Mathias Gronberg avoided seeing where Stuart Appleby was on the leaderboard for most of the third round of the Shell Houston Open.

Vijay Singh, who this time last year was battling with Tiger Woods for the world number one spot, is out to prove that at 43 he is not yet a fading force.

Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk, two members of the last American Ryder Cup side and both desperate to make amends in Ireland this September, are the joint leaders at the halfway stage of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Michelle Wie was next-to-last and in need of a miracle after an opening nine-over-par 79 at the US Tour’s Sony Open in Honolulu.

Stuart Appleby’s third successive victory in the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii – on the first hole of a play-off with Vijay Singh – moves the Australian up from 30th to 21st in the world rankings.

Two-time defending champion Stuart Appleby took the lead after a wind-swept second round of the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.

Sergio Garcia and Carl Pettersson, the only two Europeans at the Mercedes Championship, are in joint third position after the opening round in Hawaii.

Sergio Garcia’s high hopes for 2006 are that he will finally end his long wait for a first major and help Europe to yet another Ryder Cup win.

SERGIO Garcia and Carl Pettersson are the two Europeans hoping to take advantage this week of the absence of seven of the world’s top 10 players from the opening event of the new US Tour season.

AND so at long last, the 2005 golf season has come to an end.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON is intent on building up a “war chest” of Ryder Cup points between now and December when he will take his customary nine-week break from competitive golf.

Stuart Appleby reeled off eight birdies, and needed just 22 putts, in a seven-under-par 63 to lead by one stroke from Ernie Els, John Daly and Brett Wetterich after the first round of the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.

PÁDRAIG Harrington is back up to sixth in the world rankings after a magnificent victory in the Honda Classic in Florida on Sunday night.

Ernie Els’ is in confident mood as he targets a third straight Sony Open title.

Stuart Appleby came from four shots behind to successfully defend his title at the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.

Vijay Singh is anticipating a tough 2005 as he looks to keep his crown as the world’s top golfer.

Few golfers have blown more hot and cold than Darren Clarke this year. But if ever there was a time to get hot again this is it.

Defending champion Ernie Els was on course for a sensational opening round at the Heineken Classic in Melbourne today after scorching to 11 under par from just 13 holes.

Ernie Els successfully defended his title at the Sony Open with a 22-foot birdie at the third play-off hole to beat Harrison Frazar at Waialae Country Club.

DARREN CLARKE confirmed yesterday he will contest the $2m Dubai Desert Classic from March 4-7 after a new health regime paid off in the PGA Tour’s season-opener.

DESPITE shooting 17 under par and finishing third on his own in the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii at the weekend, Darren Clarke has dropped from 11th to 12th in the world rankings.

Darren Clarke’s third place finish in the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, opening event of the US Tour season, has taken him top of the European Ryder Cup table – but down in the world rankings.

Stuart Appleby regained a two-stroke lead over Vijay Singh after the third round at the Mercedes Championship.

Vijay Singh, last year’s leading money winner on the PGA Tour, continued his sizzling form with a spectacular nine-under-par 64 in the second round of the season-opening Mercedes Championship.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke is one shot off the lead after the first round of the PGA Tour’s season-opening Mercedes Championship.

ERNIE ELS, bidding to take the world number one spot from Tiger Woods, is to curtail his travelling this year.

Darren Clarke has survived a pre-Christmas visit to Lapland and a post-Christmas accident on a new toy going into this week’s Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, the first tournament on the 2004 US Tour schedule. And, having set himself a target of improving his world ranking from 11th to 5th before the end of the year, he needs to get cracking!

DARREN CLARKE has survived a pre-Christmas visit to Lapland and a post-Christmas accident on a new toy going into this week’s Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, the first tournament on the 2004 US Tour schedule.

DARREN CLARKE has answered the critics who think he lives for the good things in life to the detriment of his golf.

GARY MURPHY believed he knew the Valderrama course well enough until he discovered the final hole played in the opposite direction he thought.

ERNIE ELS may have banked more than £15 million from his exploits on the golf course, but it has not sated the hunger for major trophies felt by Europe’s new number one.

Ernie Els may says he is still hungry for more major trophies.

PETER JACOBSEN paid tribute to Craig Stadler after shooting a three-under-par 67 for a two-stroke victory in the Greater Hartford Open – a tournament he won 19 years ago.

ERNIE ELS feels fit and ready to continue his magical start to the season, despite a schedule that he admits looks “crazy.”

AS a storm brewed overhead, Ernie Els completed another electric display at the Johnnie Walker Classic to land his fourth title in five incredible weeks.

DARREN CLARKE was disqualified from the $4.5 million PGA Buick Invitational after signing an incorrect scorecard on Saturday.

DARREN CLARKE is set to play a minimum of 11 tournaments in America this year but is adamant that he will not be joining the US Tour full-time.

THE partnership that clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe last September has broken up.

TIGER WOODS celebrated his 27th birthday yesterday. Given that he seems to have been around for such a long time, I suspect many believed him to be a lot older.

TIGER WOODS has had arthroscopic knee surgery and is unlikely to play on the PGA Tour until February.

Sergio Garcia has returned to winning ways 19 days before the Ryder Cup.

Sergio Garcia has won the opening PGA Tour event of the new season after he picked up the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, thanks to a play off victory over David Toms yesterday.

David Toms and Kenny Perry produced some superb shots to move to the top of the leader board in the Mercedes Championships in Kapalua, Hawaii.