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KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Vijay Singh has finished no worse
than fifth on the PGA Tour money list in nearly a decade.
The way he started the new season suggests that 2007 won't
be any different. Singh charged into a five-way tie for the lead after Thursday's
opening round of the $5.5 million Mercedes Championship. Coming off a relatively ordinary 2006 season in which he won
only once, Singh shot a 4-under-par 69 at the Kapalua Plantation
course. "I came here prepared and felt good about my game," said Singh,
who is tied for the lead with K.J. Choi, Stephen Ames, Brett
Wetterich and Will MacKenzie. Taming howling winds that gusted to more than 25 miles per hour,
Singh reeled off six birdies. Only 12 of the 34-players in the
field broke par. "I know the course pretty well, but this wind was something
else," Singh said. "If we had to play in this weather
(regularly), I think I'd quit. "I just went out with a positive vibe and said, 'I've got to hit
solid shots, pick a spot and hit it, and whatever the result's
going to be, it's going to be.'" Singh won nine tour events in 2004, but 2006 was unusually quiet
by his own lofty standards. He won only once, struggling with
his usually well-oiled swing. At 43, his best golf may be behind him, but then again, to hear
him talk, it might not. "I'd love to have another (nine-win) season," he said. "It
would be unbelievable. I've got a new driver that I feel very
comfortable with, and that was a big problem last year. I'm
driving the hell out of the ball, knocking it straight, and
whenever I drive the ball straight, my whole demeanor changes on
the course. "It wasn't just my driver (that caused problems last year). It
was my whole game. I had some flaws in my swing that crept in.
I didn't realize it until (October). I was fixing my swing at
that time and it started coming back. I knew what to work on
and it was important for me to fix it." Singh has an excellent record at Kapalua, posting top-10
finishes in his past seven starts. Choi also has enjoyed success, holding the course record at
11-under 62. Choi hit the first shot of the new season, rifling his 3-wood
straight down the middle and setting the tone for a satisfactory
day. Although he dropped a shot at the par-4 third, he roared
back with a hat trick of birdies starting at No. 7. "After I shot that 11-under (in 2003), I set a certain
standard," he said. "Since then I've been trying to accomplish
that or better it, set the bar higher, but I've gotten to
realize I've just got to play one hole at a time." Choi ended 2006 on a high, winning the final full-field event of
the season, barely two months after overhauling his swing with
new coach Steve Bann. His score could have been even better Thursday, as he missed a
couple of short putts, not that he was in any mood to complain
after picking up six birdies. If the presence of Singh or Choi on the leaderboard surprised
few, MacKenzie's appearance raised a few eyebrows. He qualified
for this winners-only event by winning the Reno-Tahoe Open last
August, a tournament played without the tour's top players, on
the same dates as a World Golf Championships event. "This is my life, what I'm doing nowadays," MacKenzie said. "I
hit the ball really well, for the most part, and I putted well." MacKenzie's round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5
ninth, where he pitched in from 45 yards. Ames was shocked to be leading, after spending most of his time
recently in the two restaurants he partly owns at home in
Calgary, Alberta. "I thought my swing would break down a bit, which it didn't,"
said Ames, who won last year's Players Championship. "I've had
quite a bit of time off." Wetterich also was surprised to shoot 69. "I wasn't expecting very much out of myself today," he said. "I
took a month off (after the 2006 season) and then when I came
back, my back my shoulder was hurting a little so I didn't get
to do as much as I would have liked." Stuart Appleby, seeking to become just the fourth player in tour
history to win the same event four consecutive times, shot a
steady 73. "I didn't make enough birdies today," said Appleby, whose card
revealed just one.
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