Stuart Appleby takes lead in windy Hawaii

Jim Furyk has a house on the Plantation course at Kapalua, and even he couldn't recall such fierce trade winds or tougher conditions at the Mercedes Championships.

The gusts were 35 mph, strong enough to send putts 20 feet by the hole and sometimes off the green. The slightest miss with the driver led to shots disappearing into the waist-high grass, never to be found. The scoring average of 75.5 made it the hardest round in the eight years the winners-only event has been held at Kapalua.

"Without a major storm blowing through, I haven't seen them much stronger," Furyk said. "I wouldn't call this normal."

About the only thing familiar was the name atop the leaderboard.

Stuart Appleby, a winner at Kapalua the last two years in far easier conditions, surged into the lead with consecutive birdies on the back nine, then escaped with only a bogey when he hit his tee shot into the hazard on the 18th. Despite his fine play, the best he could manage was a 1-under 72.

He had a one-shot lead over a quartet of major champions -- U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell (72), another former U.S. Open champion in Furyk (72), former PGA champion David Toms (73), and three-time major winner Vijay Singh (74).

"The first tournament of the year for us, come out in these conditions ... I mean, it's tough going out there," Campbell said after watching what he thought was a good chip to the par-5 18th go 30 feet by and over the green. "I said to myself on the first tee, 'Shoot even par, it will be a good score."'

Appleby was at 3-under 143, and said a combination of the wind and the new greens that are lightning quick -- warp speed at times, with the right gust -- made the course five shots harder.

History suggests otherwise. A year ago, Singh was the 36-hole leader at 15-under 131.

When Olin Browne made a 5-footer for birdie to finish the day, only seven players were even under par.

Appleby is trying to become the first player in nearly 50 years to capture the winners-only tournament three straight times. He won the last two years with scores of 21 and 22 under.

"If anyone gets to double figures, that would be excellent golf," Appleby said.

The scenery screams out vacation, with surf crashing against the rugged coast and humpback whales breaching in the channel between Maui and Molokai. They call this paradise for a reason.

Inside the ropes, it was a rude reminder that coming to Hawaii doesn't necessarily make this a working vacation.

"A lot of guys are coming off vacation. They're looking for a little better conditions, a little bit more comfortable round," Furyk said. "But it is what it is. You have to go out there and fight."

Singh overcame a double bogey with tough par putts and birdies on the last two par 5s. Garcia also made birdie on the last hole, although his 74 was the first time in four years he failed to break par.

The course average was nearly a half-stroke harder than the first round in 2000, although Brad Faxon didn't need to read any statistics to figure that out.

Faxon and Jason Gore were the first to play, and the first to discover the fright of 35 mph gusts that made the Pacific Ocean below dance with whitecaps. Neither of them made a birdie over the first nine holes, and they combined to play the front nine in 84.

When they finished, Faxon saw a leaderboard with only four players under par.

"It's like a U.S. Open, isn't it?" he said after three birdies on the back nine helped him shoot 78. "That's as tough as it gets. If you shoot par today, that's a hell of a round."

No telling what he would have thought of Jason Bohn, who birdied four of his last five holes for a 70, the best round of the day that moved him from a tie for 22nd into a tie for eighth.

"It's very easy to shoot a very high number, and it's pretty difficult to shoot a low number out here today," Bohn said. "I came out on the top. I was pretty fortunate."

Five players failed to break 80, with Carl Pettersson registering an 85. Fred Funk twice hit his ball out of play on his way to an 82. Sean O'Hair had four birdies and still shot 79.

"It's a good golf course," O'Hair said. "I don't think it's goofy, but in conditions like this, it can be Mickey Mouse. It's a matter of survival out there."

The wind could dictate what the weekend holds, although the greens have already made this more demanding. Given that most players haven't played competitively in more than a month, and anything can happen.

"I don't think anybody has played close to their best," Appleby said. "These conditions don't allow it."

January 6, 2006