Fiji's Vijay Singh stayed steady on another windy day on the Kapalua Plantation course yesterday, opening a three-shot lead after three rounds of the US PGA Tour season opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.
Singh nabbed five birdies with two bogeys in a three-under 70. That gave him a
54-hole total of 11-under 208, three shots in front of Australian Adam Scott and South African Trevor Immelman.
Scott heated up on the back nine en route to a 69 while Immelman, tied for second a shot behind Singh to start the round, carded a 72.
Americans Will MacKenzie (73) and JB Holmes (71) were four shots back.
Three-time defending champion Stuart Appleby's quest for a "four-peat" all but disappeared as he carded a 72 to fall nine adrift on 217.
Singh never has won the PGA Tour's season-opening event, limited to the previous season's winners, but has posted top-10 finishes in his past seven starts.
Singh said his knowledge of the mountainside course helped a lot.
"I just scrambled a lot," he said. "I knew where the grain was on the green. You remember the breaks, how quick they are, and that's all helpful at the end of the day."
While Singh wasn't spectacular, he didn't make a bogey after the seventh hole.
"It was a little disappointing today. The scoring was good, but the ball-striking wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.
"It was wishy-washy, but putting is a great equaliser," added Singh, who has gone to a mid-length belly putter. "I made a lot of three, four, five-footers."
Singh remained cautious about his chances of victory.
"I'm going to go out there and try to play the best I can and if my best is good enough, that's good for me," said Singh, who is seeking his 30th career victory on the US tour. "I cannot help whatever the other guys do."
Immelman's problems on the greens seemed to take the wind out of his sails.
"I felt like I hit the ball solidly today, so that was pleasing," he said. "Most of my shots I hit on the wrong side of the pin, and I couldn't have too much of an aggressive putt at it."
- AFP
