The Associated Press

KAPALUA, Hawaii - Stuart Appleby went four years before returning to the winners-only Mercedes Championships. The way he played Thursday, he may not have to wait that long again.

As the Kona winds fooled Tiger Woods and made it difficult on the elite field, Appleby recovered from a tough start to the new season with six birdies on the back nine for a 7-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Darren Clarke.

Appleby, who attributed his four-year drought to low intensity, came on strong at the end of 2003 with two straight runner-up finishes and a victory in Las Vegas. The offseason was short, especially with the Presidents Cup, and he had no trouble getting his game into shape for the first tournament of the year.

"I've pretty much got a warm engine, a warm swing," he said. "Just keep it going."

Woods was running hot after watching his first round of the year fall apart on the par 5s. He twice hit into hazards, turning simple birdies into a bogey and double bogey, then recovered on the final hole with an eagle from 20 feet to finish at 2-under 71.

"Nothing went right," Woods said. "I either hit great shots or horrific ones. It was not a relaxing round of golf. The positions I put myself in today were very stressful."

He wasn't alone in his misery.

Defending champion Ernie Els, who won with a record 31 under par last year, had to finish strong for a 73.

Vijay Singh, meanwhile, kept right on going.

Despite missing several birdie chances, the Fijian finished with a 5-under 68, along with Scott Hoch, Justin Leonard and Kirk Triplett.

Clarke, who won the NEC Invitational for his second World Golf Championships title, looks like a new man. He has lost 30 pounds in a fitness program he began last fall, and even swore off cigarettes as his New Year's resolution.

"My first competitive round without having any nicotine in my body," Clarke said.

Woods missed birdie putts of 5 feet on the fourth and ninth holes, but the real damage came on the 532-yard fifth hole after he hit the longest drive of the day on that hole - 296 yards into a stiff breeze.

The pin was just over a gorge, and Woods switched clubs three times before settling on a 4-iron. The ball shot low and hot, carried the green, caught a downslope and hopped into the thick, knee-high grass framing the hazard.

"How did it get down there," he said with an incredulous look on his face.

When he realized it was in the hazard and he could barely see the ball, he snatched it out of the grass and flung it into the canyon behind him.

"Well, done," he seethed with heavy sarcasm.

Woods wasted no time hitting his chip - 40 feet from the hole - and then three-putted for double bogey after missing a 3-footer.

"I'm glad I ran out of holes," Woods said. "I probably would have messed up the next one."

Els also struggled from the start. He hit into the hazard on the opening hole and missed a 6-footer to make double bogey.