Appleby battles back to defend title

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

The Australian – who was tied for 29th place in the 31-man tournament after the first round – produced an admirable comeback, timing his run to perfection to beat Jonathan Kaye by one shot in the winners-only event.

He shot a closing 67 in difficult conditions to finish on 21 under par at 271 on the Kapalua Plantation course.

Kaye had a chance to tie at the last, but missed his long birdie chance after a poor pitch.

He shot a 71 to finish on 20 under, while Tiger Woods (68) and Ernie Els (71) tied for third, two shots behind.

Third-round leader Vijay Singh stumbled with a 74 to tie for fifth – three shots off the pace.

His bogey at the fourth hole ended a run of 57 consecutive holes without a dropped shot, but it was a triple-bogey at the 12th, where he pulled his drive into the punishing long grass, that ended his effort.

Appleby, 33, collected €809,000 for his sixth PGA Tour victory, boosting his already high spirits as he prepares for the birth of his first child, due in the next few days.

He arrived in Hawaii last Tuesday with an inflamed nerve which caused pain in his left leg, but the injury improved in time for the first round, when he opened with a lacklustre 74.

“I didn’t think it was going to be an option, winning from there,” Appleby admitted.

After three days of benign weather, a front swept through overnight, dumping two inches of rain and forcing a four-hour delay.

And then a strong wind made for the most difficult conditions of the week, but Appleby mastered the test.