Appleby reclaimed the lead in yesterday's third round at Plantation Golf Course, shooting a 7-under-par 66 to move to 20-under 199 for the tournament. He is two shots ahead of second-round leader Vijay Singh (69). Both birdied three of the final four holes yesterday.

Retief Goosen had the lowest round of a go-low day, shooting 64 in mild kona winds to climb five back. Darren Clark (69) knocked in an 8-iron from 174 yards out for eagle on the 17th and is six back.

"I was thinking go close so I only have to tap it in," Clarke said. "I missed it from everywhere today."

The top American is Tiger Woods (65) and he is seven back.

No one else is within nine.

For Appleby, no one else matters today. He hasn't looked at a leaderboard all week and doesn't intend to now.

"Doesn't interest me who is worried about who, who is in it," Appleby said. "We'll be focusing on what we're going to do and what the course will let us have."

He has constructed his advantage with 25 birdies and putting precise enough to nullify the damage Plantation's vast greens can cause. He is averaging a tournament-best 26.3 putts per round — 2› less than any other golfer.

Yesterday he sank a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 1 — one of seven on the week there — and a 40-footer on No. 7. His six other birdies came from within 10 feet; all four on the par-5s were basically kick-ins.

Appleby's putting was all that stood between him and Singh, who closed Friday's round with seven straight birdies. Yesterday he had six more, but gave the lead back with two bogeys and 32 putts.

"I think I made all mine yesterday (Friday)," said Singh, the 2003 money leader. "I didn't play badly at all. There are a lot of birdie opportunities out here. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm playing well, hitting the ball well. I just need that putter to get hot like it did yesterday."

It has to be to win here, or anywhere else according to Appleby. This might be the first tournament of 2004 and his first look at Plantation in four years. But the fairways are still wide and inviting, the greens gargantuan and the putter the most valuable club in his bag.

"It is so tight at the top that (putting) is the only thing what will make someone run away with the tournament," Appleby said. "Sometimes it's the only thing that costs someone a tournament. A lip out is only millimeters from being a shot less, but it's not.

"It is a putting contest ... putting is the critical thing to shooting low scores. You ask any low rounder. I don't see you missing too many putts in a round of 63."

Appleby's win at last year's Las Vegas Invitational was his first since 1999. He finished a career-best 12th on the money list. But here, among the greatest players in the world and many major champions, he didn't exactly come in as a favorite.

That's changed over the past three days as Appleby has turned in the most consistent scores and drained a series of stomach-churning putts. He admits he is playing the best golf of his life, though he's not quite sure why.

Is he capable of running away today? "Capable," Appleby said, grinning, "but I'd like to think the other guys would be nice to me though, wouldn't they? Would they help me out a bit?"

Probably not. These guys all won last year. They are not distracted by Maui's scenery and Appleby's excellence. They know, all too well after the past three days, that Plantation can give up birdies in huge bunches when the wind doesn't wreak havoc.

"If it's going to be like this again I'm probably going to have to shoot another 8 or 9 under to give myself a chance," said Goosen, who birdied seven holes in a nine-hole stretch yesterday. "You're going to need a low one to catch the guys up there."

Said Woods: "I need to have the wind blow like it did today, and then obviously I need to go low. A 63 or 62 might get the job done. But these guys have complete control when they are that far ahead. With Vijay and Stuart playing that well, they can go out there and play a solid front nine and put most of us out of the tournament."