Vijay Singh continued his impressive form by moving to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Mercedes Championships in Hawaii with a spectacular nine under par 64, pulling one clear of Stuart Appleby with Darren Clarke four strokes adrift in third place.
Singh, who topped the 2003 US PGA Tour Money List, birdied the final seven holes on Maui’’s Kapalua Plantation Course for a back nine of 29 to pull one clear of first round leader Appleby in the first event on the 2004 US PGA Tour schedule.
Singh lies at 14-under 132, while Clarke shot a 69 for a 36-hole total of ten under par 136.
Singh started his birdie streak at the par four 12th. Of his seven closing birdies, two came on lengthy putts but the other five were virtual tap-ins.
"I was disappointed with the front nine. I had a lot of chances," he said. "It wasn't that I wasn't putting well. I just didn't make any. On the back nine they started going in. I wasn't trying anything different. I like the way I am putting.
"If you drive it well, the back nine is a lot easier to make birdies on. If you play well, you can shoot low. These fairways are quite generous and if you hit it nicely, you have a lot of sand wedges."
