Appleby on his way to third straight Mercedes victory
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-08 13:56

Whether they change the greens or change the calendar, it doesn't seem to matter to Stuart Appleby. Whenever he gets to Kapalua for the Mercedes Championships, he looks unstoppable.

Appleby of Australia gestures to the crowd on the 18th green after finishing the third round of the Mercedes Championships in Maui.[Reuters]

On another blustery day that severely tested the 28-man field of last year's PGA Tour winners, Appleby was steady as ever Saturday and birdied three of his last six holes for a 3-under 70 and a two-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell.

Appleby was an inch from the green on the 663-yard closing hole, gently rolled a putt to tap-in range for birdie and walked off the Plantation Course at 6-under 213, in prime position to become the first player in nearly 50 years to win the winners-only event three straight times.

Campbell overcame a sluggish start by playing bogey-free over the final 12 holes and shot 71, putting him in the final group with Appleby for the second straight day.
Jim Furyk, a past winner at Kapalua, birdied on the two par 5s coming in for a 72 and was at 3-under 216.

Only a half-dozen players were under par, and only one Kapalua rookie was in that mix. Lucas Glover needed some magic getting there, with a hole-in-one on the 203-yard eighth hole _ for a 70 to finish at 217.

Vijay Singh (74) and Sergio Garcia (73) each birdied the last hole to get to 218.
"If you just miss it, you're going to hit it way worse than you think," Singh said. "It was a grind. Putts like 3 or 4 feet it's like, 'Please, hit a good, solid stroke."'

Scoring has always been low at Kapalua since the tournament moved here in 1999, with the highest winning score coming in 2000 when Tiger Woods beat Ernie Els in a playoff after they finished at 16 under.

This looks more like a U.S. Open _ on the scoreboard and inside the ropes.