played on the Plantation course at Kapalua.

The Mercedes Championships was missing some of the stars this year as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington all stayed home. Singh and Appleby delivered a sterling show, only the third playoff in the eight years at Kapalua.

Not many imagined Singh would be part of it, starting the final round five shots behind.

But an approach to 2 feet for a tap-in eagle on the fifth sent him on his way. Singh’s only bogey came on the par-4 17th when he came up short of the green and chipped 15 feet by. His approach on the 18th in regulation finished pin-high, setting up an easy chip that he put within a foot of the cup for birdie.

Then, he waited to see if Appleby could match him.

It wasn’t easy for the 34-year-old Australian. With Appleby one shot behind, his sand wedge to the 16th landed beyond the green and wound up back in the fairway, the product of too much spin and grain. His chip went 6 feet by, and he made a difficult par putt to keep his hopes alive.

After missing a 15-footer on the 17th, he needed birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. His approach was just short, but he played his 150-foot chip perfectly, and it rolled within 4 feet for a 71 and extra holes.

Jim Furyk shot 72 all four days and joined Appleby as the only players to break par each round. Furyk was at 4-under 288 to finish third.

Michael Campbell, in a three-way tie for the lead with seven holes to play, shot 41 on the back nine for a 75 to tie for fourth with Vaughn Taylor, who closed with a 71. Lucas Glover was the only other player under par, but he had to birdie three of the last four holes to get to 1-under 291.