Clarke chasing Appleby
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke is one shot off the lead after the first round of the PGA Tour’s season-opening Mercedes Championship.
Clarke, who played a heavy end-of-year schedule, arrived in Hawaii last Friday to give himself plenty of time to recover from the eight-hour time difference at home.
And the long preparation paid off as he shot a six-under-par 67 on Maui’s Kapalua Plantation course to trail Stuart Appleby by one.
“I gave myself a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Six-under is a pretty good reflection of how I am playing.”
Appleby never really had a close season, and it showed.
The 32-year-old Australian recovered from a bogey at the first hole to shoot an impressive 66 and lead the elite 30-man field, restricted to winners on tour last year.
Appleby played the Australian Open, which ended December 21, and had just one week off over Christmas before gearing up for the new season.
He made only two birdies on the front nine to turn at one-under before clicking into gear and reeling off five birdies in the next six holes. A 10-footer for birdie at the par-five 18th capped an impressive outing.
“I have not thought about this being 2004. It was just a continuation of 2003,” he said.
“I like the way I swung it, like the way I rolled it. I had to take a penalty drop on the first hole, but the rest of the day I played solid.”
Americans Kirk Triplett, Scott Hoch and Justin Leonard are two shots behind.
Tiger Woods, who missed last year’s event while recovering from knee surgery, ended an otherwise disappointing day with an eagle at the last for a 71.
