Appleby holds on for Hawaii win
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| WORLD RANKINGS |
1. Tiger Woods (U.S.) 14.17
2. Vijay Singh (Fij) 9.95
3. Ernie Els (S.A.) 8.11
4. Davis Love III (U.S.) 7.71
5. Jim Furyk (U.S.) 6.82
6. Mike Weir (Can) 6.22
7. Retief Goosen (S.A.) 5.85
8. Kenny Perry (U.S.) 5.10
9. David Toms (U.S.) 5.03
10. Padraig Harrington (Ire) 4.99
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KAPALUA, Hawaii (Reuters) -- Australia's Stuart Appleby held off a furious late charge by Vijay Singh with a closing two-under-par 71 to win the Mercedes Championships by one shot.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods, twice a winner of the event, also carded a 71 to finish tied for fourth, his check for $275,000 lifting his career earnings on the PGA Tour above $40 million.
Appleby, who led by six shots with seven holes remaining, ended the opening tournament of the 2004 PGA Tour on 22-under 270.
"I didn't need to go out and make birdies," said Appleby.
"What I needed to do was position myself to have a reasonable chance of making birdies. I didn't have to go smashing anything in the hole."
Singh faltered on the front nine before four birdies in the final five holes gave him a three-under-par 70 round as the Fijian registered his ninth top-six finish, dating back to last August's WGC-NEC Invitational.
Britain's Darren Clarke finished alone in third on 275, five shots off the pace at 17-under-par after also shooting a 70.
Appleby's victory lifted him three places to 11th in the latest world rankings. In the last four months the 32-year-old has jumped 35 places.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
