2006 ~ PGA Tour Report

[Argyle]

And the season begins! What a finish this one had!

Appleby tops Singh to win Mercedes playoff

Associated Press

1/8/2006 11:34:16 PM

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) - Stuart Appleby thought he was cruising to a third straight victory in the Mercedes Championships when a glance at the leaderboard behind the 15th green Sunday gave him quite a shock.
There was Vijay Singh, one shot ahead with the kind of round no one thought possible at wind-blown Kapalua.
''I had no clue how he did that,'' Appleby said. ''I said to myself, 'I can't lose this tournament.'''
He had to work extra hard to join some elite company, making two birdies on the last four holes to force a playoff, then beating Singh on the first extra hole with a bunker shot from behind the green that tickled the rim of the cup and left him a two-foot putt, the most nervous he felt all day.
Appleby won for the seventh time on the PGA Tour, earning $1.08 million US and adding to his collection of Mercedes-Benz sports cars that go to the winner.

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Singh, whose 7-under 66 was nine shots better than the average score in the final round, left a 100-foot putt about nine feet short on the par-5 18th in a playoff, then missed the birdie putt to the right. Appleby holed his putt to join Gene Littler (1955-57) as the only players to capture this winners-only tournament three straight years.
''This one was the hardest,'' said Appleby, who went from a two-shot lead to a two-shot deficit before forcing extra holes. ''Obviously, I had to win a playoff against Vijay. He was the hottest player by far.''
Appleby became the 15th player in PGA Tour history to win the same event three straight years, and the first since Tiger Woods won the Bay Hill Invitational four straight times starting in 2000.