Stuart Appleby hopes to rediscover his Kapalua comfort zone this week as he seeks a fourth Tournament of Champions title in Hawaii.
Three-time winner hopes to rediscover touch at Kapalua
Stuart Appleby hopes to rediscover his Kapalua comfort zone this week as he seeks a fourth Tournament of Champions title in Hawaii.
The 39-year-old Australian won the PGA tour's curtain-raiser three times in a row between 2004 and 2006 and will be taking part in the winners-only event for the first time in four years.
"There's no reason why I can't play well this week," Appleby said on Wednesday. "I've just got to get into it, get playing.
"People asked me after I won my third title here, they go: 'What is it about this place?' and I go: 'I don't know. I've just been comfortable here'.
"If I can just get out there, hit the ball half decent and start getting some putts going ... I really had a good relationship reading the greens here before so hopefully that can come back."
Appleby secured his place in the field in style last August when he shot a final-round 59 to win the Greenbrier Classic.
He became only the fifth player in PGA Tour history to break 60 on his way to defeating third-round leader Jeff Overton by one shot.
Struggling
"That victory didn't come from nowhere but I was certainly struggling a bit," Appleby recalled of his 2010 season. "My swing was good but I was struggling mentally.
"Persistence I think was the key. I guess it was stupidity thinking: 'I will turn it around, I will turn it around.' I had done a lot of hard work.
"I just got a bit of a sniff on the Sunday and things seemed to fall into place for me. Little did I think at the start of the week, being a little bit on my last legs, that it would turn into a victory."
Appleby, who will be teeing off alongside American Jason Bohn on Thursday, is confident of a strong showing this week provided he can once again master Kapalua Resort's hilly Plantation Course.
"It's just great to be back," he said. "I've got a lot of good mojo here and I just hope I can create something resembling my previous form, because then it will be a good week."
