KAPALUA, Hawaii - Stuart Appleby went four years before returning to the winners-only Mercedes Championships. The way he played Thursday, he might not have to wait that long again.
As the Kona winds made it difficult on the elite field, Appleby recovered from a tough start to the new season with six birdies on the back nine for 7-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Darren Clarke.
Appleby, who attributed his four-year drought to low intensity, came on strong at the end of 2003 with two straight runner-up finishes and a victory in Las Vegas.
Tiger Woods was running hot after watching his first round of the year fall apart on the par 5s. He twice hit into hazards, turning simple birdies into a bogey and double bogey, then recovered on the final hole with an eagle from 20 feet to finish at 2-under 71.
"Nothing went right," he said. "I either hit great shots or horrific ones. It was not a relaxing round of golf. The positions I put myself in today were very stressful."
He wasn't alone in his misery. Ernie Els, who won here with a record 31 under par last year, had to finish strong for 73.
Despite missing several birdie chances, Vijay Singh finished with 5-under 68, along with Scott Hoch, Justin Leonard and Kirk Triplett.
Clarke, in second, looks like a new man. He has lost 30 pounds in a fitness program he began last fall, and swore off cigarettes as his New Year's resolution.
"My first competitive round without having any nicotine in my body," Clarke said.
WOMEN'S TOURNEY: Seminole's Brittany Lincicome, 18, shot 4-under 68 in the second round of the Harder Hall Invitational in Sebring to move into third place at 144. Perry Swenson, a junior at the University of Texas, leads with 141. Bradenton's Naree Song, a freshman at Florida, shot 73-147.
- Times correspondent Dave Theall contributed to this report.
