KAPALUA — Justin Leonard took a quick shower and was headed to the airport for a flight home to Dallas when he saw David Toms at his locker and, in his own sarcastic way, wished him well at the next stop in Hawai'i.

"I hear it's supposed to blow even harder next week," Leonard said.

That was the last thing Toms needed to hear after getting kicked around in a PGA Tour season-opener that was played in paradise and felt, uh, much warmer.

It was only three years ago at the Mercedes Championships that players were begging for a challenge after Ernie Els set a PGA Tour record by winning at 31 under par in fast, calm conditions.

Now they're saying it's too hard.

The new greens on the Plantation Course at Kapalua were firmer and smoother than ever, so pure that PGA Tour rules official Jon Brendle thought there was a chance someone could go lower than Els. Then it kept raining overnight, the fierce trade winds arrived, and a working vacation became all work.

"I think they've blown it," Kenny Perry huffed after a 77 in the third round. "It's a little unfair. Everyone has to play it, but I don't think it's golf, in my opinion. Who wants to shoot 75 or 76 when that's the average score? I tell you what, it's shot my confidence."

Beauty — and in this case, a beast of a course — was in the eye of the beholder.

Stuart Appleby brought his best golf to the Mercedes Championships and walked away with his third straight trophy by breaking par all four days to finish at 8-under 284, then beating Vijay Singh on the first playoff hole. Singh finally kept mistakes off his card and closed with a 66, nine shots better than the average score.

But it raised questions how the PGA Tour season should begin.

With quick greens that demanded the utmost precision, and gusts up to 40 mph, it felt like a U.S. Open at times. Most of the players were rusty from their time off, whether that was two weeks or two months. Appleby was the first to concede that no one was at his best last week.

"I walked off the second green and told people they need to go watch football," said Toms, who was one shot out of the lead going into the weekend until rounds of 79-75 left him in a tie for 13th. "Obviously, some guys are playing good. But to see pros in the teens over par starting the season? That's not a lot of fun."

But no one wanted to see a winners-only tournament turn into the Bob Hope Classic, where 65 means losing ground.

"I think it's great," said Brad Faxon, who opened with an 82, closed with a 74 and tied for 23rd at 17 over. "A lot of people thought this course was too easy. I would think Mercedes would be a competitive tournament, not a 30-under romp. If 2 or 3 under is leading, you can have a handful of guys who can win."

Even par would have been good enough for seventh place this year.

Carlos Franco shot that a year ago and finished last.

"Somebody is always going to play good," said Fred Funk, whose best round was a 76. "The guys that complain are guys like me who aren't playing well, or not scoring well. You feel like you're hitting good shots and not getting rewarded. Right now, I feel like I'm not a good player. I shouldn't feel that way."

Brendle, who was in charge of setting up the golf course, has heard this all before.

He empathizes with the players, but only to a point. It was obvious why the scores were so high, starting with wind so strong that Jim Furyk had a hard time standing up over his tee shot. The best story belonged to Perry. While hitting a provisional shot on the 12th hole, the wind blew his ball off the tee during his downswing. Unable to stop, he did his best to make contact, and dumped that 100 yards into the weeds.

Thankfully, he found his original ball and made par.